By Nick Perkins
Student Reporter
With the evolution of smartphones, we have information at the tips of our fingers. We can talk to people all across the world with social media, but what does this mean for those sitting right next to us that we ignore to do these things?
A child tries to start a conversation with a parent and the parent just grunts and nods their head, not paying attention to the child and the conversation that they were trying to start, because the parents’ head was stuck in their phone.
Parents take the kids camping to try to spend quality time with them, maybe teach them life lessons and enjoy the time that they might not get back, but the kids are looking at their phones, playing games or texting friends instead of talking with their parents and realizing that these moments will not last forever and there may not be another camping trip.
These are just two examples of how smartphones are distancing people from one another. They are great for communicating with friends, looking up information, using them as maps and playing games, but they are also distancing people who are close and just want to spend time with each other and make memories.
It is ironic that something so liberating is also so desensitizing and mind numbing. People on their phones are like braindead zombies walking around, bumping into stuff and grunting at people who speak to them without realizing that there was even anything said to them.
Smartphones also make it hard for people to focus on just one thing for a long period of time. They are shortening people’s attention span because it is so easy to just pull out a phone and start looking at whatever it is that came across there at that moment instead of just focusing back on whatever it was that was going on at the moment before.
I personally think that smart phones are great but, like anything, there is a good and a bad. For a limited time,
They are a purposeful tool and can help out a lot, but everywhere you look people are almost always looking at their phones doing something while oblivious to everything around them. I am guilty of using my phone more than I should and without thinking about it.
I will find myself looking at social media in line at the supermarket, playing games at my desk before class starts or texting when I am at home watching a movie.
I am not one to pass judgment on people for doing this. Just maybe be more aware of how often you are looking at your phone and think about it every time you pull it out just because you cannot think of anything else to do at the time.
Maybe instead of pulling out your phone next time you are in line or waiting around, try turning to someone and striking up a conversation about something.