Our Cell Phone Culture
Can you remember life before cell phones?
A time when if you wanted to get in touch with someone, you had to leave a message, and (gasp!) wait until they returned home to call you back?
A time before digital contact lists, when you memorized your friend’s phone numbers?
A time when if you planned to meet someone at a specific time and they were late, you’d just have to hang around until they got there? A time when you might have sat in silence, read a book, or chatted with someone nearby, instead of instantly grabbing to send a text or check e-mail?
It’s hard to imagine, but just give it a try: can you remember life before you had a device with you, at all times, everywhere you go?
Today’s post is about the gadget that has wormed its way into the life of over 80% of American’s lives, and explores what it’s like to live in a world where quiet, un-connected moments are few and far between, increasingly replaced by the twitter of texts and cell phone chatter. Guest poster SCU student Chris Kelly explores this everpresent issue in his article Smartphones Distract From Reality, writing that cell phones are “changing the way we think about free time.” Chris’s article, ahead.
Chris Kelly is an English major and a Senior at Santa Clara University. This post is adapted from his article, “Smartphones Distract From Reality“, which originally appeared in SCU’s newspaper The Santa Clara. He can be reached at crkelly@scu.edu.
Smartphones Distract From Reality
It’s annoying, but I find myself doing it. No, it’s not sleeping through the alarm clock or spilling instant oatmeal on my shirt in the morning. It’s that five-minute filler, that substitute for silence.
As far as I am concerned, iPhones and other products of the like are now cooler than neon spandex was in the 1980s or Kanye West’s music is to the current white middle class. I do not personally own an iPhone or Blackberry, but that does not keep me from participating in useless phone conversations in order to kill time. With or without high-tech cell phones, kids, parents, businessmen, the people who steam your lattes and yes, the rest of the world, are changing the way we think about free time.
Modern society is slowly eliminating what we often define as peacefulness, only to replace it with unnecessary, superficial conversation and web surfing.A college campus, office building or busy city street are perfect locations to witness firsthand how modern society is slowly eliminating what we often define as peacefulness, only to replace it with unnecessary, superficial conversation and web surfing.
How often do you overhear someone on the phone orating something along the lines of “O hey, watcha doin? Nothing? O, me either,” while you, by yourself, are walking peacefully? Tranquility, apparently, has lost its stock value, while looking like Ari Gold from Entourage and keeping extremely busy has broken the glass ceiling of coolness.
While normal texts and conversations are socially acceptable, tethered technologies, such as the Blackberry and iPhone, are the power tools that are constructing the barrier between ourselves and the traditional daily events to which we are accustomed, such as face to face conversation and, more importantly, paying attention to our superiors during college classes and office meetings, instead of the YouTube shenanigans playing on our hand-held screens.
According to Apple, over 16 million Americans owned an iPhone as of last June. I cannot imagine that the Blackberry is very far behind, and I can guarantee that Santa Clara University represents a couple thousand of those in active use and another couple hundred that are now broken from using them incidentally as coasters, bottle openers and napkins. In any case, they are being used as much as 15-cent ramen packets are used in my kitchen.
The infatuation with these phones is not difficult to understand. There are certain tools and games that are simply addictive. How about those crafty widgets? They are the solution to avoiding that moral obligation we call responsibility or using that difficult thing we call a memory. Can’t spell? No problem. Don’t want a real hamster? Put a digital one on your phone, name him Lemmingwinks and feed him when you feel like it; he will not die if your phone runs out of battery.
Maybe, if we are lucky, we will whimsically fall back into the Dark Ages and barbarians will come burn all our books and sack our cities while we drink mead and reinvent the feudal system.
There are, however, plenty of advantages to these dangerous technologies. For example, the new Apple “bump widget,” which allows you to physically bump your iPhone against another iPhone and exchange contact information.
So next time you are walking by yourself to the library or to your favorite sandwhich shop, instead of screaming out “my friend likes you!” when you see that beautiful girl carrying an iPhone, you can just bump into her and say “Oh, hey, look at that, I got your number, we might as well make this work.”
My personal favorite widget was created by Jordan Palmer (no, not Carson Palmer, his brother). It’s called Run and Pee, a comprehensive list of convenient times to visit the bathroom while watching a movie at the theatre.
Though the program has yet to be officially approved by Apple, I have approved it as totally hilarious and totally necessary for those who order a liter of cola at the concession stand.
So should we continue to embrace these technologies with eager fingers? Maybe, but the next time you find yourself walking to wherever it is that you walk, creeped out by the tranquility that surrounds you, just remember that it’s natural, even healthy, and at the end of the day remember: no one really likes Ari Gold.
I think Chris is spot on that people are increasingly “creeped out” by tranquility; everywhere you look, people are glued to their cell phones, and it has become harder and harder to just sit in silence for a few minutes without feeling the urge to check your phone, send a quick message, or search through your phone mindlessly until the period of waiting is over. Haven’t we all had the experience of waiting for a friend to show up or for a class to start, when we pull out our cell phone and start messaging someone, simply because it feels awkward just sitting there? Tranquility, as Chris says, has lost its stock value: cell phones have bred a culture where it is simply uncomfortable to sit alone without being (or even just looking) busy. Moments of downtime that perhaps used to be time for quiet thought or a casual conversation with someone nearby are now filled to the brim with ‘texts’ and ‘widgets’ — it seems there’s not a moment that goes by now that can’t be occupied by this tethered technological gadget.
Chris’s article also brings to mind a few interesting points about our “cell phone society”, about the way cell phones have affected communal spaces and how they have changed how we interact with one another. His comment that cell phones “are constructing the barrier between ourselves and the traditional daily events to which we are accustomed” reminds me of an article by Christine Rosen called, “Our Cell Phones, Ourselves,” in which she writes that cell phones have led to a “radical disengagement in the public sphere” wherein people sacrifice not only etiquette, but also engagement in the world around them as a result of being so cell-phone centric. Standing in lines at the supermarket chatting away, sitting in coffee shops hooked into our text messages, conducting conversations in person while checking our phones every other minute: cell phones have caused us to become “absently present”— physically in a place but mentally absent, off in another world preoccupied by our phones.
This “absent presence” is all too common on college campuses, as Chris writes, where students are glued to their cell phones, chatting or texting, paying attention to their miniature screens instead of what is actually going on around them. It can be almost comical to observe “absent presence” in the classroom, where rows of students are eagerly texting away on their cell phones before, after, and during breaks in classes, often at the expense of talking to their peers sitting right next to them. Indeed, everyone in the room is having a conversation: however, it’s not with each other, but with the network of people they are connected to on their phones. What effect does this have on classroom dynamics? On how a community functions as a whole? Psychologist Kenneth Gergen thinks that this erosion of face-to-face community is a moral failing; Rosen adds, “It would be a terrible irony if “being connected” required or encouraged a disconnection from community life — an erosion of the spontaneous encounters and everyday decencies that make society both civilized and tolerable.” Is there merit to Gergen and Rosen’s point? Are our cell phone habits harmless time fillers, or are they actually contributing to the degradation of community life?
It may seem like no big deal to whip out your cell phone during these periods of “downtime” in your day…but it is interesting to consider the opportunity cost of these moments that are now busied by “superficial conversations and websurfing”–moments when we used to be able to let our minds wander, or might have struck up a conversation with an actual person nearby. When you think about life before cell phones, are there aspects of it that you think would be wise to regain? In being so technologically connected, what other connections are we losing as a result?
Questions:
Have cell phones changed the way you experience “downtime” throughout your day? Have you ever tried to go “cell-phone-less” and if so, what effect did it have on what you thought about or did when you would have otherwise been on your phone?
Sad to say but I’m one of those students who pull out the cell phone and pretend to be busy when waiting for a friend or waiting for class to start. I personally hate the feeling of waiting around and not doing anything especially in an uncomfortable situation. The need to have my cell phone at hand just started when I bought my first iphone. When I’m not talking to a friend or relative, I’m texting, browsing the web, looking at photos, listening to music, reading my emails, or even changing the settings on my phone. I’m so hooked on it that if I forget it at home I’ll go back for it as soon as I get the chance. Having a cell phone has definitely changed the way I spend downtime. I can’t even remember what I used to do before I got one. I probably watched T.V., spent enough time on my homework, ate with family and conversed with them and most importantly paid more attention to my surroundings. I can’t even count the number of times that I almost got hit by a car because I wasn’t paying attention. Because I’m hooked on my phone I’ve tried going cell-phone-less or at least something close to that. I’ve turned it off for a couple hours and try focusing on more important things. It’ll be interesting to see how I do without it when I travel outside the United States.
I have to begin my saying that the line “iPhones and other products of the like are now cooler than neon spandex was in the 1980s or Kanye West’s music is to the current white middle class.” was genius. Bravo Chris Kelly.
But back to the question at hand.
Cell phones have changed everything, and yes that does include “downtime”. I do any number of things throughout my day when there is a spare moment. I have gone days back to back without my cell phone and there was an element of being freed. Without my cell phone there was a clear feeling of having less responsibility. I also had a strong lack of time; not feeling rushed or pressured to be anywhere. Now that the discussion question has been answered I have a follow up question. Why does it matter that people can not go a day without their cell phone?
To answer my own question I bring for the argument that people should not attempt to go a day without their cell phone. I believe that social networking, texting, and other modern social devices are heavily befitting society. People are being more social then before by spending so much time on their cell phones. By spending so much time on my phone I have been able to make more connections with more people. A casual conversation of “Hey. Whats up?” can easily turn into “I’m having the worst day in my life” to finally “Thanks for listening”. Texting, for example, has allowed me to take part in a support system that is not limited by geographic location.
The tone of this post and its question are focused around the assumption that cell phones are limiting social connections for the worse. However, cell phones are not limiting but allowing for deeper social connections with more people. The truth is that social structures are changing. So is it really important if you talk to the person next to you? No. “‘It may seem like no big deal to whip out your cell phone during these periods of ‘downtime’ in your day…but it is interesting to consider the opportunity cost of these moments that are now busied by “superficial conversations and websurfing’–moments when we used to be able to let our minds wander, or might have struck up a conversation with an actual person nearby.” This never happens. The reason that people started texting instead of waiting for this miracle moment is that they never happen. The entire idea of person A meeting person B on the street and them ending up having a meaningful relationship, of any sort, is archaic.
I have rambled for way too long on this. My points are the following
1) Over the course of any given day I will spend most of my “downtime” texting.
2) I have gone without my phone and it gave me a sense of enhanced freedom.
3) The connections strengthened/made in todays cellphone society are better then those made by picking up casual conversations.
4) The idea of meeting someone whom you will have a meaningful relationship on the street is adorable. People tried not talking on their cell phones and instead talking to random people on the street and it did not work. People did not find the key to whatever it is we are looking for.
I would have to disagree with the belief that going without a cell phone gives one a greater sense of freedom. I think that many would agree with me in thinking that, if anything, going without a cell phone gives almost a sense of anxiety and distress. On the few occasions when I have went without my cell phone it felt like I was missing something. My thoughts were filled with whether someone was going to try and call or text me in an emergency (or even just because) and I would miss it. So it seems that even without this distraction of busying yourself with a cell phone, you are distracted at the absence of it. I think this just goes to prove the point that the article is trying to make on the dependency we are forming for cell phones.
Another response to this reply that I would like to touch on is the idea that technologies are expanding our connections instead of limiting them. While I do agree that cell phones allow us to stay connected to many more people, I believe that the quality of these connections are the problem. Typing a message to someone is a completely different experience than sitting down and having a meaningful “heart to heart” conversation with someone in person. I often find that it is easier to text someone than to talk to them in person, especially if it is on a tough issue. I think that this article is correct in saying that this dependency on cell phones generally takes away from our communication skills and our relationships with the people around me. Not to mention the annoyance that washes over you when you are trying to have a conversation with someone that is texting instead of listening to what you have to say.
Christine presents a very valid point in her comment about an enhanced sense of anxiety that comes with not having your cell phone with you. I am a runner, and I never take my cell phone with me when I go for a run, and it also doesn’t really enter into my thoughts as I am running, but as soon as I finish one of the first things that I do is check to see if I missed a call, or a text, and on top of that there seems to be a feeling of disappointment that comes if there wasn’t something missed. It’s as if our self confidence or feeling of popularity is attached to how many messages we receive in a day. It is of course an empirical way to measure how much other people are thinking about us on a daily basis, but it also devalues the relationship and the message that the person is trying to convey. There is a focus on quantity of relationships, rather than quality, which is a point I would take up with Jorge.
I understand that the original intent of the cell phone and other social networking technologies was to increase and enhance human social interaction. It has done this, to the great benefit of society. Now a mother can talk to her son that goes to college on the other side of the country, or a dad can talk to his kids while he’s on business half a world away. People serving in the armed forces can instantly reconnect with loved ones back home to reassure them of their safety and well being. All these social benefits and more have come with communication technologies such as the cell phone. However, to say that it has increased social interaction would be a lie. It still requires that “archaic model” of meeting someone on the street and striking up a conversation with them in order to even get their number so that you can have future conversations via text. Therefore there is a danger to cell phones limiting the growth of new social interaction. I’m not referring to talking to random strangers on the bus or walking down the street, but it has grown increasingly more difficult to strike up a conversation with the person that you’re sitting through a boring lecture with because their cell phone is blowing up. Not to mention conversational skills can be sacrificed when a person becomes used to being able to calculate their response and take their time answering. I have many friends that are hilarious and witty over their texts, but on the spot face to face they are pretty awkward. There is validity to the concerns that Chris is raising, and we should pay attention to the wide use of cell phones and not forget the social ramifications that come from being “cell-phone junkies.”
I although I do not disagree with Jorge that cell phones are indeed a useful and somewhat necessary tool in our present day I will say that they have had some negative effects on our society’s social dynamic. One of the more visible issues with cell phones it their increased usage at the family dinner table, and it brings up an interesting social dilemma: should I be offended if a friend or family member is sitting across from me and texting? Do you value the company of the person you are texting over mine? By virtue of my being here shouldn’t I come to expect more attention? Its happened to everybody, you are in the middle of an extremely stimulating conversation and then the other person’s phone buzzes. All of the sudden they are murmuring and stumbling, and at that point you know that they are weighing the importance of talking with you against texting the other individual. Most often they attempt to do both in which case the conversation tends to lose all intellectual worth as they simultaneously text their friend back and you are left hoping that their friend needs to ask a simple question that can be answered in one quick text. Either way the process is degrading and absolutely avoidable. If I spotted a friend chatting with someone I would wait until they were finished and then proceed to say hi, but with texting it is as if the individual barges into our conversation. In social situations like the one I described the blame should be put on the individual who answers their phone, and naturally begs the question: “why would they do it?” The reason lies behind the very essence of the Blackberry and iPhone, which is to maximize the efficiency of man and to that end make as much possibly available to him at anytime. Our desire to be more efficient and more productive has introduced new and unusual social implications into our lives and it is just a part of technology. Ari Gold is viewed positively because he reflects a hard working and productive persona that is typically more desirable than that of a Johnny Drama-type individual who seldom has anything to do. Although Chris proposes a completely logical idea, that we separate ourselves from our cell phones a little more, it proves less productive and in this case technology is dictating the direction our social dynamic is heading and it seems to be out of our control.
I think that this was a very insightful response. I find myself very frustrated with those same individuals who attempt to text some person while they also intend to have a meaningful conversation with me. I can relate almost precisely to the situation that Kevin presents, the friend who begins a conversation with me and then quite rudely dismisses his or her mind from the discussion to try to have another conversation with someone through a cell phone. This, I believe, as Kevin states, is “absolutely avoidable”. To allow a technological device like a cell phone to let you virtually ignore another individual is absurd. What kind of courtesy is this? Had that “friend” decided to do that with another person mid-sentence rather than through a text message that would be very rude. But is it not rude when it is done through a cell-phone. It’s just a text message right? No.
In this situation, both relationships and conversations are diminished. The discussion between the two individuals who are face to face practically diminishes once the “friend” decides he or she would rather text than have enough courtesy to answer with a well thought out response. The text message was probably, in most cases, also rushed and not well-thought out. A text message is already distanced and detached. To answer a text message with a one or two word response shows just how much effort was put into giving a response.
I must admit that I am very dependent on my cell phone. The times where I have gone “cell-phone-less” were not by choice. Those times I have found myself moving to other technologies to replace the absence of my phone. The idea of “absent presence” I think goes along with other forms of technology as well. We have created a virtual world that we continually get sucked into, slowly pulling us away from reality. By only talking to people through text message or by phone we are losing the face-to-face interactions which are beneficial to our growth. Having direct conversations stimulates thought because it requires immediate response, whereas if we receive a text message or an email on our phone we can take our time to really think everything out. Like egonzalez said, I honestly can’t remember what I did before I had a cell phone; and now that I have a blackberry which allows me to access internet, messaging, games, etc. I don’t think I would be able to last without my phone for more than a couple days, if even.
I’ve never wanted to be a person who depends on their cell-phone on a daily basis. I strive to not be the girl standing outside of the classroom before class starts, viciously typing on her cell-phone keyboard. However, I see people doing this every day and I can not honestly say that I am “addicted” to my cell phone. I’ve gone through countless numbers of cell-phones and each new one I get becomes more and more a part of my everyday life. In fact, it has gotten to the point where if I am with out my cell phone I feel awkward, as if something is missing. I would hate to say that my cell phone has become a part of me but it surely is coming close to this sort of phenomenon. After typing this all out and realizing how cell-phone dependent I truly am, I sort of feeling like banging my head against a wall repeatedly.
My cell phone has definitely changed the way I experience downtime. I leave my cell phone on at all times, even during the night when I’m sleeping. I want to feel like I have constant contact with others and can reach them whenever necessary. In honesty, my downtime isn’t really downtime at all. I’m still engaged in the ongoing world outside of my dorm room where I am napping or just relaxing for an hour or two. I’m not sure if “downtime” is the same as what it used to be. A decade or so ago, I feel like downtime meant time to oneself ,with out having to deal with interruptions from others. One could lay back, forget about the world for a while, and have some time to just BE. This doesn’t seem like a possibility anymore. People, including myself, seem to hung up in their social lives (work, family, friends, events) that they wouldn’t risk giving up for a significant period of time. Chris Kelly illustrates the impossibility of humanity to be able to take a step back: “Maybe, if we are lucky, we will whimsically fall back into the Dark Ages and barbarians will come burn all our books and sack our cities while we drink mead and reinvent the feudal system.”Obviously, there is little chance that this hope will actually come true.
I have never tried to purposely go cell-phone less. However, there have been a few times when I have turned off my phone for a few minutes because I noticed myself being so preoccupied with waiting to receive a text message or a call. This helped because I knew that my phone wasn’t going to go off and the only way to know if something did come in was to turn on my phone and check. Nonetheless, that feeling of anxiousness remains whether I am to leave my phone on or off. On the other hand, I don’t like turning my phone off in case of emergencies. I would feel horrible if I missed something important if because my phone wasn’t on. While this seems valid, I often wonder where the end is. Am I going to have my cell phone glued to my hand pretty soon, just to make sure I am always connected to the world around me? Will I start feeling guilty if, at the end of the day, I am tired and just want to turn off my phone and isolate myself for a while? Do other people have these thoughts? It’s obvious that I have fallen into the black hole of cell-phone life. I wonder if there is an end to it, or whether it will only continue to grow worse from here on out.
I don’t think we see how dependent we are on technology as a whole until we try to think about what our lives were like before we had it. I’ve always liked that I try not to go along with the new technological trends, but when it comes to my cell phone I can’t resist. I never realized how many cell phones I go through and how I use it as my main connection to my friends and family. My cell phone is attached to me wherever I go and not only do I feel the same sense of uneasiness that you mentioned, but I don’t like when other people try to use my phone. It has become such a personal part of my life and contains not only conversations with my friends but pictures, videos, emails, etc. It’s as if by someone taking my cell phone they are getting an inside look on my life. So I’m sad to say I probably would have a hard time carrying on my everyday activities without one.
As I read Chris’ article, it was uncomfortably spot on of how my peers, community, and I live our lives everyday. Even as I sit here in the library contemplating the validity of what I read, I look around and see fifty percent of people on Blackberrys and iPhones. Most likely, another thirty percent is probably on Facebook communicating through our ever present technological resources. I reflect on the idea “absently present,” and it resonates very deeply within me. There has been so many times where I am having a very significant conversation with a friend, and he or she is texting. Every now and then they will nod their head or say, “Yes, I totally agree,” when in reality they are not listening at all, consumed in their text or email on their blackberry. Or, I will be in a social situation or party, and there never fails to be the awkward, token person in the corner texting, not really engaging or “being present.” I laugh as I think about how I skyped with my friend in the next dorm building just the other day, only because I was bored alone in my room and too lazy to walk over to her room.
This recognition of Chris’ idea in my everyday life is somewhat disturbing. What lasting consequences will our addiction to texting, emailing, and lack of tranquility have? Hopefully not what I fear: The value of face to face conversation being compromised. My Dad has a strict no texting policy at the dinner table, and although at times this rule is somewhat irritating, I truly value it because it allows me to talk to my family about their days without the use of any technology. The feeling of a long face to face conversation is incomparable to any type of technological conversation and I hope people don’t forget that. If they do forget that, their quality of life and quality of relationships will be severely decreased.
I totally agree that people are afraid of the quiet and consider it awkward now. Even I am guilty of walking to class by myself in the quiet and feeling awkward. Because of this, I will call people in my contacts until I get a response. Maybe with this new awareness, I will begin to appreciate the few tranquil, quiet moments I have in my day and be able to proudly walk to class not using my cell phone.