How the smartphone has made us completely disconnected from people and nature
Fred Newton
Partnerships Manager at Gladiator Events I Director at Boondock Events I AAP Manager at Crag & Compass (DofE Expeditions)
It is a beautiful Thursday lunch hour and I've popped out to a pretty walled garden bursting with flowers. Eight or so other people have had the same idea and are perched around different areas of the garden. Yet something just doesn't feel right. Seven of them are completely engrossed in their smartphones and to a person look miserable.
In an eyeopening piece published by The Atlantic, the advent of the smartphone has seen a significant rise in teenagers feeling lonely and depressed. I believe adults fall in the same category – the smartphone has made us introverted and isolated. We can sit in a beautiful garden and be miserable.
But why do we need to spend time in nature? According to a University of Derby study, people who went into nature everyday for a month had 30% increase in reporting their health as 'excellent'. A University of Essex study, found that taking a walk in nature reduced depression in subjects by a whopping 71%.
Anecdotally, some of my most memorable and happiest experiences have been in nature. Anyone who has been lucky enough to see natural phenomenas such as the northern lights will attest to this.
We compulsively check our phones 85 times a day and each week spend 14 hours on our phones amassing into a haze of frantic bright screened unhappiness. It gives us an illusion of being super connected but the sad reality is a host of isolated people who are connected to their phones and unconnected with each other.
The smartphone is a slow drain on our health, separating us from both nature and people – it is a very real and growing problem. Technology is improving and as it becomes part of normal life, so our online social pressures reach the highest octane. We must be available on platforms like WhatsApp, WeChat, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook (naming a few) to stay in touch and be 'connected'.
There is a simple and necessary remedy. Meet up with friends, head to a green space (park or countryside) and crucially:
Fred Nice !! I don't think it's only the phones, i think it just shows our nature as Human beings = addictive. The Mobile is a trip away from reality in someway..Smart Phones are outsmarting us.
Providing modern solutions to SLED across Ohio
6yNomophobia and "ghost dials" are getting weirder and weirder. i know a guy who literally has a panic attack if his phone drops below 15%.
Group Editor at Founders Forum Group & Tech Nation
6yI'm reading this on my smartphone. Is this article available in print?
Bridging Storytelling and AI | Screenwriter | Design Lead | AI director
6yNice article Fred - have a look into gamification and how mobiles phones/apps are designed to be addictive. Those pressures or feelings of compulsion you describe are design features to keep customer engagement high
Managing Editor at Sifted
6yCouldn't agree more Fred, our attention has become a commodity, and it's unfortunately being paid for with our happiness it seems.