Have Smartphones Changed Human Beings Socially?

Have Smartphones Changed Human Beings Socially?

Introduction

The modern world is changing rapidly due to the advancing technologies in several areas, starting from the scientific research, education, development of infrastructures, communication and information, food industry, and other disciplines touching the well-being of the human race. Industrialization is shifting from the discovery of engines to smart-technologies, which are using a more advanced and improved design in their machines. Nowadays, computers have moved from enormous devices to very smaller devices that are more effective than their old models. Looking at the cell phones, they have shifted from the box telephone to more advanced hand-size, or pocket-size phones, which performs huge tasks than before. Everything is merely done on smartphones with a click or swipe away. In this report, the focus will be on whether the development of smartphones has made the human race to be antisocial, or not. It will explain why smartphones have not made humans antisocial and give the reasons for picking that specific side.

The term “smartphone” is describing a new class of mobile phones which are able to perform several functions in a similar manner as the computer. It allows the user to call, send a message, access the internet, run software programs like a computer, and uses a touch-screen to enable users to interact with them. In the past, they had been developed for primarily business using due to their higher costs. However, the current world has changed in technology, and the mobile markets are having a massive range of cheaper smartphones which are readily available in many countries (Gregory et al. 162). There is a huge popularity for smartphones in the common public as compared to any corporate sector in the globe. Apple was the first company to introduce smartphones to the general public consumer market, and it has transformed society in a significant way. What is the impact of these gadgets to the broader community?

Significance and Impact of Smart-phones on Society

Recent surveys indicate that nearly forty-two percent of the US’s populations use smartphones, and sixty-five percent of them use the devices to read the news, post their status updates, and send and receive a message or photos. That is, according to the survey done by Compete, web analysis firm. It is clear people are moving away and abandoning their PCs, embracing the smartphones which have significantly changed the way people communicate and interact. They have made many things seem easier and faster to perform without necessarily moving from place to place, or carrying huge loads of work (Sciandra 245).

Humans enjoy many advantages in different ways, ranging from daily works, communication, learning, exploring, researching, exposure to newer ideas, development of personalities, fitness and dieting, and platforms to grow their skills and knowledge. Businesses have expanded and created newer domains for companies and their employees, while the quality of education in schools and colleges has improved significantly. Smartphones have provided other alternatives for delivering education services like distance-learning or e-learning. There are huge changes in the health sector, millions of people seeking information on health from smartphones, proximity to hospitals, bookings, and prescriptions of various diseases. Smartphones help an individual track their diets, exercising activities, heart-beats, blood pressure, and reminders of appointment with doctors. These are huge steps in smartphone technology in the modern world, playing a crucial role in many people’s lives.

Looking at the psychological part of the smartphone, they are said to help in reducing stress levels in the lives of busier people. They give an individual the ability to interact with family, friends, business clients, and engage in selling activities online, as compared to creating time for visiting, or delivering and picking items bought. The ability to make the brain function well through entertainment, accessing critical information, seeing loved ones and communicating with different people at a short time makes one stress-free. In the social life of people, smartphones have played a significant impact on the integration process. People connect with each other, creating new friendships, connecting with distant relatives, and reminding a person the importance of bonding even from afar distance. It makes the distance seem small and renews the memories from the past. The fears of boredom are removed, and one is able to know how their beloved is doing.

Negative Social Impacts of Smartphones

Despite the vast benefits and impacts, the smartphones have provided humans with; there are huge disadvantages and gaps that have been created in the current world. The mental behavior plus social life has changed significantly as the use of smartphones has become like a drug for the millions of users around the globe. With estimations putting the number of smartphone users at several hundred-millions.  Research done by scientists suggests that there is an increased distraction, having less time in the real or physical world, and fantasizing more about the virtual world that does not exist. It has created gaps in a society where people using these gadgets do not value the present tangible world, they live in but want to live like their models’ or celebrities who are constantly portraying a flashy life just to gain masses of followers (Dean and Jenny 1222). The production and disposing of smartphones have increased significantly in the modern society, creating a huge problem in the wastes produced.

Manufacturers of smartphones have been criticized from the common connections in their supply chains and the abuse of human rights. Investigations concerning the iPhones and Apple company done in 2016 indicate that there was child labor use in the batteries used in devices from these companies, including Samsung, and Sony. Children are used in mining cobalt mineral, some being less than seven years old in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The smartphones used by many people might have a significant chance that child-labor was involved in making them. that is unethical because the manufacturers are not telling the truth about it. They are required to check whether their supply chains have children involved in their production, so that it can create an openness to the whole world that child labor is not involved in any way. Other toxic substances that are used in making and assembling smartphones have a potential top cause health issues. It is therefore necessary for the companies making the gadgets to create better recycling methods to ensure there is a reduction in health problems. Disposing these electronics to the developing countries is not a solution, and workers are being exposed to handling these old phones, which have a huge risk of causing health problems. That is according to Greenpeace and Amnesty International highlights.  Harmful effects of smartphones and their related products are an area that is still causing significant problems to humans, and the environment.

The traditional way of integration has died, and people value their pocket friends more than the lives of other human beings. A person crying for help will trend for their cries as people rush to take pictures and videos of their suffering, forgetting to offer help. Even if they offer help, they will take pictures and post of social media with their smartphones to show the whole world that they were helping a person. The attentional resources that were devoted to personal ecosystems have moved to what is virtual, according to Larry Rosen, a professor of psychology at California State University in Dominguez Hills, and co-author of “The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a Hi-Tech World”. The meaning of that statement is that people are not attending or focusing on what is in front of them. Parents seem to have forgotten their kids, and the attention is not on the television, because of second-screening. All aspects of our lives have been affected by the negative effects of smartphones (Karimi and Hassan 135).

The accessibility of smartphones has had an impact on the way people perform their tasks, focus, and behave in life. Many have become deeply dependent on these smartphones until they cannot make sound decisions in life, workplaces, and thinking ability (Ling et al. 834). Everyone is addicted to it, more than the drug-addicts in the streets. The cognitive capacity is deteriorating rapidly to the extent that kids who are addicted to smartphones are feared to develop difficulties in comprehending texts, reading, and critical thinking abilities. The survey is based on results of psychologist Anne Mangen with her colleagues at the University of Stavanger in Norway, where they divided several students in the tenth grade in two parts. One part read texts on paper, while another part read texts as PDFs on a screen. The outcome shows the students reading from a digital screen did better than their counterparts reading on paper.

Another study done on people having a meal with friends or family at the restaurant shows that those participants with their smartphones placed in front of them got distracted more as compared to the participants who kept their gadgets away or switched them of. The sad reality is that it makes a person be distant from their closest friends and family. The rest become bored and lose interest in the discussion, get angry, or feel insecure about their relationships. It has become extremely hard to keep away our phones. Rosen did a survey on the use of smartphones by students in high school and young people, using applications that count the number of times a smartphone was unlocked. The results indicate that unlocking the phone increased from fifty-six times in 2016 to seventy-three times in 2018. All that is blamed on the number of adverts that are falsely sending notifications on the phone, making the users eager to see what their “friends” have (Sciandra 266).

Conclusion

The study shows that the social disadvantages of smartphones outweigh the benefits in society. Looking at these impacts, it is rightfully easier to conclude that smartphones have created huge gaps in the social well-being of humans. Many feel that there is a need to address these issues and restrict smartphone manufactures from making these devices too addictive. It is not yet clear whether apps will help in solving the problem, or if it will keep growing and affecting the current plus future generation. In conclusion, my stand remains on the fact that smartphones have not created antisocial people in society. People have created friend, connected with distant family members, learned something new, and even found soulmates through their smartphones. The development of this technology has made the world seem a small village of connecting, interacting, and socializing. We travel far while seated in our offices, or homes, and have fun without necessarily traveling greater distances. Without such technology, much would pass us without our knowledge! However, there is need to address the challenge of addiction to screen and educate the young generations on the importance of learning, doing, and exploring things in traditional way. Developing programs in these smartphones to enable users to create time for the physical world, and encouraging them to learn how to balance both worlds will be a step to solving the problems (Karimi and Hassan 155).