-------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- date: Sat 23 Dec 2023 06:33:40 PM PST -- -- subj: reflections not visible smartphone -- -- auth: bbsing -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- People here (gopher) are more likely to understand some aspect seen in the behavior of obsessive smartphone and social media usage. I don't really know what value the time I spent writing or thinking about what I see and experience. I know I'm not alone with my observations though. I only hope the people using such systems find the presence of others more interesting and valuable than the glitz and glamour they are searching for on their smartphones. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Summary: // // While people are in the company of each other, // they are ignoring the individual[s] they are with, // instead search for others online with their smart // phones. It a sad state of rejection, the scrolling // on the smart phone is the rejection refection they // can't see, and online in some sense feel. // ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Full Story: ======================================================================== ______________________________________________________________________ /\ \ \_| I was sitting in the waiting room before an appointment. In the | | room was a woman in her thirties. After a short moment she put | | her phone to her ear and said, just come in through this door. | | A moment later a man appeared at the door and she let him in. | | Normally you must get rung in to gain access to the internal | | area of the building. The woman commented on his clothes, and | | he replied saying he was in his comfy clothes. His clothes | | seemed fine to me, but they were similar to modern sweat gear, | | with nice running shows that were a shade of brown. | | | | As I sat, I thought about how long it would be before I was | | called, and during that time I glanced at the couple sitting | | across from me. They did not notice my glances. They were | | speaking to each other, all the while not looking at each | | other. It appeared much of their attention was at their | | smartphone. Its a scene we are all becoming very familiar with. | | People who appear to be together in the same space or | | accompanying each other, not really paying or giving attention | | to the person they accompanied. Its such a strange thing. Why | | is it strange to me? | | | | Today is strange how people are so concerned with those that | | are not in their presence. | | | | Lets flash back around the time of AOL (American Online). AOL | | got really big and many people in their late 30's had | | experience with AOL, specifically the chartroom feature. | | People would contact to AOL and sit in chat rooms and talk to | | other people. Later that generation of computer users would go | | on to MySpace, then to Facebook. The common feature is | | connecting with people. They wanted some form of connection | | with others, building their digital profiles and friends list | | to feel connected with others. As time went out Facebook fell | | out of favor for snapchat, and Instagram as younger smartphone | | users entered with digital online space, twitter, and probably | | a host of other friend/people connection platforms grew and | | died, into today. | | | | The people are finding others online and sometimes making real | | world physical connections, but while with or around physical | | people, they are all still sitting/standing/walking with their | | heads in the phone looking for someone to connect with all the | | while forgetting there are people right next to them. Its such | | an odd phenomenon. | | | | The interesting thing to me is how normalized it is and | | accepted it is, and people enamored with online versions of | | others and them selves, while rejecting those next to them. | | The rejection isn't a stated rejection but it is a rejection, | | and as one person pulls out their phone in the presence of | | another, the other person feeling alone also responds with a | | reflection of the behavior the individual is searching to | | escape, in itself is internet in anything or anyone other than | | the individual sitting next to them. | | | | My personal experience: one of our younger friends always wants | | to attend events with us, and so an invite goes out, and | | usually there is six of us hanging out, the person sits and | | scrolls their phone most of the time, and sometimes as | | someone is talking to them, they stop paying attention and look | | at their phone and scroll. Such compulsive behavior. I've found | | a majority of these people have some level of depression. | | | | _________________________________________________________________|_ \_/___________________________________________________________________/