Smartphones are one of the world’s most greatest inventions, but has it come to the point where we can only see screens?
Everywhere we go today, there is always some form of technology accessible, whether it be a phone, laptop, tablet, television screen at home, work or school and most likely someone is right there attached to its hip. The reason for this research is to understand the interactions between individuals and their smartphone screens in public places. The public places that will be focused on are areas that can be referred to as the in betweens of these everyday places, such as, travelling to and from, waiting for lunch on a work break or a coffee run in the morning.
Before we can dive into the interactions between smartphone screens and individuals, we must understand why we have become so attached to them, in the first place and to do that we should start at the beginning.
The Rise of Smartphones
The evolution of mobile phones to smartphones have evolved from making phone calls to texting, video chats and more. From the 1970s to now mobile phones still serve the same purpose of providing people with a form of communication. However, with the advancements of technology, we are now able to communicate through different ways, texting, video chat, live streams etc. Along with keeping virtually our entire lives on there, from photos, credit cards, licences and books.
Smartphones now play significant roles in every single aspect of society, including schools, works, businesses, education and social aspects, and have in turn caused an extreme change to the norms of society, along with behaviours of individuals. The risk of becoming addicted to your smartphone is now a reality with research showing that it is quickly increasing, with the reasoning of people needing to be in constant communication with others, even if it is unnecessary. Smartphones have also become a risk for health with individuals who have too much exposure to screens, with people disconnecting from one another and creating discourage to engage in face to face social interactions. Although, there are clear positives that smartphones have had on our society. For instance, providing new dimensions of business, a contemporary way to improve education and health quality, as well as, opportunities for efficient social interactions between people around the world.
As smartphones have become more ‘smarter’, giving us the ability to hold our whole life in the palm of our hands, the dependency and attachment for these devices have only grown, however, is it for our best?
I’m sure that the majority who are currently reading this, experience a unique anxiety when they have misplaced their smartphone and even though we always find it, it is always the same feeling no matter what.
There is science behind why we are so attached or maybe even addicted to our smartphones so much. It is all because of our frenemy, dopamine. Dopamine is a chemical that is released in our brains that sparks the sensation of pleasure. This feeling is comparable to taking the first bite out of your favourite food, however with smartphones it is caused because of our successful social interactions. That is why, when we have a successful interaction, we crave more and more and more, and eventually it can become addictive.
To further answer this question, an observation of people in public places was conducted, where I was able to observe their interactions with the smartphone screens, or other people around in general. I also conducted a short interview, where I asked the participant about their own personal interactions with their smartphone in public places.
Public interactions between Man and phone
The interactions between people and their phone screens is extremely relevant for today’s society as the majority do have access to a smartphone and that it is a part of their everyday lives. An observation was conducted to conclude if smartphones were frequently used in public places by people who were alone. The public places I focused on were public transport stops, and food courts, where most people would need to be waiting. I observed the environment and found that with public transport stops and stations, it was not as loud as expected and that noise would only come from the buses, trains, employees or surrounding vehicles. Here are some photos I captured below to demonstrate my observations.
From my observations over the past few weeks I have found that people were more inclined to go on their smartphones, rather than sitting or standing for a few minutes whilst they were waiting. People would not look up from their phone, unless their order was called or bus had arrived. I concluded that when in public places alone, people would prefer to keep any social interactions with one another nice and short. It was also unsettling at times because when I saw people acknowledge someone, whether it be someone they did or did not know, there was no effort made to actually interact but rather just smile and put their earphones in and head back down.
It was interesting to find that this conclusion included the majority of the younger generations, and that older generations, such as baby boomers, were found just patiently waiting. As the observations progressed I found that a comparison between the two generations would assist in understanding the reason behind why smartphone use is prevalent within these everyday situations.
The two images shown above were obtained from ABC News articles and it shows a visual representation of the difference between how people wait for public transport in the past versus the present. It can be seen that with the image on the left, that with the absence of smartphones in the past people were forced to wait either in silence or spark conversation. Alternatively, the image on the right displays how the majority of us would act when out waiting for anything, with heads down and screens capturing all our focus. Although, phones were not as advanced in the past, it still poses the question of why.
But why…?
Why do we need smartphones 24/7, if people were able to travel or wait without them?
- Is it because of the functionality of this technology, where we can control almost every aspect of our lives at the tips of our fingers? Or
- Are just bored and need something to do every minute of every day? Or
- Do our smartphones act as almost like another person when out in public alone, so we don’t look ‘lonely’?
Available at: https://me.me/i/pretending-to-talk-on-my-phone-so-i-dont-look-13983241
To answer the question, ‘Why?’, I interviewed a participant who uses public transport almost every day and travels to and from the busiest train stations at peak times. The purpose of the interview was to determine how much the phone is on during their travels, and to understand why the participant may use their phone on public transport. From this interview the participant identified that they would be on their smartphones for the entire time during their travels. The moment the participant left their home to their work or school, the participant was always on their phones, either checking social media, replying to messages, listening to music or even streaming television shows.
Since the participant was a constant user of their phone, when asked “Why?”, the initial response was because it would give them something to do. I proceeded to ask the question of if it was out of sheer boredom, work or school related, and their answer was, “It depends.” . The participant responded that it was basically so they would not look weird, just standing there and looking around. We continued to talk about if it was the fear of looking alone, when actually being by themselves, and my participant brought up a unique perspective.
“…with my phone I feel kind of like I am never alone, and if I am on it, it acts like it is almost a shield.”
A shield? A shield from what? From who?
This statement was interesting because I had never heard of the metaphor of a phone acting as a “shield”. The participant explained that using their phone in public, would give them the opportunity to either avoid others, or for others to avoid them. It kept them in a sort of invisible bubble that when their earphones were in and head in their screen, it would reduce the risk of being bothered. The participant is an introvert so talking to strangers is something they are not comfortable with and the smartphone acts as their protector, their shield.
From my interview I concluded that being bored is a major factor in why people will use smartphones in public places, which is not a big surprise. In a recent survey done by CNN, they found that almost half of their respondents (42%) openly admitted that they use their smartphones to overcome boredom. It was found that people used their smartphones as a tool to ‘kill down time’.
Now I will pose another question, if we use our phone to overcome boredom, will there be a point that the next feeling of boredom will come from our phones?
It has been suggested that Generation Z are now getting “phone bored”, a popular term used to describe the act of being on your smartphone, but still feeling bored. The reason why is because people in Generation Z (born between the years of 1998-2010) have grown up with a smartphone from around the young age of approximately 11-12 years old. This generation have been with this technology for so long that it has now that it has become comparable to walking around in circles. I personally feel like for me it is already a reality because I know I can refresh my Instagram feed 2-3 times in less than 5 minutes.
Overall, understanding the interaction between smartphones and people in public places is like peeling an onion and I have only gone through a couple of layers. From our brain chemistry, to being in a state of boredom, to needing a safe guard, smartphones are used for many different reasons. The combined research of observations, an interview and secondary research has led me to conclude that the interaction between a person and the smartphone can be understood by not how they use their phones but why. Ultimately the majority of people are on their smartphones for similar, if not for the same reason as the next person.
Feel free to comment if you use your smartphone a little bit too much and if you’re comfortable, why do you use your smartphone a lot.
Diana xx
ME-dia 