Recently, I came home and missed the lift but I caught a glimpse of the people standing inside. A male and a female, both engrossed in their own smart phones oblivious to the surroundings.
Smart phone is the latest must-have in Singapore. Without one, you wouldn't be able to Whatsapp nor accessed information online swiftly. With a click and a swipe, you've already retrieved information you need for sale items or bank information. Personal details are also accessible online with just passwords and perhaps some Q&A to determine that you're the right person. Smart phone is a life-saver, you'd say. However, does it really help us?
With phones, we can access any sort of information as fast as the optical fiber can. We can gain knowledge that far extends from the books we have. We can get first hand news from the other end of the globe. When you're bored, you can even watch videos on YouTube or play games. That's smart phones. A mini computer right in your palm. (Yep, with Samsung, it can almost replace that laptop you have at home).
However, with smart phone, you start to get isolated from the people around you. Have you ever seen a group of people without any single person burying themselves in their phones? Nope, I haven't. Even if there is, it's very rare. There's bound to be this lone person who wants to use their smart phone to check out anything but be engaged in the topic the people around are saying. Perhaps, he/she finds the topic boring or unrelated. Perhaps. However, from the lift scenario, I think people now tend to be too engaged in their smart phones, such that they neglect the most basic communication such as talking.
I have friends who reply to me on whatsapp when I'm just sitting right next to them. It's like. 'OMG. Why do you have to reply on the phone when I'm next to you??? Just talk to me. I'm not a ghost.' Yep, this is quite common. And no, I'm not a ghost.
It's not that I'm not addicted to my smart phone as well, but perhaps we should take a notch down. Slow down this technological advancement. My young cousins are all hooked on their iPhone, iPad or tablet and without them, they'll start crying non-stop. And I can't help but notice that their eyes are batting at a speed faster than normal. 1 of my blink is around 2-3 of theirs. It's not benefiting the eyes at all. No good.
With an advancement in technology, we become lazy (to even step into the library and browse for hard copies of information.) With advancement of technology, we've spoken less with one another. With advancement of technology, we become more oblivious to our surroundings and the people around us. With technological advancement, we will probably face a change in human nature. Where people won't communicate verbally. Perhaps, you'd say I over-imagined the scenario and took things a bit too far. Okay, perhaps I may be a bit too imaginative, but we should probably start putting our phones down and face the people around us and talk to them. No matter how you dislike the person and would rather spend your time on the phone, at least make small talk and just talk. Don't reply on the phone.
My parents kept complaining about the youngsters these days, saying that we are too engrossed in our smart phones. They also nagged about me too. And I kind of admit it. I'm really one of those youths who are so engaged in their phone that some of us actually neglect that we're crossing the road. (I'm not one of them, I do watch out for my own safety when I cross the road. But I did fell down the stairs before cause I was typing messages on the phone and fractured my leg. Once bitten twice shy. But there are people who cross the road, engaged in their phones, oblivious to the cars that are coming straight at them. Nope, not joking. Some don't even bother when the cars honked at them. They just walked across the road with their heads buried in their phones.)
Smart phones have pros and cons. It's just a matter of how we use them and how we set ourselves straight. Think twice before you use your phone and cross the road. Your smart phone can't save you if any accident happen to you.
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