Zombie phone society

Many people know that I am a hacker. In this case, many are surprised when I say that I can not tolerate technology. Yes, when I say this, I exaggerate a little. In fact, it just became annoying to me how technologies invade our lives.

If you walked along any crowded streets, I am sure you will understand what I mean. Over the past 3-4 years, the number of people who have stumbled into their smartphones during their walks and completely alienated from the outside world has significantly increased. If a person needs to kill time (or he suffers from procrastination), he plunges into scrolling through endless Facebook, twitter or toggle feeds. Hell, I saw people doing this while watching a TV show, which they had been waiting for the whole week.

Don't get me wrong, technology is a great power that helped us reach amazing heights (we sent people to f *** th moon). But this does not prevent me from thinking that our recent inventions have rather reduced the quality of our life than improved. We have become a society of telephone zombies who have bowed their heads over luminous screens in endless absorption of endless amounts of useless information.
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Obviously, the reason was the recent increase in the number of mobile phones. A survey conducted by Pew Internet shows that 56% of the American adult population owns smartphones. This is a huge number of people in whose pockets are devices with constant access to the Internet. This alone is a basis for abuse, but the root of obsession is what we do on our devices.

While companies such as Apple, Samsung, and HTC are fighting over which devices you use, there are a lot of companies competing for something more important — your attention. Many of these companies receive advertising revenue, so they are interested in using your applications for as long as possible. Think of companies like Facebook, Twitter or, for example, Buzzfeed. These are companies whose income grows in direct proportion to the growing interest of their users. The problem is that getting and keeping our attention is an incredibly easy task, and these companies have been able to gain complete control over it.

Think about it. It is quite possible that a device with Internet access is in your pocket or within reach at any one time. This device has the ability to make sounds or vibrate, notifying you that something important or touching has happened. The device is always ready for use, allowing you to quickly turn it on, read the information and turn it off when you need it or when you want it. In addition, there are companies that are financially interested in that you interact with your device for the maximum possible time and your eyes see as much advertising as possible. Is it any wonder that we have become a society obsessed with our phones?

I am sure that it is because of this that precious cell phones - a source of informational garbage and fast entertainment - began to worry us more than real life. Why endure 30 seconds of boredom, if you can pull out the phone and laugh at the fun gif? We have been turned into a society of Internet addicts who constantly require entertainment from their phones instead of enjoying real people and real life.



It seems to me that the solution to the problem consists of two parts. The first is ourselves. If in what I say, you recognize yourself, think about how you use the Internet and the phone. The next time you pick up the phone, think about what made you do it. Is the reason really so serious as to be distracted from what is happening around you?

I try to convince friends to put their phones away while I'm around. A couple of weeks ago, at a party, I selected and disconnected all the phones, saying that we were going to have a good time with each other, and not with “retarded phones”. At first, my obviously unpleasant prank irritated everyone. However, at the end of the evening, several people approached me and said that they could not fully enjoy the evening, constantly being distracted by the phone ringing in my pocket. By the way, everyone in that company was my close friends, so my behavior did not hurt them. If you decide to repeat this, make sure that the person does not hate you after such a trick!

If you're looking for a less aggressive way to separate a person from a phone, try playing The Phone Stacking Game. The next time you gather in a cafe with friends, fold the phones with the screens down on each other in the center of the table. The first to get the phone from the tower pays for everyone. It's fun and unobtrusive, and no one will consider you an asshole.



The last - if you do not believe me, try it yourself. Turn off the phone for an hour, for a day, it doesn't matter (the main thing is to turn it off completely) and try to fully focus on your surroundings, friends, and affairs. I hope you find in this pastime more meaning than what the phone has to offer. And together we will make this world better, one dark screen after another.