Cellphones were invented to increase personal contacts between people and increase access to many services. What it has now done is to reduce conversations between people.
I must confess that I am guilty too. When motor mouth callers drone on, I interrupt to say that the reception is poor and that I am unable to hear properly and request for text messages. I prefer sending text messages rather than call up such characters too.
I however find that increasingly, people would rather text than call each other up. If at all they do call each other, it is only for long conversations which will take time to text manually.
Apart from that smart phones have also made people increasingly tied to their phones in all kinds of situations and it would appear that it is assuming alarming levels of psychological problems. Here is an article talking about this problem in some detail.
On reflection I too seem to be afflicted with regular checking up of the handset for messages and twitter posts. I have decided to reduce this compulsive behaviour and hope that I succeed.
How about you? Are you addicted too?
If I’m really involved with something I can leave my phone unlooked at for hours but if there’s a tiny bit of down time I’m addicted.
I’m pleased to say I can still sit at a table and converse 😊
When I am in any group situation or at the dining table with company, I too don’t attend to my phone even if it rings. I return missed calls afterwards and explain why I did not answer. When I am alone and say, reading a book, I often check to see if any new messages have been posted in WhatsApp or SMS.
it’s my “wrist watch” and it also is my “what date/day is it?” – but it also is my camera – and if I’m in a wifi zone it becomes my “everything else it can do” – oops forgot my alarms to remind me to take my meds and twice today remind when H is picking me up to go someplace – tomorrow 30mins before I need to leave the house and bus to my study group – it is also my notepad for VIP information. But if there is no wifi it’s just my wrist watch 🙂
My son offered to get me one of those wrist watches but, I declined as I am rarely out of our home and when I am, I prefer the phone for all the advantages that it offers.
I don’t have a smartphone, only a dumb phone, which I only use in emergencies, so I’m immune to cell phone addiction. When I’m out I see so many people glued to their mobiles and I wonder what on earth is so fascinating.
I envy you. I wish that I had not switched over. I think that it is now too late to revert to the older version.
Friends, relatives and even loved ones, are busy with their phones. I feel like they are avoiding or neglecting me. Hatred has been created with such people.
Thanks don’t have that phone addiction.
Absolutely. I can understand your angst Shankar.
Interesting topic. I love my smartphone, but I hate talking on it most of the time. The times I do it most is when I’m driving, since at that point I’m not home so I can talk on my regular phone.
With that said, I love having a smartphone, so I don’t have to talk to anybody if I’m not in the mood… which is most of the time. No matter where I am, if I’m there alone without others I can read anything I want, text someone, or sometimes watch a movie or video if I have my earphones with me.
With that said, if I’m with others, I find it kind of insulting if they’re spending a lot of “our” time on their smartphone. I can stay home and be ignored or have someone’s attention going elsewhere. That probably explains why I spend so much time by myself; luckily, being an only child, I’m good with that.
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I spend most of my time by myself too but, I am in touch with many others in similar situations who too depend on their phones to keep in touch.
I turn mine off. A lot. But am really irritated with people who leave theirs on and constantly glance at their screens. It’s an addiction. I make a point of turning mine upside down while switched off to see if they get the message.
The problem is they are never present at F2F conversations. Constantly glancing downwards and I stop talking and when they raise their eyes they say “now what were we talking about again?”.
I pretend to have forgotten.
It’s a blight.
XO
WWW
The blight has spread too far and wide now. I hope that something else less disruptive takes its place soon.
No, I’m not addicted to my smart phone, sometimes only looking at it once at days end. I don’t like talking on it for one thing. I’ve not given that number to very many people as I force all to use my landline. I don’t answer the landline unless I recognize the name. Later phone number checks, if I’m in the mood to waste my time doing so, on my computer reveal the callers are mostly robo calls, spam, sales pitches who are usually the only ones to leave a voice mail. I use my Instant Messaging and email on my computer more frequently. Most of the people with whom I enjoyed having phone conversations have died.
I wish that I could be like you. I guess that it is too late for me now.