Fascinating & Horrifying NPR Opinion piece on ...

[kenny]

As one of the 5 people on the planet who can afford one yet has refused to get a smartphone (and therefore have no aps), won't join Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat etc. I found this piece riveting.

Also, it's the first thing I've read that has offered a satisfying explanation for a question I posted here on Hangout recently ... "What do they offer that gets people so addicted?"

https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2018/01/23/579666166/welcome-to-the-age-of-digital-transcendence

 

[sonnyjane]

I was just musing the other day about how much social media (specifically facebook) has enhanced my career field. On a daily basis I'm able to share photographs and observations with experts from around the world. Information that used to require physically holding a scientific journal, attending a conference, or at the VERY minimum sending out a blanket email to educational institutions to see if anyone is working on a specific topic can now be obtained simply by logging into facebook, visiting the group of marine mammal scientists that I belong to, and posting a photo. Within minutes, scientists from Australia, Spain, the Netherlands etc. are able to answer my question or conversely, I can respond to their posts and let them know that I've observed similar behavior here in North America. Being able to instantly "compare notes" has done nothing short of revolutionize my field and assuming other scientific fields as well.

 

[lyra]

I agree with the author that these devices do create "social apathy". People are so uncomfortable in public. They don't know how to deal with silences, they want to cram every second with stimulation of some kind. Not my thing.

 

[Gussie]

Very interesting article. I held out on getting a smart phone until just a few years ago. I do find lots of social media strange and almost disturbing. Lots of narcissism for sure. Who knows where we'll be years from now?

 

[kenny]

After reading that piece I'm extremely curious about something.
Is there anyone who resisted for a long time, then gave a smartphone/aps/social media a try for a few months, then got rid of it all feeling it wasn't worth it or they didn't like what it gave them.

Would that even be possible or is it so well-designed for psychological addition and turning each person into a deity (pretty much what that article is implying) that the only way to stay away is to never try it?

 

[monarch64]

Sonny I feel the same way. Also I wouldn’t be able to connect real-time with a close friend on assignment in Denmark for the next two years. We often IM through Facebook messenger when I’m going to bed and she’s getting up to get ready for work. For me I feel MORE connected socially.

One of my friends has all of my passwords and in the event of my death will disable all accounts. So the idea of living forever in the ether isn’t why I’m drawn to my smartphone or social media. It’s a great way to capture images of all kinds of things. I rarely take selfies but I like to remember what I ate and where when on vacation or travel. From the time I was a kid I’ve kept a journal for each vacation. I liken it to being sort of a family historian! Now I can do it with my smartphone and have instant pictures. No one has to sit through a boring slide show or peruse a photo album they really don’t care about. They can just refuse to use the app. Lol

I’ve met a ton of people and gotten to know them and stayed friends had I not participated in this digital age. I feel much more social than having to have awkward small talk with a stranger when we can say hey, nice shoes! And then say hey, let’s follow each other on FB or Instagram! I’m stil in touch with so many people I randomly met in person whom I never would have bothered with again. I feel like social media allows us to connect with a much larger network than ever before and makes us feel more together than alone.

If I’m standing on a sidewalk looking at my phone it’s because I’m watching my Uber arrive so I don’t miss them if they can’t pull up to my pinpointed location. It’s not because I can’t handle silence. I might be meeting someone who is late for a coffee break and am reading their text with ETA. It’s not because I can’t sit quietly and people watch. I might have had a very stressful day and don’t want to interact with any more humans so I’m playing a game on my phone knowing probably no one will interrupt me. Oh and if you glance over and see my phone mounted to the dash of my car and it has a map showing? It’s because I’m spending what little spare time I have as a driver making money to buy my kid essentials and extras. It’s not because I can’t handle silence. (Sorry Lyra to borrow your words but they are the perfect example of the argument against smartphones—nothing personal!)

As a person still in their prime earning years, it is essential to keep up with tech. We don’t have a choice. I don’t think those who claim to dislike it or not want to participate understand that sometimes. We aren’t just a bunch of punks standing around playing video games all the time, I promise.

 

[Dee*Jay]

It seems to me there are different conversations to be had here: smart devices vs. social media.

The devices are TOOLS, the SM is (or can be) about narcissism/connectivity/communication -- pick whatever you want to apply.

The app conversation that went on in the article is a third thing beyond both of those, but marries the two.

For me this conversation is really more about connectivity than anything else, no matter what device or platform people use to achieve it. Whatever level people choose to be connected, including opting not to feel alone, well I'm good with that.

BUT, I do agree it can be addicting. I remember when the XH first got his Crackberry (so a looooong time ago) and it was in his hand constantly. I was like, WTF?! And then *I* got one... and I understood, LOL. Sometimes, on purpose, I'll go somewhere without my phone and the feelings range from panic to FOMO to unease to relief... and all things in between.

Never having been a SM user (I'm on LinkedIn, but not FB), I don't know what it would be like to give it up. But PS is a form of SM -- no? Different in that there is anonymity, but we've each developed our own personalities within that framework. I do use it to stay connected (to my fellow PSers). There have also been times I've very much counted on it for company, like when I was down in KC. And it would be hard for me to give up PS, so I guess that does get somewhat at your question Kenny.

 

[kenny]

Thanks all.
Yes, of course it's not all-bad and sorry when I come across that way.
It just seems the upside goes without saying and like the cops we only give attention to the bad.
Cops never stop you for obeying the law.

It's all complex and nuanced.
What hit me about the article what a parallel that dawned onme.
They say all humans have a religion-shaped hole in their minds.
Most humans fill it.
Some don't.

I think the designers of this new tech hardware/socialmedia/aps have brilliantly observed the shape of the religion-shaped hole in human minds.
What they've come with works like a charm.
Nearly everyone simply must have it.

Reading the piece it dawned on me that I won't fall for the new tech in much the same way I won't fall for religions.

And yes, fora like PS are of course a kind of SM, and of course I am addicted.
... but I could quit any time I wanted to.

 

[sonnyjane]

After reading that piece I'm extremely curious about something.
Is there anyone who resisted for a long time, then gave a smartphone/aps/social media a try for a few months, then got rid of it all feeling it wasn't worth it or they didn't like what it gave them.

Would that even be possible or is it so well-designed for psychological addition and turning each person into a deity (pretty much what that article is implying) that the only way to stay away is to never try it?

Thanks all.
Yes, of course it's not all-bad and sorry when I come across that way.
It just seems the upside goes without saying and like the cops we only give attention to the bad.
Cops never stop you for obeying the law.

It's all complex and nuanced.
What hit me about the article what a parallel that dawned onme.
They say all humans have a religion-shaped hole in their minds.
Most humans fill it.
Some don't.

I think the designers of this new tech hardware/socialmedia/aps have brilliantly observed the shape of the religion-shaped hole in human minds.
What they've come with works like a charm.
Nearly everyone simply must have it.

Reading the piece it dawned on me that I won't fall for the new tech in much the same way I won't fall for religions.

And yes, fora like PS are of course a kind of SM, and of course I am addicted.
... but I could quit any time I wanted to.

I think that if you (general you for anyone still holding out) have convinced yourself that you won't like it, then yes, it's possible maybe you won't like it, although that's something unfathomable to me. Even my mother who hardly knows how to use Microsoft Word now can't resist sending me videos of her pets almost daily haha. I was a "hold out" in that I waited a couple of years before getting a smartphone even though most of my friends had them, and I still have a model several years old despite several new models now being available, but I still found it "game-changing" and wouldn't ever want to go back to anything less. It's just... a different way of life, not that it's good or bad. If I see something funny, I can take a picture of it and send it to my friends instantly and we can share a laugh. I can look up information on the internet while in the middle of the ocean using my phone and have an answer fast enough that a person asking me a question won't be any the wiser that I didn't know it off the top of my head lol. Someone mentioned Uber - fast, reliable, and cheap transportation that will pick me up no matter where I am - fantastic if I'm in a new city and not familiar with the area. What's the weather? Just pull up the app and get real time radar images showing me passing rainstorms. My employer actual requires that you clock in/clock out using a smartphone. We have one woman that doesn't have a smart phone so she sends us her hours at the end of the week, but for everyone else it's incredibly convenient to see your schedule, paystubs, etc. right there on your phone. I could go on for hours but will spare you. If you don't think you'd appreciate any of those things (I can call a cab, I can read the paper for the weather, etc.) then there's nothing I could ever say to convince you that you'd appreciate those things.

 

[Gussie]

I appreciate and have come to depend on a smartphone. It makes a lot of life easier. I put it down when I am with real people and try to use it and not let it control me.

Hate fb, love instagram for jewelry, addicted to ps.

 

[Karl_K]

I got a smartphone for the first time in Dec so I could check email on the go for my new job.
I think I have installed 2 apps on it which I have yet to use and it hasn't been out of its case today at all.
I dont use it anymore than I did my dumb phone.

 

[Arcadian]

I have a smart phone and its mostly for work, but quite honestly I hate talking on them, I hate using those itty bitty buttons. even the bigger screens...can't say I like the darn things though I sure like that I can see more things.

Mine is more or less for development. So yes I spend time on it to learn and build applications to get others addicted and mine is full of development tools, no games at all. Seriously though its a huge need for it and I know how to build the stuff so....

But for the most part, I don't ...decorate it. there are lots of times I don't even care, don't pull it out of my bag (never at dinner)

We have a policy at home that electronics are never at the dinner table. Never when we're in bed together, and never when we go out on date night aside from taking pictures of crazy shit... When we're in the car together, no one is "surfing" just because.

 

[mochiko42]

I saw my friends' 2 year old keep poking this display TV screen at a store when we were all out together recently. I belatedly realized the toddler thought everything that had a digital screen was a touch screen because she had a tablet at home.

 

[Bron357]

I have a smart phone and an iPad and love them both. I’m on Facebook, but mainly for groups that interest me - the Saluki people, the rescue greyhound people, a local community group and a “give stuff away” group. With my iPad I have books on it, I can buy any book I like instantly and start reading straightaway. I can also follow my eBay bidding anytime plus if I’m at auction I can do some “instant research” on an item I like. I use my phone for phone calls out ( I’m not not a fan of having everyone call me anytime they like!) my music (so I can listen to it out walking, or while waiting around) and I love it’s camera /video (so I can take crappy photos instantly and also show or share random people my random stuff). I have a few games as well, I like Sudoko and Mahjong puzzles - entertaining if waiting somewhere. I also used it for navigation when my old car didn’t have an inbuilt system. So I like a lot of the features these “mini computers” have but I’m not “connected at the hip” with them. Younger people who carry them everywhere all the time with their eyes glued to the screen need to lift their heads occasionally and see the “real world”.

 

[AGBF]

I have not, yet, read the article. However, I am also someone who has never had Facebook and never had a smart phone. Now I wonder what the article is going to say that is going to be so revelatory! I know I will never have Facebook. I hate it too much. I do not want a smart phone. I do not use my current cell phone unless i am in the car. I do not like to be available to everyone all the time. I do love my computer, but it doesn't come with me wherever I go. I leave it and walk away just the way I walk away from the phone that stays wired in my house. I was a wife and mother for too long. Not to mention a social worker. Just leave me alone!!!

Deb

 

[telephone89]

I enjoy social media, but I can only really do one at a time lol. I "have" twitter, snap, insta, fb but I can only really get into one at a time. Right now more so insta. I have one friend (who fair enough is a small business owner) that has all of them and posts on all of them... lots. Its too much!

 

[rainydaze]

After reading that piece I'm extremely curious about something.
Is there anyone who resisted for a long time, then gave a smartphone/aps/social media a try for a few months, then got rid of it all feeling it wasn't worth it or they didn't like what it gave them.

Would that even be possible or is it so well-designed for psychological addition and turning each person into a deity (pretty much what that article is implying) that the only way to stay away is to never try it?

I was on FB for a while. Probably close to a year, but not much longer. Did nothing for me. I also really, really didn't like where it was heading with facial recognition, tagging, etc. I got rid of it. Sadly it has meant that I no longer know what's up with a couple of friends - I hate talking on the phone and they post to FB instead of emailing individuals (i.e. me). And I missed out on keeping up with PSers I really enjoyed who left PS for FB.

 

[missy]

I held out for a long time and refused to get any mobile phone. Then in 2003 my dh came home and put in my hands a mobile phone and said it was about time and here is a phone in my name. Sigh. I never looked back. I wanted to hate it but I loved it and now I am not sure how I ever lived without it. Addicted.

Then in 2006 I got my very first computer. An IBM PC laptop. I needed a computer because I had developed a condition and needed to research it and bam it was the beginning of my internet addiction. Then a couple of years later I got my first apple laptop and I have never looked back. Yes I am addicted and I need my internet fix every day lol.

The internet is super useful for me as I have a number of health issues that and the internet allows me to get comprehensive info on the conditions and also join support groups which are immensely helpful for support and information. Doctors don't have the time or resources to be there for you for everything and connecting with people all over the world who share things in common is a truly valuable resource for which there is no substitution. I was also a holdout re Facebook until I had no choice as some of the forums turned to fb instead of the forum format and so I had to join FB. I use it as a tool. I make it work for me.

Yes I enjoy social media more than I ever thought possible back in the day when I thought ugh I never want to do that. But I make it work for me and when I am done I turn it off. In moderation is key and whatever works best for you. I don't judge others because who are we to say they are doing it the wrong way and we are doing it the right way? If it works for you it works. So while I am addicted in a lighthearted joking sense I am not really as it is helpful for me and when it stops being enjoyable and/or helpful I turn it off. Win win.

 

[lyra]

It may be a shock to some, but I've always been an early adopter of technology and social media. I've been on the internet since it started. I've had computers and smart phones since they came out and I continue to get updated models. I study pop culture. I am always involved in things like Reddit, Twitch, YT, FB, Instagram, etc. I know about things before my kids do, lol.

I guess the difference is, we're talking about how we use a smartphone as a tool. I don't use it that way. Why? Because it is too slow when I am mostly always at home anyway. Plus using data in Canada is very expensive. I use my laptop and ipad much more because they have no limits. And I maintain my anonymity. I'm not in the workforce, so that is moot.

Kenny, you asked if anyone tried the technology and went back. No, I tried and integrated what works best for me. I'm not afraid of Big Brother. I am anonymous anyway. I just pick and choose when I want to use these tools. I'm not addicted. I don't know why. It irritates me when people can't seem to separate themselves from their phones when they are sitting there interacting with actual people. People using phones as tools is fine by me. They are very helpful.

 

[missy]

@lyra I completely agree. I never pay attention to my phone at the expense of anybody who is right there with me irl at that moment. That is so rude when people you are hanging out with are more interested in their phone than the real life person in the room with them. That is rude behavior and I don’t give them a pass and let them off saying oh they are addicted. No that’s just plain rudeness imo.

 

[OoohShiny]

I'm not afraid of Big Brother. I am anonymous anyway.

Do you think you are anonymous or do you know you are anonymous?

The way that cookies / facial recognition / tracking of browsing habits and purchases / inbuilt GPS / Cellphone cell-tracking / Windows typing-technique analysis (check your setup options, people!) / voice recognition / inbuilt cameras / etc etc harvests one's data without one even knowing about it, means that none of us are really anonymous using any form of technology nowadays...

 

[lyra]

@OoohShiny , I guarantee you can't find me. The first big problem is I share a very common and unisex name with a famous person. So weeding through all of that is impossible. I never give my full name anyway, unless making an online purchase like everyone else. Banks and cc companies can find me. Not my cell number though. I've googled myself many times, so I know I'm still anonymous. I choose a different username for everything. PS is the place where I've given the most info though.

 

[HollyS]

I bought my i4 for .99 back in 2012 with an extension of my AT&T contract. It has no apps on it. None outside of the phone's own apps for camera, photos, etc. A previous employer was floored that I refused to download an app to take customer payments via credit card on my personal phone. Uh, no. This is MY phone, not the company's phone.
And really, aside from taking an occasional photo of something I like, I just want a phone that rings and dials. Oh, and I use the alarm clock on it.

I do Facebook, through my husband's account. He set it up to keep in touch with former co-workers, high school and college buddies, and to "keep his finger on the pulse" of our community because he is in the news biz. I use it to stay connected to family who might otherwise be almost strangers, since we see each other every several years - maybe.

I like to view Instagram, where all the home/hearth bloggers seem to congregate these days rather than writing blog posts. I refuse to join because I'm not taking photos of my life to share online. So I will peruse without being able to converse. Works for me.

I will never Twitter, Tweet or whatever. The Twit in Chief can have it all to himself.

I flew last December without my phone because I had left it behind, 60 miles away. It had to be FedExed to me the next day. But I remember feeling naked and vulnerable, although I didn't actually need it. Never mind that I had, in the past, flown many times, alone, without one. And everyone around me was head down in their own phone, ignoring the world. I thought, snarkily, "How did we ever manage without a palm sized personal computer?"

What I do not want is that Google or Amazon thing that acts like HAL in 2001/A Space Odyssey. That's mostly weird, and just a bit creepy. And I don't want a "smart" house where everything is computerized and connected to an app I can use from whatever device. I can turn the lights on and off myself. The Ring app to see who is at your front or back door might be handy, though.

So, while I have a 'smart phone', and I do FB, social media is not a huge time suck with me. Maybe it's just because I'm a Boomer who didn't grown up with any of the technology we embrace today. I like to use what I want, when I want. But I can walk away from it without serious withdrawal issues.

 

[monarch64]

Just used my phone while out to replace a high beam bulb that must have gone out yesterday. Found the part #, found which store was closest to me that had it in stock, went to store and found it easily, watched a YouTube tutorial on how to change it out, and done. Back on the road. Only person I had to deal with was the cool lady at AutoZone who rang me up.

 

[GliderPoss]

Interesting article, We had a rotary phone when I was a child, a cordless one when I was a teenager (thank goodness!) and I got my first Nokia mobile when I was 19 - probably the last one to get it. I use my mobile for work calls mainly and Google maps A LOT (bl**dy nonexistent address system here!). I’d like to think I could give it up at any time but I’m not so sure... I DO worry about anonymity. My husband is well and truly addicted - constantly glued to his phone it drive me bonkers...

 

[YadaYadaYada]

I use my phone mainly to read news and I recently became involved in e-commerce and blogging related to that so that's a majority of what I do on my phone. I hardly ever call anyone and don't text much.

DH was completely addicted to gaming on his phone until I pointed out how over the top it was and he stopped completely but still goes on FB quite a bit. My only social media presence is FB but I try not to go on it anymore. There was an article I read a couple of months ago that convinced me to spend significantly less time if I kept it at all.

We have an almost eleven year old son and ALL of his friends have a smartphone, he does not, his friends are also on social media and I can't even fathom my son having a social media presence at this age. Maybe when he's 16 I'll get him a flip phone

 

[doberman]

It seems to me there are different conversations to be had here: smart devices vs. social media.

The devices are TOOLS, the SM is (or can be) about narcissism/connectivity/communication -- pick whatever you want to apply.

Yes to this. I love the tools, smartphone, tablet, text message, it's awesome. The social media I couldn't care less. I am deeply uninterested in what other people are doing and I have no desire to document my own life. I wouldn't mind going back to a world where people kept a bit to themselves.

 

[luv2sparkle]

I have had a smart phone for a number of years, and I like some of the things that it can do for me. I am not overly connected to it. I often leave it at home and forget it. The only reason I would need it is a car emergency. Mobile phones started out that way for me. My husband was gone for days at a time and I felt I need one in the car for emergencies. For many years that was all we used them for. Now, I mostly use it to stay connected with my kids. I use Facebook but I really hate it. I use it for groups I like and a few friends but I keep it private and don't accept friend requests.
I still have a land line and have no reason to get rid of it.

 

[lyra]

@luv2sparkle , I thought I was the only one left with a landline, lol. I never use it, but my husband does for long distance because cell phone plans in Canada are ridiculously expensive. It's one of those voice over internet things though. So if the internet goes out so does the phone. At some point we really need to get rid of it I suppose. But heaven forbid I EVER have to answer a call on my cell phone. Nobody gets that number, lol!

 

[Arkteia]

Once, in Paris subway, my husbasnd pointed at an interesting scene. Two young people, a man and a woman, both stunningly good-looking, obviously strangers. Each glued to his/her smartphone.
My husband said, "to think of it, they both might be on dating sites, not noticing that an ideal partner might be sitting next to them".

But seriously, problem is not in us/media. We grew up without it. I would like to invest into studies of the brains of generation Z. It seems to me that they are interested in people, but can not stand people for a long time. They get tired of people easier. They are very different.