The Phone
from the kitchen wall, to princess, to dial, to tonal, to supercomputer
I realized yesterday the draw that my phone has on me. Now it’s not that I haven’t been caught deep down in some pics on insta (which I deleted), or keeping up with friends and family on facebook (which I deleted), or being horrified by the hate on twitter/X or whatever you want to call it (which I deleted). But it became immensely apparent when I removed myself from the physical world while I scrolled on my phone that there is a problem. Well maybe not a total OMG what is happening problem, but definitely an issue that needs to be looked into and resolved.
My older son likes to go swimming for exercise, and since he cannot drive for neurological reasons (on top of his autism, which is not something that would stop him from driving, he has dyskinesia), I am his Uber.
Well, while he was working out, I was reading on substack. Now I really enjoy substack. Of course, since I am here (duh). I do get drawn into Notes and essays on a variety of topics. I find the writing interesting, erstwhile, heartfelt, and more often than not, quite good. In fact, I become engrossed in what others have written.
Well, when he was done and I tore myself away from the app, what I noticed is that the previously quiet pool side had become a din of about 40 happy toddlers and toddler moms and nannies. In fact, it wasn’t that it was even that big a pool side. We were right next to each other. You couldn’t miss the little ones in the swimming classes, running under the waterfall mushroom, with the toddler yells, screams, screeches and actually the sheer child thrill of playing in the water. (The adults of course were eagle eyed on their little ones, taking in every stroke, promoting play, or giving instruction. And yes of course, there were lifeguards.)
What I realized is that I had been so deep into my own world on that app on my phone, that I had not even noticed the change in an environment not 5 feet from me. I hadn’t even heard the change, which of course if you talk to my husband that would be par for the course, since I never hear anything he says so my hearing is going. Except my otolaryngologist says my hearing is fine.
I have to be honest. This realization really concerned me. Not because I think my hearing is going, but because I was so entranced in my own world, that I wasn’t residing in the real world.
Being deep down in your phone does allow life to simply pass you by.
This then got me thinking more about just how addictive the phones we have in our hands really are, and what that means in your own life. I also question if it is the algorithms that are causing us to be glued to the phone or is it the electronic feedback we get. Are our brains talking to our phones on a different level. Something we are not aware of? Something we have yet to discern? Is it dangerous? (I think it is for many) Interestingly, they actually say that those with ADHD do function better when using electronic devices. It changes the input in their brains for nonneurotypicals for the better. But then what does it do to a typical brain? Are there side effects both positive and negative?
Now I know much has been written about teens and phone addiction. There are movements afoot to remove phones from school or to at least limit them. There is also the acknowledgement that social media apps, whether TikTok or insta have a psychologically negative effect on people, more often than not on teenage girls.
At the same time, everything in education is now digital. There are no textbooks that are handed out like we used to get, where we had to make those book covers out of paper bags from the grocery store. Even tests are given on line. While this can save a school district or school alot of money, there needs to be a really hard look at whether this is helping or hurting the students.
Everything is the computer. Cursive with its hand-brain connection is no longer even taught in school.
Heck when the National Archives had to call for volunteers to read cursive documents (last month) to upload into the digital platforms, you know there is an issue. Story-My younger son was volunteering for a local historical society, but had to quit because they wanted him to review documents that were all written in cursive and he said he couldn’t read them. Yes, he can write in cursive. He can sign his name-thank heavens- but it is not easy for him since he has dysgraphia and the computer really is a godsend for him. But why wasn’t his generation at least taught to read cursive? (I had never thought that he would not be able to read cursive if he had atleast been taught to write in cursive, too)
(Not a one of them will eve be able to read the original Declaration of Independence or the US Constitution, never mind the thousands of historical documents in archives around the world, such as the Magna Carta. Perhaps it is me. But the thought of not seeing those words as they had been written, in the hand that they were written, takes from them meaning. Connecting to those that wrote these words by seeing the words as they are, is the essence of a human’s soul. It is the stroke of the pen, the sheer energy to formulate the words, the movement of the shoulder-arm-hand-fingers to produce such beauty as the written word is an overwhelming and decidedly human gift. Why we have taken this lifeblood of the human experience from future generations I will never understand.)
Moreover, what I had never thought about though, was just how much these apps might pull me in as well. I also have to be honest, I do not read anything on paper anymore either. I have a kindle for books, and use my phone, or the computer for my newspapers as well. I don’t know any organization, group, company as well that doesn’t use docusign (well lawyers might not). Digital has become a way of life for me and the wider world.
I also write on the computer- of course. Now I do have quite a number of journals sitting right in front of me on my desk. I love journals. I love looking at the paper, and how the books are put together. I love the cover designs (or nondesigns). I love the smell. I love the promise of a blank page. I love what could be in those journals, the thoughts, the ideas, the concepts all rolled into words on a page.
I even have a fancy pen in my handbag, which I carry with me to jot down an idea or two if they come to light while I am out and about. I have wonderful hopes of using that pen in writing in my journals. I have quite alot of refills for that pen. Yet, they remain unused, because if something comes to mind, it goes quickly in an app on my phone.
Of course, the less paper you use the better for the trees. But there is a downside and that is becoming quite apparent. I can’t remember being that engrossed in a book written on paper that I didn’t recognize the world around me. And I have been obsessed with quite a number of books in my day. Magazines, and newspapers of every variety have crossed my path over time and nothing has kept me from reality.
So yes, I found my mental distance from reality rather scary.
I’m not sure what this actually means, or what I am going to do in the future.
I do have to admit something though, I can type alot faster than I write. So when ideas come spewing forth, when I type, I don’t lose them as much as I would if I were using pen and paper. My hand doesn’t cramp as much either, because there is a difference between writing fast and typing fast. Seems at least there is for me. Not sure if it is different muscles or the tension that engulfs the hand as you write. (of course when you get a mani they do a small hand massage that helps with any residual cramping from either endeavor, too.)
Maybe what I will do is set a timer to go off every 15 minutes or so when I am reading on my phone to make sure I am aware of what is happening around me. And no I am not going to start carrying tomes, which could easily be downloaded to a much more manageable form.
It is quite the conundrum isn’t it? I know that we need to create workarounds so we remain in the moment when we are on our phones. I know that we need to scale back our usage of certain apps, but on the other hand, there are so many apps that can be helpful and do make life easier. Technology is always a double edged sword, as they say. It always was from the time neanderthals invented the wheel and fire.
As humanity evolves (yes grows, develops, gets better, not necessarily because of intelligent design, but because that is how biology works. Or if you like intelligent design that is how God created everything to be.) to become a better version of itself, what we need to do is allow our bodies and our brains to expand as well. What we need to do is to make sure that we don’t allow technology to destroy that which makes us human in the first place.
And don’t get me started on AI.
TODAY WE ARE WAITING ON AN ADDITIONAL 3 HOSTAGES TO CAME HOME ON SATURDAY. IT IS DAY 483 OF THE HOSTAGES BEING HELD IN THE TERROR DUNGEONS OF GAZA 🎗️
Leave a comment but remember the rules. Anything nasty will be deleted.
Note: I have not activated paid subscriptions. But I have created a tip jar. HERE
On the other hand, if you feel that I have reached you in some way, please give to your local food bank or local animal shelter.
My usual response and/or rationale for devotion to our phones is that what is on or available on our phones may be more interesting than what is happening around us. Plus the smartphone is more versatile than a book.
Getting "lost" while interacting with your phone is ok, I think. It demonstrates you became completely focused on the content. This happens to almost everytime I listen to an audiobook or someone reads to me ( I was read to a lot while growing up). That "focus" is really when one is employing enough mental energy to enter into that creative world that exists as imagination/mental imagery. It is easiest when the presented material is of interest, well-prepared, and excellent in presentation.
Several years ago I had a one way commute of about thirty five minutes, and I listened to audio books. There were times I traveled miles with little actual awareness I was driving. It was a little sobering, but those roads were lightly traveled. More than once I've been "jerked" back to reality from that place the creative imagination beckons one into. Music is sometimes like it as well.
I find it is completely different from the concentration serious reading takes, even when the subject matter in of interest. There's all that decoding, translating, sorting, and evaluation, especially with educational material. Fiction is a whole other matter, and the rich and juicy world of creative imagining is activated. If we both listened to the same thing, I'd be surprised if our mental creations were the same; similarities maybe, but still, only maybe.
The loss of reading and writing skills simply beggars my understanding. The concomitant losses of mental processing, understanding, and reasoning across diverse knowledge fields is a bit distressing. I don't know what education has become, but it is mostly a thing I no longer recognize.
I really enjoyed this post.