Have Smartphones Destroyed Humanity?

[Sequential]

Worst is when you go to cafes and the mum and dad are sitting there chatting to the mothers mother, and all 3 kids aged 3-0 are there on tablets. The whole time I was at a cafe today, for about 45mins, I didn't observe the parents even acknowledge any of their children.

Then you see them in the back of cars on tablets again.

It's like...do people even bring their kids up these days or just give them an ipad age 1 and let them grow up on their own??

 

[Seth G.]

I caused myself anxiety and panic attacks by causing my life to get better.

Intriuging headline? Let me explain..

A year or two ago I decided to quit social media completely. I sold my iPhone 5, and bought an Alcatel that you can't even play Snake on in 2d black and white. I deleted FB, instagram, twitter etc. As a result, almost instantly, I lost all my friends - they actually thought by deleting their existence from my life online, I was getting rid of them from my life. They all shunned me, even though I explained I was just deleting FB.
For the first week or two it was hard. Muscle memory almost makes you type "fa" into mozilla and go on facebook.

After this I got bored so spent my free time outside, walking, at the beach etc. And work got more productive.

I would say for a life decision it was one of the best.

I was forced to go back on FB recently, both for access to FB Power Editor and for a friendship/acquaintance I have with the local dog walking group. And now it makes me anxious. I cannot stand to have FB friends. I hate that kind of openness, that transparancy, that lack of privacy in my life. I co ordinate with the main guy of the dog walking club, I have him as an FB friend, people keep adding me, even hot looking women (I am single) and I click decline to all. I get panic attacks when people message me. It is crazy. But people think if you have 1 friend you are a loser... or if you don't post up what you ate for tea, what car you drive, what watch you wear.... the list goes on.

I am so glad and appreciative to have been at school between the 90's and early 2000's, when there was no FB, no camera phones. I really feel sorry for the iPhone generation.

I suppose I'm on the generation on the verge of being the iPhone generation. Social Media can definitely suck. Suck life, suck time, suck focus, suck peace.

That being said @MJ DeMarco, it's like any other power tool or vice. Undeniably useful, necessary even. Fun(?). But misused will just as readily cut your arm off. But should you fear power tools? No... just be mindful of them.

I think there are statistics that are promising... drops in social media usage. And young kids who seem to be finding a balance.

tl;dr: Don't be afraid of social media. Fear isn't your M.O. Learn to use, learn to harness it, learn to let its impact on you be small.

 

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[andyhaus44]

My wife has worked at a daycare for almost 10 years, and says that the 4 and 5 year olds she have now (vs. when she started), have zero imagination. None. They don't even know how to play with toys.

She says that our 2-year-old is leaps and bounds above them in this area (she gets close to zero screen time).


It's just really sad.

Thank you for sharing this! You inspired me - in the morning, I used to have the TV on in the morning for my son but now I have it off and read him books instead

 

[amp0193]

What I find interesting is the development of high end dumb phones.

Best Basic Punkt Dumb Mobile Phones without Internet - Modern Non Smartphone technology
Light Phone 2

1998 functionality with 2018 aesthetics. For $300.

That actually looks really nice.

 

[Raoul Duke]

Everything is going according to plan.

 

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[amp0193]

At what age you guys think Cell Phone should be introduced to a kid ?

High school.

You're driving, you get a phone.

No reason to have one earlier.

 

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[Zcott]

It has the great potential to ruin a generation. There's dopamine every other second. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc., scroll down your phone and you get is

Dopamine
Dopamine
Dopamine
Dopamine
Dopamine
Dopamine
Dopamine
Dopamine
Dopamine


We don't even know the long term effects of this on public health. Smart phones have been out for 10 years, we don't know what it'll be like in 40 to 50 years time. However, I think society is becoming more aware of the health risks and no longer just stereotypical adults bemoaning a younger generation and 'kids stuck to their phones.' I imagine in the next 5 years we will see an increase in health risks to phone use.

But it's a difficult warning to convey. Compare it to smoking and drinking. They are obvious; it is a single action which has a consequence. You wouldn't think that with mobile phones because you are not putting a physical substance into your body. 'Facebook is bad? Lol no, I'm just seeing what my friends are upto,' 'I'm just checking Maps to know where I'm going,' 'Hey I got a snapchat.' That's reasonable but your brain also just sees dopamine dopamine dopamine. It is subliminal.

I have problems with it too, but I am aware and work on it. Sometimes it frustrates me. I can browse Facebook for a few seconds on my computer, leave the room to go boil the kettle or something and I'll find myself on Facebook, and I'm there like 'WHY ARE YOU ON HERE?! YOU WERE HERE LITERALLY 10 SECONDS AGO AND FOR NO REASON' to myself.

 

[AllenCrawley]

I'm sorry but, where's Cabo? I'm not sure if its because the language but I don't know where is that place unless it is here in Spain

Cabo San Lucas - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Deleted69685]

I've changed the thread title from "destroyed a generation" to "destroyed humanity" ... I've been in Cabo for the last week and witnessed some smartphone insanity to the point a couple of children almost died a tragic death.

Will tell the story when I get back.

Yes looking forward to hearing about this but I can already imagine...

One thing my husband and I are very adamant on is NO PHONES around our children. They will not use them nor be exposed to them until they are sufficiently mentally and physically developed. I owe them that much as a parent. It is absolutely devastating to see kids as old as 2-3 years of age using a phone! Never even got a chance did they!

 

[CycleGuy]

I can understand the mental development issues that could potentially be caused by young people being plugged in 24/7.
I still think the good outweighs the bad. Emergency situations and gps come to mind.

Also how many of us on this board rely on a large portion of our revenue from mobile traffic/mobile advertising?
I just checked google analytics and 69% of my website traffic comes from mobile devices. Less than 3 years ago it was 50% vs 50%.
Cheap technology has allowed all types of people to access information at their fingertips.

We all need to make sure we take personal responsibility in making sure our children or future children can socially function in person to person interactions.

Sales and communication skills will become valued in a few years when these kids become adults and many cannot speak in public due to social anxiety.
I will personally make sure my future children can communicate in a normal manner.

 

[rollerskates]

I went to the doctor yesterday and had about 5 minutes in the waiting room.

EVERYONE IN THE WAITING ROOM HAD THEIR HEADS DOWN SWIPING AND TAPPING INTO THEIR SMART PHONE.

NO ONE LOOKED UP, NOR AT ONE ANOTHER.

And here's the hook...

Every single person in that room was at least 40 and older.

This isn't just about a millenials or young people, it's about humanity.

I am guilty of this, but I have my face in my tablet in a book. In all fairness, I have spent a great deal of time at doctor's offices in the past year and a half and it's not like I needed to only be distracted for a few minutes. It's like "going for x kind of appt, need 2 books, going for y, need only 1 book"

Besides, you'd want me to have TMF and UNSCRIPTED with me, wouldn't you?

 

[OldFaithful]

Excellent article, and timely for those of us with young families.

BTW, it's a summary of a new book: "This article has been adapted from Jean M. Twenge's forthcoming book, iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy—and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood—and What That Means for the Rest of Us." The specific studies & data might be found in the bibliography of the book.

 

[PickOcean]

look at the bright side, maybe smartphones have decreased teen pregnancies

I am tonight, replaceing my teenage daugters flip phone, for a smart phone....

This i my attempt at dry humor...sorta

 

[TheRegalMachine]

Sometimes I feel like it's a "blame the item/activity/whatever" scapegoat mentality in play when I see articles and studies like this.
In the end you're piling resposibility on an inanimate object instead of the underlying issue.
Just a few decades ago it was video games, then TV, or music, or comic books.
Until the people closest to children get their shit together it's just another finger point after the other.

 

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[FreeMan]

A long read but interesting article on some of the people who initially created and are now disconnecting from these addictive technologies in the race for our attention.

'Our minds can be hijacked': the tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia

• “Each time you’re swiping down, it’s like a slot machine,” Harris says. “You don’t know what’s coming next. Sometimes it’s a beautiful photo. Sometimes it’s just an ad.”

 

[Kruiser]

What I find interesting is the development of high end dumb phones.

Best Basic Punkt Dumb Mobile Phones without Internet - Modern Non Smartphone technology
Light Phone 2

1998 functionality with 2018 aesthetics. For $300.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

This video hits the nail on the head...

Dude is spot on, I feel like he swiped the words right out of my mouth.

 

[amp0193]

Being a 'millennial' all of my social stuff comes through my phone, so it's stopped me because of FOMO.

I was the last holdout of my friends to get texting enabled. I really didn't want it.

But after I missed the 3rd ultimate frisbee game in college, with friends saying "didn't you get my text", I had to cave and add an sms plan.

You don't want to isolate yourself from those that you care about... but figure out what's important and what's not, and cut out the bullshit.

 

[GoGetter24]

She has to teach her 4 year olds how to play with toys. They literally don't know how.

No doubt this will all end with "the government has to regulate it".

I.e., we shouldn't just simply stop being child-abusing, garbageparents; someone else should fix the problem.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

How overparenting in America has created a generation of snowflakes

Inside article: Smartphone partly to blame.

 

[Solais]

What's funny is, we have the exact opposite happening.

Parents are getting CPS called on them for letting their kids play outside, walk the dog, sit in the car, ride the bus, or go to the playground.

The ones getting in trouble, are the ones doing it right.

It's madness.

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

 

[Zcott]

I spent an hour on the stairmaster yesterday and the machines are elevated at the back of the gym giving me a clear view of the gym.

As the workout winded down I got bored and just start doing some people watching. I noticed three girls, I'm guessing 20 or so, went from machine to machine. 5 minutes on treadmill, 5 minutes on elliptical, 5 minutes next to me on stairmaster, 5 minutes at the water fountain to chit-chat. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought I was at Chucky Cheese the way they hopped from machine to machine. Granted, none of them exercised with any intensity, broke any kind of sweat and it was like they were just on the machines to be on there.

It was like they used the gym as a buffet to be sampled.

I came to the conclusion that they were utilizing the machines exactly how they're used to consuming life... swipe, swipe, swipe; click, click, click; channel flip, channel flip, channel flip. So here it's machine, machine, machine.

Nothing gets any real attention or focus because there's always the fear that you're missing out on something better.

And to make it worse, you know there's a strong chance that they were snapchatting or instagraming it too. If I see someone do this at the gym and I'm on a machine behind them I try to get in their selfie with a stupid face.

On a side note, related to this topic, I've noticed that there's been a growth of what I call an internet personality. It's people who can't be themselves and adopt what they see online as if they think that is their own, original personality. You know the type, 'pizza is life,' 'tacos are life,' 'netflix is life,' 'omg pugs are life.' They think they're being cool and unique but they're such a buzz kill.

 

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[handog]

It hit me years ago when I was out camping. I love to camp. I remember days when everyone sat around the camp fire told stories and laughed. It's much less social these days. People still socialize but now when I sit around a camp fire and it's silent I look around and see everyone glued to their phones. Times have changed.

 

[kkoasdfawfqwe2]

Nothing gets any real attention or focus because there's always the fear that you're missing out on something better.

As a 22 year old myself I can tell you, despite being aware of exactly how all of this affects people and myself, I still get this FOMO to times.

I have been doing pretty well for myself in 2018 and YET I find myself certain days a month where I feel like shit and feel like I'm missing out on something that could be even better or be even more!

First I concluded that it was simply because I'm too ambitious, but I can feel deep in myself that this is not the truth, and it was more likely a cover lie to myself in order to feel better or avoid that bad feeling.

The truth is that I also get affected when the world around me looks more succesful and better than what my life is.

It scares me that I get so affected despite knowing that most of these SOME flexers are sidewalkers or straight up pretenders.

I imagine what people in a worse situation than me can feel, laying on their couch browsing Instagram filled with people wearing Rolex, driving Porsches and flexing in front of huge estates, after a whole week of working a shitty job and yet broke and with no plan for their future in sight.

I am not putting kids into this world before I get a clue on how to deal with this myself first, thats for sure.

 

[amp0193]

I keep my phone on silent and turned off the blinking LED notification light.

Really cuts down on the dopamine addiction. Not practical for some people due to work/family issues, but it works for me.

A good tip @LightHouse gave me was putting the phone on do not disturb, but then setting a handful of people to come through all the time.

That was a good solution for me. I can get my wife's calls, and my 800 number calls, but block everything else.

 

[Zcott]

I was looking for this thread!

I deleted Facebook off my phone and I've had nothing but improvements. Only on my phone for specific things now and not pointless scrolling.

It's kinda funny when you delete it. Your body/mind is in the habit of just going on your phone and you habitually go on Facebook without thinking. But when you delete it, for the first bit, you still have the habit of going on your phone and when you realise there's no Facebook your mind is like 'oh, right, yeah,... uhm, what should I do?' Now I don't even think about facebook of social media, allowing me to think about actual things in my life.

However I also feel a sadness when I see people on their phones, mindlessly scrolling like zombie hooked up to a heroin machine... Bit dramatic, I know, but still...

 

[Richard Peck]

The internet as religious experience

Religion is in the ascendant across the world, but it has a new, powerful rival - the internet.

www.bbc.co.uk

Interesting take the British ministry of propaganda - likening the draw of Smartphones to that of religions.

I highlighted this idea in the branding post I have almost finished:

Ultimately, the draw of "smartphones" is people.

Their "USP" is the ability to interact with, learn from, and be inspired by the most vibrant, valuable and interesting people in the world. The majority of "killer apps" on smartphones revolve around people. Some don't, but most do.

If they were like PC's of the 90's (no Internet), they'd not be as popular (their value is portability, not compute resource); it was only with the introduction of the addicting "people-centric" applications that it became - as the article alludes - an opiate of the people.

I think of them as the largest online multiplayer game ever created... with every "like", "view", "subscription" and "purchase" being a metric in the ever-evolving tumult. Lesser-willed people succumb to its grasp, sucked into trying to build a fake life in the constant hunt for stronger metrics... humblebragging their way through Dubai etc.

It explains the likes of this:

Huge crowds and queues as Mrs Hinch meets fans in Liverpool

Fans couldn't wait to catch a glimpse of the cleaning sensation

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

Sheeple queuing to see their "hero".......... a middle aged woman who "built a huge instagram following" sharing............. cleaning advice. Think about that. Cleaning advice. And they went out in the rain to "meet" her.

All those Instagram pics of luxury locations, "beautiful people" are levels inside the game. All those garish "Supreme" products and other overpriced crap? Colourful armour that gives you +10% protection (or whatever it is).

You are the character and your digital "presence" is the means through which you're able to keep track of its progress. Just like in World of Warcraft, you go on "quests" (travelling), fulfill missions (gym/productivity) and generally work on improving your metrics so you - too - can finally be lvl 100 and able to defeat the biggest bosses in the world... except the bosses aren't real, and your shitty job won't change just because you "finally hit 30k on the gram".

I believe the main issue is they have essentially created a hyper-reality, with ever more attractive, sexualized, interesting, stimulating experiences found through the digital world. Whilst entrepreneurs can take advantage of this (which I have been working on myself), the majority of script-goers are using it to fill their brains with shit.

The addiction isn't to the phones themselves, they're just the window to the world of temptation within. The article alludes to the idea that each of the experiences created around a core community (which you may argue this forum is a part of) has created a series of different congregations, all following mini "cult" leaders. This is a core element of human behaviour, and has existed for millennia.

The difference today is that with everybody eager for their 15 minutes, the bar is falling ever lower...

Love Island refusing to air sex scenes over fears of 'ruining islanders' lives'

Love Island couples are having sex but ITV bosses won't air the scenes.

metro.co.uk

Love Island stars have set up companies while in the villa to cash in on their fame

LOVE Island stars including Curtis Pritchard, Amber Gill and Joanna Chimonides have set up companies while in the villa. The reality stars look like they’re just getting tans, but many are al…

www.thesun.co.uk

MJ (the cult leader of this community) obviously has highlighted his take on the world, and the community has evolved around it.

 

[Kade]

Ultimately, the draw of "smartphones" is people.

I would argue it is far more basic than that.
It is humanity's inherent need to be distracted from one's own life.
Music, video games, instagram story updates, etc...
Would be really cool to be able to live in a world without all this, but it is what it is-

I believe the main issue is they have essentially created a hyper-reality, with ever more attractive, sexualized, interesting, stimulating experiences found through the digital world.

I believe the main issue is that people don't learn to use their brain, and reflect, because they constantly absorb information but don't digest it. Cognitive obesity. We are spending all our time looking at interactive screens. Hell, 2 generations ago, these things didn't even exist.

As a consequence we are missing out on a big part of what people of prior generations would consider "living".

Have Smartphones Destroyed A Generation?
Yes and it also created the greatest consumer generation ever.
Which is good for the economy (in the short term ?)

 

[Deleted69685]

The clue is in the name. Smartphones are great for people who are not that smart i.e. who cannot figure out a terrain without a google map, who cannot maintain relationships without constant contact, who don't value their time, who think that all answers to life/business problems are on google search engine (and actually take that as gospel!), who rely on stimulation/have addictive personalities, who need to be needed, who constantly seek external approval etc etc.

A while ago, I owed a smartphone for personal use - it numbed my creativity, stole my time, ruined my relationships. I got rid of it 3 years ago and never looked back. I often wonder if smartphones were designed to take away our fundamental survival skills (as if television wasn't enough to brain-wash us).

Early on in my smartphone-free days, I found that my focus and concentration increased sharply, amongst other things. Now I have one rule only - I only use a phone/internet to 'make money' and that is it. It is not using me, I am using it.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

curious about this..

Totally forgot, I'll try to write it up this weekend.