A few years ago we had a discussion in the family about when you really are old enough to have their own smartphone. Our children went to primary school and several classmates had started to come to school with their own iPhone. This was in the time when their own iPhone is still seen as some sort of status marker, so enough was both me and my husband a little surprised that there was something that children would suddenly have. “But, Mom, how old were you when you got your first smartphone?” The son asked, hoping to maybe get an answer that would strengthen his rights. He had not anticipated that it would be the 37th
It was actually not so long ago nobody had its own smartphone. People did not even have a cell phone. Nowadays, one wonders how the society in general worked, when you could not expect everyone to be connected basically around the clock. Strangely enough, things must have worked. But it is remarkable how quickly we’ve gotten used to the Internet in your pocket.
Carina Glenn Hastings fine story about three people who have opted out of mobile phone has aroused many reactions. Not least, it seems many recognize themselves in frustration that mobile phones are taking up too much space and do so that people will be less present. I feel myself again myself in it. Poor mobile manners on the job meetings makes me irritable, just like when people suddenly sitting with their mobiles in the middle of dinner. The feeling of being away priority of a phone is indeed disheartening.
While I readily admit that I have loved smartphones from first sight. My first smartphone was called for my fourth child of the family. For me, life has become richer, easier and more fun with the Internet in your pocket. I can not imagine a return to a life without constant connection. But – screen time is a problem.
The solution may not be less technology, but more. I recently read an interesting blog post by blogger and journalist Fredrik Wass at Resumé, in which he pointed to a very interesting phenomenon. Next big uppsnackade gadget is the smart watch. Interest for Apple’s new Watch is huge, so big that Apple can not deliver the watches to all who have pre-ordered. The clock is actually a small computer on the wrist, connected to the mobile phone. Apple itself believes that the time is going to be a success, bigger than the smart phone and tablet. It remains, of course, to see and reviews of the smart watch contains a lot of rice. But Fredrik Wass makes a great reconnaissance: it may be that smart watches fills a human need, namely greater presence and less screen time.
How? Is not it just another screen that steals attention? It is not safe. On smart watches, you can follow the flow in his mailbox – but you can not answer the same way when there is no sensible keys. While you can get notifications from Facebook – but it is more difficult to interact. And no one will of course very keen to go and stare into a minimal screen for hours.
Several US technology bloggers testify that it is just that: with a smart clock to get their updates, but the incentive to act directly at them disappear. The result is that the mobile phone may be, a quick look at the clock hands, and you become more present. The total screen time is reduced, the attention in the present moment increases.
It remains, as I said to see how the market for smart watches and other connected gadgets unfolds, but the technology that fills our needs will always win in the long run. Need for Community, confirmation, track, entertainment. But also the presence and the ability to enjoy the present.
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