Freedom at Last!
The smartphone has brought significant improvements in our lives. It is so useful that it is hard to find an adult or child that does not have one.
Even those that are having financial struggles seem to be able afford a cell phone! How do they do it!
Look back at my first post on smartphones on some of the great benefits we see from these devices.
In this post, I want to look at the negative impacts of these devices.
Disconnecting with People
This is the most obvious problem of smartphones. I, and everyone else, has been guilty of reading or messaging on our smartphones and ignoring others near us.
It is very easy to be in a crowd and focus on the phone. Postings from around the country seem more interesting than talking with those around us.
Thank of it…we have the wealth of human knowledge at our fingertips inside our little phone. Not only messaging but browsing the Internet is a big draw of these devices.
I have become disconnected from others at times when I focused on my phone. It is very easy to happen. Anyone who tells me they have no problems with their social interactions caused by their phones, I get suspicious. I supposed that might be true for a small number of people but I am sure the numbers are very limited.
When I was young, I was carried away into another world at the local library. At the library I could find an endless number of books on almost any conceivable topic. I could disappear into a library for hours engaged in books.
Now take that same concept and multiply it by a million times. That is your smartphone. The whole world on a screen in your pocket. No one around you can compete that that information and entertainment.
I have had to force myself to put away my phone when meeting with people and ignore the buzzing in my pocket when someone sends a message. My curiosity is over the top when that phone buzzes as I am so curious and want to look at it.
We need to be disciplined when to use and when to ignore our phones.
We won’t even talk about people out on a date when the phone buzzes!
It is easy for all of us to be distracted by our phones but the young can especially be hit hard.
Some studies have studies showing up to 5 hours a day for young people in the 11-12 age group glued to their phones.
FOMO
As a child I had a great fear of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). I wanted to be involved in everything and felt a great sense of loss when I was not included in every activity of my family and friends.
This also extends to number of likes and being included on a post.
In a business environment, not be included in a message about a project or business issue can leave the person feeling anxious. Some people will feel like their careers or jobs are coming to an end if they are frequently left out of message conversation on smartphones.
This can cause great anxiety – especially of the younger workers.
Sleep Deprivation
Many nights I have been exhausted and laid down to sleep – wide eyed and staring at the ceiling!
I could figure out the problem until I started analyzing my habits before bed.
I found that working on my computer right until right before I went to bed was a cause of the problem.
The same goes for taking the smartphone to bed and reading messages or look up information after I laid down. That got the old brain busy swirling and sleep was impossible.
I now have to discipline myself by limiting the use of the phone for about an hour before I go to bed. I will sit in another place in the house with the lights low and reading something light.
Also, our phone may have a setting where you can turn it to a different shade of colors before bedtime (e.g., more beige colors and fewer blue colors) that helps the mind get settled.
The worst thing is to see a message from work on some issue before bed…your then doomed to get proper sleep.
I can guarantee you that business needs workers with more sleep…not less.
Meeting Impacts
The smartphone can have a massive impact on meetings.
It is hard to hold a meeting while everyone is staring at their phones!
However, if you ban phones from the meeting that has a bad effect as everyone in attendance will get jumpy and nervous with their phones.
My method of fixing the problem of smartphones in meetings is to have those meetings interesting enough that people will pay attention. If some people miss critical information…too bad!