Smartphones have proven to be among man greatest innovation of the 21st century.
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Smartphones have proven to be among man’s greatest innovation of the 21st century. They have altered communication and social interaction in unprecedented ways. The effects of smartphones hit the customers with admirable ease due to their innovativeness. Their versatility and portability make them a product that greatly appeals to customers. The market dominance exhibited by smartphones is not attributable to aggressive marketing alone. Rather, it is due to the market’s understanding of the device’s merits. The modern world, characterized by high global interconnectivity has ensured that smartphones pose massive appeal to the 21st century customer. The principal goal of this paper is to examine the effects of smartphones on social skills and communication.
ADDICTION
In the article, are we becoming more socially awkward, Brown posits the question: is there an ongoing mutation of all indigenous methods of communication into a tepid dull entity? Presently, there exists different media to communicate. Social media is certainly the leading phenomena in internet communication. Facebook, a modest start up created by a Stanford University student has morphed into a global giant. With greater offers such as photo and video sharing, social media is slowly muting the conventional methods of communication. Scientists have commenced exploring the emerging concept of addiction to social media. Scientific research suggests that the hormone dopamine that creates habitual tendencies among drug addicts resumes excretion when using smartphones, albeit in minute amounts (Brown). The total effect of that is the creation of automatons; people whose pursuit of trivial pleasures and flings is baffling.
FACE-TO-FACE SOCIALIZATION
Social media through the Smartphone has hammered the last nail in the coffin of conventional socialization method. The ability to meet in the World Wide Web has negated the need for face-to-face meetings. The American Psychiatric Association has raised alarm over our cultural tendency to spend copious amount of time on the internet. Internet addiction disorder is a term quickly gaining traction in the health sector. The ever-decreasing cost Smartphone has added fuel to the gravy train. More and more are been sold to the masses pushing face-to-face communication deeper into the pit of communication obscurity.
CONSTANT COMMUNICATION
Smartphones, Titsworth et al. has argued is a cloud with an active aspect. That despite the demerits that abound while using them, the merits derived by the user far outweigh the demerits. Chatting, an otherwise mundane practice among young adults, increase connectivity between people. In fact, chatting is a product that piggybacks on the uptake of Smartphone due to increased mobile penetration.
CITIZEN PARTICIPATION
The rapid rise of the use of digital technology has carved out a new space for democratic activism. It is beyond reasonable doubt that these products are complementing citizen’s political participation and pushing the boundaries of political behavior and participation (NDI). Smartphones are integral to these developments. Quick to mind is the mobile organizing of the Arab spring, a case in a point that demonstrated the immense power of social media in political participation. Smartphones have enabled global mobilization among political activists (NDI).
Critics, pundits, and tech-enthusiasts differ on the effects of a smartphone to communication. While some allude to its merits, others paint a more poignant picture of its demerits. Certain people ascribe to the notion that the smartphone is an irresistible idea whose time has come. However, there exists Cassandras, who paint a more gloomy future of smartphones; characterized by mediocre social and communication skills among people.
Works Cited
Brown, Cecilia. “Are we becoming more socially akward.” Connecticut college (2013).
NDI. “Citizen participation and technology.” National Democratic institute (n.d.).
Titsworth, Jeffrey H. Kuznekof & Scott. “The Impact of Mobile Phone Usage.” Routledge Taylor and Francis group (2013).
