Smartphone Two Place at Once
We used to think it was impossible to be in two places at the same time. Now of course, we can. I’m Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.
Misra: Even when we are not using them, they have the potential to direct our thoughts away from the present situation into other situations that may be spatially distant.
Shalini Misra is an assistant professor of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech. She’s talking about those devices that most of us are carrying around in our pockets.
Misra: So, not very long ago it would be normal for us sitting next to each other – and that conversation is the focus of our conversation. Nothing else occupies our minds.
But that is not true in this day and age. When you have your cellphone with you, when it’s in your hand, all of your networks, your social and professional networks these relationships are flattened. They assume equal importance, no matter what the context is. So, you have this potential of becoming absent-present. You could be physically present but perceptually and psychologically absent from the context.
The possibility of holding a small device in your hand with which you can feel close to anyone in the world and access any amount of information within second, has naturally this potential to take away your thoughts from the present time and moment.
We found that people who chose to place their cellphone in their hands or place it on the table within the visual field of two people who were having the conversation, they exchanged less empathy among each other during the course of the conversation, and also had a poorer quality of conversation.
We’ll hear more on the dark side of smartphones in future programs. I’m Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.