I am on a long awaited 'date night' with my partner. Ridiculously long working hours, study & constant information overload keep us from focusing plain attention on each other, so I'm savouring this moment! Then it happens...a subtle yet distinctive 'ding'.....do I retreat into my all too familiar mobile world or do I resist? What if it's a problem at work, an emergency or a friend needing advice? Maybe it's that email reply that I've been waiting on or that text back confirming my beauty appointment, perhaps it's a social invite or a notification from FB, twitter, Instagram or ebay? If I just look at it now I would know. Have you had this dilemma? Could you go without your mobile for a night, or a whole day......
....Have you suffered from 'disconnect anxiety'?
A 2012 survey showed that 76% of respondents owned a smartphone, whilst 4 out of 5 users are accessing information online, performing searches, visiting websites, purchasing, banking & interacting "many times a day" (Digital Business 2013).
Mobile devices allow for us to CONTROL... to control where we put our attention, how we self-present, how much time we want to allocate to something or someone, when & through what means we communicate. However, the trap with this social control; real emotion, real feelings, real conversations with imperfections and vulnerability and the capacity to self reflect with oneself disintegrates (Turkle 2012).
"...we don't feel ourselves, so we connect more, setting ourselves up for greater isolation"(Turkle 2012). We are becoming 'disconnected' from ourselves, whilst thinking we are 'connecting' more with others. Mobile devices promote quick, surface contact with MANY instead of deep & meaningful attachments...we are "short changed out of real conversation" (Turkle 2012). Mobile devices are encouraging us to remove ourselves from the physical world and move into a hyper-reality world that we often think meets our needs better (Turkle 2012)
Food for MOBILE thought... scholar opinions on mobile devices....
*..."encourages a social life that is exclusively taking place inside homes" (Geser 2006, p.16). Is this diminishing the public sphere?
*...puts all the power of communication on individuals, shifting the dynamics of interaction from a stable, depersonalised and formalised network spread across societies & institutionalised channels to instead a isolated culture of individualism (Geser 2006, p.16).
*...create a "uncensorable world". Rheingold (1994, p.60) informs that our kids need to be educated to be capable of creating & sustaining a strong sense of identity; with boundaries physically & socially, as well as teaching that people can present online very different to reality.
*...Enable a more flexible work/life balance? Mobility allows work to become detached from the physical workspace, allowing more multiplicity (Meerwarth, Gluesing & Jordan, p.79).
I've come to the conclusion that in today's society it takes TOO MUCH EFFORT to talk face-to-face; there's a simpler method that technology offers & we are all guilty of taking this easy way out. I more than often 'SEND' a message to a friend, colleague, brother, work client - because it's EASIER than facing insecurities. While typing an email, text, blog, post I can hide behind the machines that don't notice my weaknesses and don't judge my hairy eyebrows! My mobile phone does not sense my social insecurities, doesn't notice me blush or sense that I'm slightly intimidated. I can constantly convey confidence, self-assurance and permits me to globally 'pause' on my identity if I'm stuck for words or wish to change my appearance.
Take a squiz at this short youtube clip which sums up this blog..
In reflection, I rely on my phone to communicate with work colleagues, clients, friends & family through text, email & social networking site messages/updates/statuses/photos, to pay bills, take photos & upload simultaneously, play games, download app's, search for directions, recipes, definitions, restaurants, hotels, travel and of course, online shopping! I have everything I need through my phone right? Remind me again what I need human interaction for?
References
Australian Government Department of Communications, 2013. More Australians more mobile than ever, digital business website, viewed 24 November 2013,
http://www.digitalbusiness.gov.au/2013/01/31/more-australians-more-mobile-than-ever/
Geser, H., 2006. Is the Cell Phone Undermining the Social Order?: Understanding Mobile Technology from a Sociological Perspective. Knowledge, Technology & Policy, 19(1), pp. 8 -18.
Meerwarth, T. L., Gluesing, J. C. & Jordan, B., 2009. Identity in a virtual world: The coevolution of technology, work, and lifecycle. In: Mobile Work, Mobile Lives. s.l.:Wiley, pp. 70 - 88.
Rheingold, H. & Ebbs, G., 1994. Censorship on the
information highway. Electronic Networking
Applications and Policy, 7(1), pp. 59- 60.
Applications and Policy, 7(1), pp. 59- 60.
Turkle, S., 2012. Connected, but alone? TED talks, viewed 20 November,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7Xr3AsBEK4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7Xr3AsBEK4
Hello Jenni,
ReplyDeleteI was going to say the exact same thing about the font colour that Kate did. It was a little tricky to read. Other than that it is a great blog, I really like how you discuss the social disconnection of mobile devices. With an ever increasing reliance on having the world at our finger tips, you have to wonder what it will do to the public sphere? Geser (2006) might be onto something!!
Regards,
Frances
Jenni,
ReplyDeleteGreat post!.
Your post is quite thought provoking for me, possibly because you gave voice to the positive side of mobile devices.
I believe that it is normal for younger adults to feel the need to preserve their own identity and ‘save face’ when relating to others. However, once we pass that age of insecurity, we stop needing others' approvals to be happy and confident. I look forward to the day when addicted-to-technology young generations grow up and experience real freedom.
Cheers,
Elisabetta
This is an interesting read. I like the way you make it personal and speak in first person. You make a great point about allowing us to control. I think having a sense of control over where we allocate our time is one of the main points to the global obsession with mobiles. I for one cant remember what it is like without one. We have become so reliant on our mobiles and virtual relationships that I think most of us would suffer without it. Some very interesting points you've covered.
ReplyDeleteregards,
Jessica