Cell Phone to Smart Phone
One day when I was sitting next to a girl on a train, she was scrolling her phone unconsciously. I accidentally saw her personal Facebook message. She realized that and she moved aside and continued doing something on her phone. So then I started to open my phone and watched YouTube avoid the awkwardness. From then on whenever I travel I always watch some videos on the phone. It is a socially acceptable thing to do. Later I realized my screen time as started to increase drastically. I was consuming a screen time of 4–5 hours daily. It felt like the only escape in this chaotic world.
My history with phones:
My Dad bought me my first phone in 2010, it was Nokia 1800, When you turn ON the phone, it says “Nokia Connecting People” I still remember it when you make a phone call before disconnecting. I use to check the call timing and if the call time is 05:05. I will say “we have 55 sec remaining, say something stupid” You never need to care about it when you drop your phone. When some use their phone too often that time, they likely have a boyfriend or girlfriend.
My second phone was in 2013, after completing college. It was Nokia Lumia 720, it runs on Windows OS, it’s a failed model. Not many apps, I used that phone for 3 years. It doesn’t even have a front camera. Everyone told me why I choose Windows over Android, it’s a dumb move. I saw all of them around me used to play temple run, and subway surfer on their phone. Back then we need to recharge the phone for 50rs, 100rs etc. I have seen people recharge their phones with their food money. Since I used window OS, I didn’t have that game in my app store. I use company cab during that time, me and the cab driver have a code. I receive 2 missed calls back-to-back and I give 2 missed calls back-to-back it means that he is at the point. And the biggest breakthrough during this time is WhatsApp. For people with BF or GF, WhatsApp is like God’s app. The message so often.
Advanced phone
And in 2016, I switched from Windows to Android, I bought Redmi Note 5 pro. This time I had a phone with a selfie camera, and fingerprint unlock. Taking a selfie and posting it on Instagram became a sensation. It becomes smartphones, it’s so smart, that we have to always carry them with us. Have to check the notification very often. We started paying monthly fees to the network providers. So we can use it however we want. And our usage started to increase drastically. We could able to pay online, book tickets and buy groceries at our convenience. It does come with a cost.
After using a phone for a long period, people will feel terrible, but do you know the actual issue with a Smartphone? All tech companies are tracking our data and usage behaviors. Whenever you press an agree to button or accept cookies, it is a fancy word for saying “I have placed a tracker in your phone”. We just never cared about it. Previously phones are a part of our lives, but now our lives are a part of the smartphone. Some of the detrimental impacts I observed in people using too many smartphones are:
1.Digital Dementia:
Digital dementia is first coined by German neuroscientist Manfred Spitzer to describe an “overuse of digital technology resulting in the breakdown of cognitive abilities.” You might wonder, why need to memorize all the data if it is available on the internet. When it comes to our brain, if we don’t use it often, we’ll lose. In this era, we need to learn things quickly and deliver with high quality. We need good memory power with no brain fog to excel.
2. Moving towards individualism:
Using smartphones too much will make us more lonely. We could do the payment, find a new route, do the shopping and many more with smartphones. This makes us less social than before, belonging to a part of a tribe makes us feel secure and happy. I feel the world is moving toward individualism, rather than belonging to a tribe. Doing everything on your own without anyone’s dependence will make humans more miserable, there will be a lack of sense and direction.
Afterword:
So the question is, does this evolution of smartphones, make our life better. I am not that old person who wants to brag about the past. I support technology, progress and change. But it comes with a cost. Most people don’t know the side effect of using too many cell phones.
The transition I see in my life is as people become more technology-oriented. Our life has started to become more individualistic. We are not desired to belong to a tribe. That causes stress, anxiety and a sense of insecurity.
