2022-08-01

Back in 2017, I made the decision to get rid of my smart phone and
social media. The reason was twofold: I had become addicted to my
phone, and social media (especially Facebook) was making me
miserable. Anyhow, over the last few years, I have noticed a few
things.

1. People expect you to be available 24/7.

Most people are always 'on-line', and expect others to be 'on-line' as
well. It does not matter if it's an email, an SMS, or any other kind
of message; the user is notified as soon as the message is in. This
can create unecessary stress. I monitor my email account twice a day;
once in the morning, and once after work. I have been in a situation
where someone called me on my phone because I hadn't replied to their
email within the next few hours. It is fair to say that people assume
that you receive emails right away, and you're expected to reply as
soon as you can.

2. People use way too many words

My flip phone has a T9 keyboard. For those of you who remember T9
texting, you know that sentences need to be kept short and to the
point. Smartphones allow users to write text much faster. This means
that people can tell you whatever that is going through their minds,
and not think twice about it. T9 is great; you have to be efficient
with your words.

3. People are increasingly multitasking

This is not a joke. The next time you go to a restaurant, look at how
people are staring at their screens while eating. It's become
increasingly difficult to have a meaningful conversation with some
people; they're half listening to what you are saying because they are
too busy looking at their phones. The next time you're driving or
walking, pay attention to the number of people who are looking at
their phones while walking. It's mind-boggling.

4. People have become politically polarised

OK, this may not be entirely social media's fault, but I cannot ignore
the fact that many of my friends, as well as family members have
become more extreme in their political beliefs. It seems to me that
black and white thinking is becoming more common. It may be because
social media platforms push opposing views to the extremes. Emotions
are more popular than critical thinking, that's for sure.

Please note that the aforementioned points are my personal views. They
are not backed up by any scientific evidence.

I would be happy to hear what you have to say.

You can drop me a line at unixl0rd@sdf.org

Cheers,

unixl0rd