Blog: Are we too dependent on our smartphones?

[urszula]

Join the conversation & let us know your thoughts.

[gmahale]

@urszula

With its minimalist design, reduced distractions, and focus on essential functionalities, Mudita Kompakt aims to help users maintain a healthier balance with technology.

We cannot make any inferences about this yet.

@urszula

For many of us, our smartphone is the first thing we see each morning and the last thing we see before our head hits the pillow.

I look at smartphones as extremely portable computers. A lot of what we use them for was already possible with computers.

[kirkmahoneyphd]

Justifying Thoughts

Many of us comfort ourselves with the thought “I am only checking my smartphone.” when we pull out cellphones in front of others in social situations.

Many of us tell ourselves, “I no longer have a computer, so my smartphone is how I connect to the Internet!”

Imagine This

But, we would see it as rude if our friends or relatives were to open and use laptops at a restaurant while we are trying to socialize with them over dinner.

Change in Location

Using a smartphone does not require me to sit in a chair at a desk where my laptop resides to use that laptop to search the Internet. Using a smartphone does not require me to sit in front of an Internet-connected TV set to watch a video delivered by a streaming service.

Summary

Smartphones as replacements for computers let us justify otherwise anti-social behavior and enable this because their use does not require any change in location when we are in socially intimate situations.

[gmahale]

@kirkmahoneyphd

Many of us tell ourselves, “I no longer have a computer, so my smartphone is how I connect to the Internet!”

It’s not only a computer, but also a camera, music player and television among others.