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It looks like smartphones really have killed the concept of "idle time." Last year, photographer Babycakes Romero captured an array of images showing people glued to their mobile devices when they could otherwise be having a conversation, enjoying dinner or simply staring into space. The series, titled "The Death of Conversation," was published on Bored Panda and ultimately led to a TEDx Talk.
In the time that's passed since he first published the photo series, Romero says the smartphone problem -- as he sees it -- has only gotten worse.
"As smartphones encompass more and more of people's lives, everyone is turning to them more and more as every aspect of their existence has been digitized and made accessible to them 24/7," Romero told The Huffington Post via email.
You've probably noticed something like this in your own life: You're at dinner with someone, there's a lull in the conversation, and suddenly both of you are checking your smartphones. Romero says the devices become an excuse to hide a "lost connection" between people.
"It is sad that this technology which was supposed to connect people is making them disconnect from each other in person," Romero told HuffPost.
Agree or not, his photos offer pretty striking evidence that people everywhere are hooked on their smartphones. Take a look for yourself by clicking on the Bored Panda link above.
Black
Mirror (Netflix) is a
British science fiction television series written and created
by Charlie Brooker and
centered around dark and satirical themes that examine modern society,
particularly with regard to the unanticipated consequences of new technologies, reminding us that to revere our digital gadgets is to become their pathetic slaves.Episodes
are stand-alone works, usually set in
an alternative
present or in the near future. All genuinely unsettling and thought-provoking.
Stories tap into the collective
unease about our modern world. Over the last fifteen years, technology has
transformed almost every aspect of our lives before we've had time to stop and
question it. In every home; on every desk; in every palm -a plasma screen, a
monitor, a smartphone- a black mirror of our 21st Century existence. A
must-watch series. Take my word for it.
In today’s fast-paced world, we often find ourselves caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, constantly bombarded with stimuli from our phones, computers, and the endless stream of news and social media updates. This constant state of busyness can lead to feelings of stress, anxiety, and even burnout.
Dany Laferrière’s book, The Almost Lost Art of Doing Nothing, offers a refreshing and thought-provoking perspective on the importance of slowing down and savoring the simple pleasures in life. Through a series of witty and insightful essays, Laferrière explores the various ways in which we’ve lost touch with the art of doing nothing, and he provides practical suggestions for how to reclaim it.
A World of Distractions
Laferrière begins by lamenting the fact that we live in a world that seems to be constantly at war with stillness and silence. We’re surrounded by noise and distractions, and we’re constantly on the go. This has led to a decline in our ability to relax and focus, and it has also made it more difficult to appreciate the beauty of the world around us.
Laferrière argues that this constant state of busyness is not only unhealthy but also counterproductive. When we’re constantly rushing from one thing to the next, we’re never able to fully engage with any of it. We’re more likely to make mistakes, and we’re less likely to be creative or innovative.
The Importance of Stillness
Laferrière makes a compelling case for the importance of stillness and silence. He argues that these are not luxuries but necessities. When we take the time to slow down and quiet our minds, we open ourselves up to a world of possibilities. We become more aware of our surroundings, and we’re better able to appreciate the simple things in life.
Laferrière offers a number of suggestions for how to reclaim the art of doing nothing. He suggests that we start by making a conscious effort to unplug from our devices and spend some time in nature. He also encourages us to practice mindfulness and meditation.
A Call to Slow Down
The Almost Lost Art of Doing Nothing is a call to action. It’s a reminder that we don’t have to live our lives at a breakneck pace. We can choose to slow down, savor the moment, and enjoy the simple things in life.
This book is a must-read for anyone who is feeling overwhelmed or stressed by the demands of modern life. It’s a reminder that it’s okay to take a break sometimes, and that doing nothing can be just as productive as doing something.
Here are some additional thoughts on the book:
Laferrière’s writing is witty and engaging, and he makes his points in a way that is both thought-provoking and entertaining.
The book is full of practical advice for how to reclaim the art of doing nothing.
The Almost Lost Art of Doing Nothing is a timely and important book that has the potential to change the way we live our lives.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a way to slow down and simplify their life.
Introducing B.O.O.K., the new Bio-Optic Organized Knowledge device.
B.O.O.K
is a revolutionary break-through in technology: no wires, no electric
circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or switched on. It's so
easy to use, even a child can operate it. Compact and portable,
it can be used anywhere, even sitting in an armchair by the fire; yet it
is powerful enough to hold as much information as a CD-ROM disc.
Here's how it works: B.O.O.K.
is constructed of sequentially-numbered sheets of paper (recyclable),
each capable of holding thousands of bits of information. The pages are
locked together with a custom-fit device called a binder which keeps
the sheets in their correct sequence. Opaque Paper Technology
(OPT) allows manufacturers to use both sides of the sheet, doubling the
information density and cutting costs. Experts are divided on the
prospects for further increases in information density; for now,
B.O.O.K.s with more information simply use more pages. Each sheet is
scanned optically, registering information directly into your brain. A
flick of the finger takes you to the next sheet.
B.O.O.K. may be taken up at any time and used merely by opening it. B.O.O.K.
never crashes or requires rebooting, though, like other devices, it can
become damaged if coffee is spilled on it and it becomes unusable if
dropped too many times on a hard surface. The "browse" feature allows
you to move instantly to any sheet, and move forward or backward as you
wish. Many come with an "index" feature, which pinpoints the exact
location of any selected information for instant retrieval.
An
optional "B.O.O.K.mark" accessory allows you to open B.O.O.K. to the
exact place you left it in a previous session -- even if the BOOK has
been closed. B.o.o.k.marks fit universal design standards; thus, a
single bookmark can be used in B.O.O.K.s by various manufacturers.
Conversely, numerous B.O.O.K.markers can be used in a single B.O.O.K.
if the user wants to store numerous views at once. The number is limited
only by the number of pages in the B.O.O.K. You can also make personal
notes next to B.O.O.K. text entries with optional programming tools, like Portable Erasable Nib Cryptic Intercommunication Language Styli
(P.E.N.C.I.L.S.).
Portable, durable, and affordable, B.O.O.K. is
being hailed as a precursor of a new entertainment wave. B.O.O.K.'s
appeal seems so certain that thousands of content creators have
committed to the platform and investors are reportedly flocking to
invest. Look for a flood of new titles soon.
+ El libro, dice Umberto Eco, es como la rueda: una vez
inventado no se puede hacer nada mejor. Cada 23 de abril, cuando se conmemora el Día del Libro, hace regresar la polémica sobre la agonía de este producto, a punto de
ser arrojado al basurero de la historia, según sus enemigos.
En una obra reciente (Nadie acabará con los libros),
Eco y J. C. Carrière conversan sobre ese asunto y se preguntan por los
efectos de la rápida caducidad de los nuevos soportes (vídeo, cedé, DVD).
Esa caducidad impide ver lo que compramos hace 10 años con los
reproductores actuales, en contraste con la facilidad con que la
continuidad del soporte libro permite leer uno escrito hace siglos.
Circula
por la red este vídeo descacharrante sobre la última novedad en materia
de lectura, un producto caracterizado por no necesitar cables,
circuitos ni baterías, utilizable en cualquier lugar, que puede ser
escaneado ópticamente para ser registrado directamente por el cerebro, y
cuyo nombre es B.O.O.K.
Puede
ser una fantasía de nostálgicos, pero es cierto que las cerillas
hubieran sido consideradas un gran adelanto de haberse inventado
después, y no antes, que los mecheros. Además, también se auguró el fin
de la pintura con la fotografía, el del teatro con el cine, y el del
cine con la televisión; y fallaron las casandras. Por lo demás, incluso
si el libro de papel desapareciera, seguirían siendo necesarios los
escritores, lo cual es una garantía de continuidad. Como advirtió
Bertolt Brecht a los generales, sus bombarderos necesitan hombres que
los piloten. No existen máquinas capaces de escribir libros digitales.
Adelanto del nuevo libro del filósofo surcoreano. En él, el autor de La sociedad del cansancio advierte de que esta tecnología convierte a los otros en objeto, y destruye la empatía
Hoy llevamos el smartphone a todas partes y delegamos nuestras percepciones en el aparato. Percibimos la realidad a través de la pantalla. La ventana digital diluye la realidad en información, que luego registramos. No hay contacto con cosas. Se las priva de su presencia. Ya no percibimos los latidos materiales de la realidad. La percepción se torna luz incorpórea. El smartphone irrealiza el mundo.
Las cosas no nos espían. Por eso tenemos confianza en ellas. El smartphone, en cambio, no solo es un infómata, sino un informante muy eficiente que vigila permanentemente a su usuario. Quien sabe lo que sucede en su interior algorítmico se siente con razón perseguido por él. Él nos controla y programa. No somos nosotros los que utilizamos el smartphone, sino el smartphone el que nos utiliza a nosotros. El verdadero actor es el smartphone. Estamos a merced de ese informante digital, tras cuya superficie diferentes actores nos dirigen y nos distraen.
El smartphone no solo tiene aspectos emancipadores. La continua accesibilidad no se diferencia en gran medida de la servidumbre. El smartphone se revela como un campo de trabajo móvil en el que nos encerramos voluntariamente. El smartphone es también un pornófono. Nos desnudamos voluntariamente. Funciona como un confesonario portátil. Prolonga el “poderío sagrado del confesonario” en otra forma.
Cada dominación tiene su particular devoción. El teólogo Ernst Troeltsch habla de “los cautivadores objetos devocionales de la imaginación popular”. Estabilizan la dominación al hacerla habitual y anclarla en el cuerpo. Ser devoto es ser sumiso. El smartphone se ha establecido como devocionario del régimen neoliberal. Como aparato de sumisión, se asemeja al rosario, que es tan móvil y manejable como el gadget digital. El like es el amén digital. Cuando damos al botón de “Me gusta”, nos sometemos al aparato de la dominación.
Plataformas como Facebook o Google son los nuevos señores feudales. Incansables, labramos sus tierras y producimos datos valiosos, de los que ellos luego sacan provecho. Nos sentimos libres, pero estamos completamente explotados, vigilados y controlados. En un sistema que explota la libertad, no se crea ninguna resistencia. La dominación se consuma en el momento en que concuerda con la libertad.
Hacia el final de su libro La era del capitalismo de la vigilancia, Shoshana Zuboff evoca la resistencia colectiva que precedió a la caída del muro de Berlín: “El muro de Berlín cayó por muchas razones, pero, sobre todo, porque la gente de Berlín oriental se dijo: ‘¡Ya está bien! (…) ¡Basta!’. Tomemos esto como nuestra declaración”. El sistema comunista, que suprime la libertad, difiere fundamentalmente del capitalismo neoliberal de la vigilancia, que explota la libertad. Somos demasiado dependientes de la droga digital, y vivimos aturdidos por la fiebre de la comunicación, de modo que no hay ningún “¡Basta!”, ninguna voz de resistencia (…)
El régimen neoliberal es en sí mismo smart (inteligente). El poder smart no funciona con mandamientos y prohibiciones. No nos hace dóciles, sino dependientes y adictos. En lugar de quebrantar nuestra voluntad, sirve a nuestras necesidades. Quiere complacernos. Es permisivo, no represivo. No nos impone el silencio. Más bien nos incita y anima continuamente a comunicar y compartir nuestras opiniones, preferencias, necesidades y deseos. Y hasta a contar nuestras vidas. Al ser tan amistoso, es decir, smart, hace invisible su intención de dominio. El sujeto sometido ni siquiera es consciente de su sometimiento. Se imagina que es libre. El capitalismo consumado es el capitalismo del “Me gusta”. Gracias a su permisividad no tiene que temer ninguna resistencia, ninguna revolución.
Dada nuestra relación casi simbiótica con el smartphone, se presume ahora que este representa un objeto de transición. Objeto de transición llama el psicoanalista Donald Winnicott a aquellas cosas que posibilitan en el niño pequeño una transición segura a la realidad. Solo por medio de los objetos de transición crea el niño un espacio de juego, un “espacio intermedio” en el que “se relaja como si estuviera en un lugar de descanso seguro y no conflictivo”. Los objetos de transición construyen un puente hacia la realidad, hacia el otro, que se sustrae a su fantasía infantil de omnipotencia. Desde muy temprano, los niños pequeños agarran objetos como los extremos de un cobertor o una almohada para llevárselos a la boca o acariciarse con ellos. Más adelante toman un objeto entero como una muñeca o un peluche. Los objetos de transición cumplen una importante función vital. Dan al niño una sensación de seguridad. Le quitan el miedo a estar solo. Crean confianza y seguridad. Gracias a los objetos de transición, el niño se desarrolla lentamente en el mundo que lo rodea. Son las primeras cosas del mundo que estabilizan la vida de la primera infancia.
El niño mantiene una relación muy intensa e íntima con su objeto de transición. El objeto de transición no debe alterarse ni lavarse. Nada tiene que interrumpir la experiencia de su cercanía. El niño entra en pánico cuando extravía su objeto querido. Aunque el objeto de transición es una posesión suya, tiene cierta vida propia. Para el niño se presenta como una entidad independiente y personal. Los objetos de transición abren un espacio dialógico en el cual el niño encuentra al otro.
Cuando extraviamos nuestro smartphone, el pánico es total. También tenemos una relación íntima con él. De ahí que no nos guste dejarlo en otras manos. ¿Puede entonces compararse a un objeto de transición? ¿Sería como un oso de peluche digital? Esto se contradice con el hecho de que el smartphone es un objeto narcisista. El objeto de transición encarna al otro. El niño habla y se acurruca con él como si fuera otra persona. Pero nadie se arrima al smartphone. Nadie lo percibe propiamente como un otro. A diferencia del objeto de transición, no representa una cosa querida que sea insustituible. Al fin y al cabo, compramos regularmente un nuevo smartphone. (…) A diferencia del objeto de transición, el smartphone es duro. El smartphone no es un oso de peluche digital. Más bien es un objeto narcisista y autista en el que uno no siente a otro, sino ante todo a sí mismo. Como resultado, también destruye la empatía. Con el smartphone nos retiramos a una esfera narcisista protegida de los imponderables del otro. Hace que la otra persona esté disponible al transformarla en objeto. Convierte el tú en un ello. La desaparición del otro es precisamente la razón ontológica por la que el smartphone hace que nos sintamos solos. Hoy nos comunicamos de forma tan compulsiva y excesiva porque estamos solos y notamos un vacío. Pero esta hipercomunicación no es satisfactoria. Solo hace más honda la soledad, porque falta la presencia del otro. (El País, 2/10/2021)
Remember when teachers scolded us for talking too much in class? When “talkative” was a part of our report cards sent to our parents at the end of the year? Well, if talking was an object, it would be a relic right now. Tales of talking would probably make for good fairytales. Because if recent studies are to be believed, this generation is falling silent. Youngsters simply don’t like talking anymore. Texting or using social media is fine. Even an pair of earphones will do, as long as speaking to someone can be avoided. Here’s what a survey from British communications regulator Ofcom revealed. About 15 per cent of 16-24-year-olds don’t want to use their phone to speak to people. They would rather use instant messengers. The same research also said that teenagers would even message people sitting in the same room, at times, next to each other; but not talk to them.
Why we have talking anxiety... A part of this problem could be because we do not have any shared experience of sound in our digital world. Says Sunaina Mathew, engineer, “We have moved into a noiseless and soundless world, where we hear only our voices and the sound through our earphones buzzing.”
There is a private world of sounds in public spaces. For example, we can sit anywhere, even amid people, but just listen to our favourite playlist. Earlier, we were familiar and accustomed to sounds around us – people talking, the radio playing, children screaming, dogs barking, clang of kitchen utensils, etc. Now, the only sound we hear is the one we choose to, through our earphones. We go to silent discos, listen to music on earphones, have conversations on earphones, listen to movies with our headphones on; we have internalised our relationship with sound and made it a very private affair.
Etiquette expert Pria Warrick says for this generation the most natural and casual communication mode is texting, and phone calls are viewed as an ordeal. “Social media have changed how we communicate privately. There was a time when everyone talked for hours on the landline, and that was considered as a relaxation technique at the end of the day — between friends, lovers, parents-children — but now we think twice about violating someone’s space by calling them on the phone,” she says.
There was also a time when birthdays were special occasions when you expected people to call you. But even that has become a textual affair these days. Maira Khanna, 36, doctor, didn’t get any calls on her birthday, but was flooded with text messages. “I missed the sound of people’s voices and the laughter along with the wishes,” she rues. MIT psychologist Sherry Turkle, one of the leading researchers looking into the effects of texting on interpersonal relationships, feels the onslaught of information and time spent with screens is another reason why people are talking less.
Emotional fallout Psychologist Rachna Khanna Singh tries to throw some light on this phenomenal change in human behaviour in this century that, she says, will have far-reaching consequences on our emotional stratum. “We are conditioned to go for what’s easy because the innumerable choices and distractions in our lives — social media interactions throughout the day, work correspondence, traffic noise et al — have made our minds exhausted and we are seeking silence with a vengeance now,” she says.
On public transport, we have our earphones on, lest someone should look our way, smile, or worse... talk to us. While out socialising, we are more bothered about interacting with people on the virtual world from our smartphones than the ones right in front of us. Digital expert Chetan Deshpande finds this quite funny and gives an interesting pointer. He says, “Being used to smartphones and social media for a while now, we also love editing our thoughts and expressions. Thanks to courtesy readily-available dictionaries and emojis, we have become accustomed to reducing our mistakes, editing every thought and expression, which isn’t possible while talking on the phone. This freaks people out.” It’s also a scientific fact that anxious people become tongue tied. Now, think about an anxiety-ridden generation, multi-tasking 24x7. No wonder even the thought of picking up a phone to talk has become a terror.
Sound stats About 15 per cent of 16-24-year-olds don’t want to use their phones to speak to people. They’d rather text. In TIME magazine’s mobility poll, 32 per cent of all respondents said they’d rather communicate by text than phone, even with people they know quite well. This is truer still in the workplace, where communication is between colleagues who are often not friends.
Language is alive and forever changing. English is, by far, the fastest-growing language in the world. Reports say that ten new words, expressions or acronyms are coined every day in English. Here are some I have compiled recently. If you know of a new term and want to contribute to this list, post a comment below.
shit storm =perverse consequence of cyber
bullying.
staycation =a holiday spent in one's home country rather than abroad, or one spent at home and involving day trips to local attractions.
nomophobia =panic of not having your mobile
phone near you.
mumager =when a young artist's mother acts
as his/her manager.
FOMO=Fear
Of Missing Out any information or development when part of a social network.
infomania=the
compulsive desire to check or accumulate news and information, typically via
mobile phone or computer. infoxication=information overdose as a result of infomania.
unfriend =remove someone from a list of
friends or contacts on a social networking site.
oversharing=disclosing
too much personal information or too many details about oneself online.
e-quaintance =a person who you only
"know" through online networking.
cyberchondriac =one who imagines he/she is ill,
having just read about the symptoms on the Internet.
flash mob=a
large public gathering at which people perform an unusual or seemingly random
act and then disperse, typically organized by means of the internet or social
media.
crowdsourcing=letting the public make decisions when organizing events.
photobomb=to
intrude into the background of a photograph without the subject's knowledge.
Renowned
media scholar Sherry Turkle investigates how a flight from conversation
undermines our relationships, creativity, and productivity—and why
reclaiming face-to-face conversation can help us regain lost ground.
We
live in a technological universe in which we are always communicating. And yet
we have sacrificed conversation for mere connection.
Preeminent
author and researcher Sherry Turkle has been studying digital culture for over
thirty years. Long an enthusiast for its possibilities, here she investigates a
troubling consequence: at work, at home, in politics, and in love, we find ways
around conversation, tempted by the possibilities of a text or an email in
which we don’t have to look, listen, or reveal ourselves.
We
develop a taste for what mere connection offers. The dinner table falls silent
as children compete with phones for their parents’ attention. Friends learn
strategies to keep conversations going when only a few people are looking up
from their phones. At work, we retreat to our screens although it is
conversation at the water cooler that increases not only productivity but
commitment to work. Online, we only want to share opinions that our followers
will agree with – a politics that shies away from the real conflicts and
solutions of the public square.
The
case for conversation begins with the necessary conversations of solitude and
self-reflection. They are endangered: these days, always connected, we see
loneliness as a problem that technology should solve. Afraid of being alone, we
rely on other people to give us a sense of ourselves, and our capacity for
empathy and relationship suffers. We see the costs of the flight from
conversation everywhere: conversation is the cornerstone for democracy and in
business it is good for the bottom line. In the private sphere, it builds
empathy, friendship, love, learning, and productivity.
But
there is good news: we are resilient. Conversation cures.
Based
on five years of research and interviews in homes, schools, and the workplace,
Turkle argues that we have come to a better understanding of where our
technology can and cannot take us and that the time is right to reclaim
conversation. The most human—and humanizing—thing that we do.
The
virtues of person-to-person conversation are timeless, and our most basic
technology, talk, responds to our modern challenges. We have everything we need
to start, we have each other.
The film follows the story of a group of high school teenagers and their parents as they attempt to navigate the many ways the internet has changed their relationships, their communication, their self-image, and their love lives. A provocative drama that looks at our world through five interconnected families in a small town and examines the question of whether the technology meant to connect us is actually drawing us further apart. (Available on Netflix and Amazon Prime)
MinimalWall is a beautiful new website which features truly minimal desktop wallpapers with Basic Colors, Mindful Words and Minimal Graphics, for your simplified, motivative computer experience. Here are some samples:
This photographer will make you think again about your phone use
Seeing things differently: A family in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, are captured in Eric Pickersgill's project
Image: Eric Pickersgill, 2018
We've all done it: blanked out the world around us to stare at the beguiling screen of our mobile phone.
The photographer Eric Pickersgill has captured what this means for our personal lives in a series of disconcerting images. The project is called Removed, because Pickersgill physically removes the phones from his subjects' hands, but asks them to hold their posture and focus.
The idea was prompted by a commonplace visit to a café, which Pickersgill wrote about as follows:
Family sitting next to me at Illium café in Troy, NY is so disconnected from one another. Not much talking. Father and two daughters have their own phones out. Mom doesn’t have one or chooses to leave it put away. She stares out the window, sad and alone in the company of her closest family. Dad looks up every so often to announce some obscure piece of info he found online. Twice he goes on about a large fish that was caught. No one replies. I am saddened by the use of technology for interaction in exchange for not interacting. This has never happened before and I doubt we have scratched the surface of the social impact of this new experience. Mom has her phone out now.
Pickersgill is not set on demonizing the smartphone, but drawing attention to the way it can erode our relationships if we're not aware of our habits.
"I think there are many reasons to use our devices and I certainly have a professional relationship with mine. I also do not want to pass judgment on people who may be using a device to look up a popular coffee shop or perhaps checking in to let their loved one know that they made it to a destination safely. When I made the series it was a response to realizing how quickly my own habits had shifted and how much my wife and I were on our phones which was not the case when we first started dating," he explained, by email.
"The work has drastically changed my relationship to my phone," the photographer added. "Especially as a new father, because I do not want to normalize constant screen time for my young son. I am very strict about not bringing it to bed at night and I am purposeful about not going to it when I find myself between tasks or waiting for something. Those times when we let our mind wander are when the most brilliant ideas come to us. When we fill the empty time with more distraction, we never truly spend time with our thoughts or with ourselves. That time of reflection and meditation is priceless. It can often afford us the clarity to make decisions that really change our lives for the better."
A Deloitte study found that Americans check their phones on average 46 times per day, while more than half of the world’s population now uses a smartphone.
In Asia, the mobile phone has exploded onto the scene. ASEAN is one of the fastest-growing emerging smartphone markets, with people on average spending 3.6 hours on the mobile internet every day.
These images are from a special series of Removed, commissioned by the World Economic Forum as part of our ASEAN 2018 summit which is taking place in Ha Noi, Viet Nam from September 11-13.
Pickersgill travelled to four cities in the region ‒ Ha Noi, Yangon, Singapore and Jakarta ‒ where he was hosted by members of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Community. The images may capture different settings, but the expressions are strikingly familiar.
