If you are active and living on the grid you probably own a smart phone. Smart phones are literally a mini computer or a portable computer on the go. If you were to go to a public place, event or better yet a college campus the majority of people would probably be looking down giving their full attention to their phone, so it would appear. Cell phones have amazing features and are an overall great gadget however, I am writing this blog post with not complete bias but experience of social interaction with people face to face rather than through the means of technology. I was so blessed not fortunate to grow up during a time in which the way you met friends, boyfriends/girlfriends and created a social life was through real life human interaction. This is not a dis to cell phones nor technology but since the arrival of smart phones, cool apps and the growing dependence on internet technology it is crippling human beings socially. For a growing population having a full conversation outside of Social Media Platforms and Text messages have become a job that requires a lot of effort. I can talk about this subject matter and be frank about it because I am guilty. I found myself not wanting too talk. I found myself having more of a desire to text and when I noticed it I immediately started to pull away from texting as frequently. I forced myself to talk even if it were only for a few minutes because I did not want to become that person who hid behind their text messages. I recall some years ago, a person who I considered my best friend texted me and throughout the months I noticed the individual would text me random conversations and I recall the topic in which we were discussing was so serious I didn't want to continue this conversation via text. I decided to call this individual and my phone call wasn't answered. I called again and this person did not answer the phone. I then texted my friend and said we were just texting and I called you but you didn't answer the phone then this person text me back the NEXT DAY and stated that they prefer not to talk but to text. I was shocked but I was like okay no problem. Later down the line, a few months later the exact same thing happened, I received a random text message from this individual and this person is telling me the story of their life and out of concern I called and my call was not answered then I called back the call was sent to voicemail. I did what most people do when they become offended that their call was rejected I sent a text. I said I was only calling out of concern for you didn't want anything extra. First of all, I completely blame myself because this individual had already let me know that their preferred way to communicate was not talking but through texting. It was then that I knew that we had two totally different outlooks on smartphones, socialization and communication. This doesn't make this individual a bad person or me an aggressive person it simply meant that we had formulated separate views on how we would use smartphones, apps and technology as it related to real life communication between friends not someone who simply followed you on social media. It was weird to see my "friend" post every thread and moment of their life on social media but couldn't have a decent 30 minute telephone conversation. It was so intriguing to see this person put a sugar coated truth on a social media post but the real truth in a text. I was floored because for me there were just certain things I did not want to put out their on the internet for all the world to see. With smartphones, technology and cool apps I have seen no end to the amount of information people are willing to put out about themselves for attention, or because they are lonely or don't have a REAL SOCIAL LIFE outside of apps and the internet. I will be doing more post about this as my BRAND NEW BOOK will be released some time this year and it is all about TECHNOLOGY and the POWER OF THE INTERNET and how it is affecting designed human social interactions.
