Our new wireless dependency
One of the new realities for conference organizers, hotel owners, universities, businesses, and even city managers is the accessibility of the Internet. Indeed many people choose where to eat, stay, and live based on ‘coverage’ and get more than a little cranky when the internet goes down…. or the connection is slow. For those of us who grew up watching the Jetsons, Star Trek, 2001 A Space Odyssey, and thought the game Pong (play it online here) was cool, we have realized a world dependent on connectedness for communication and work, but also for knowledge and identity.
So, while over 73% of the world still does not have access to the Internet, for many of us it’s an expected right now. We’ve become dependent on it and while it’s a great tool (look, I’m using it right now), I think there may be some problems with the dependency. So, this has been a challenge for me and I quickly listed five dependencies.
For what we know: As an educator students don’t feel the urgency to learn material when they can just ‘Google’ it. The problem of course is that Google is not an objective dispenser of knowledge. Dependent on other websites, Google features those who have paid for prominence or have a stronger SEO strategy (often websites also designed for profit). So, our knowledge base is controlled by search engines and our vocabulary features existential quotes from Celebrity Apprentice instead of Søren Kierkegaard. So, I suppose if one controlled the Google results (even edited out certain keywords), one could shape out an entire population thinks.
For what we control: Try this experiment the next time you’re with a group of people under the age of 30. Mention your cell phone, or that you set your ringer on vibrate, or that you recently got an important text message. Then watch how many of them will instinctively check their cell phones within the next 3 minutes. I’d probably be one of them. A 2011 study showed that 53% of young adults would give up their sense of smell (the most powerful sense we have for memories) instead of their cell phones.
For how we communicate: I get more done each week due to the convenience of texting and the ability to work in virtual committees with members spread all over the country. I live in a bit of a remote location yet am connected. On the other hand, I have to push my teens to interact with others face-to-face. Though they text nonstop with friends, they are hesitant to meet and talk with others. I asked about that and they said they text mostly out of ‘boredom.’ I’m hopeful this inability to socialize changes with maturity like it did for most of us who were a bit shy in high school. (we do forget what it was like for us as teens I think).
For our entertainment: I know I’m generalizing here, but if we did a quick analysis of what people do on Facebook, InstaGram, YouTube, and similar websites, it’s often hyper-focused on self, entertainment, and trivia. And my ‘Fun Friday’ posts on here show that to be true. I’ve been challenged
For our recreation: Just ask anyone to go for a hike, bike ride, or camping without their cell phone and watch their responses.
If I had a sixth, I’d add driving. I’m alarmed at the number of folks (adults! 30-39 year olds are involved in more lethal accidents due to cell phone usage than any other age group) texting while driving. 37% of adults say they do this often. I am not sure how many deadly accidents (like this one or another or this one) it will require before we take this seriously.
How long can you go without checking or holding your cell phone? What would happen if each of us lessened our nearly-addictive dependency on these devices?
