Google Soft Censorship
Google ad policies define this article as NOT acceptable, so Google refuses to show Google ads on this page. We depend upon advertising revenues to survive.
Since Google refuses to show ads on this content, we're asking you to override Google's decision and help us survive by
1) donating to OpEd News
or 2) becoming a Paid Member of OpEd News.
(Know that if we had sufficient income, we wouldn't use Google ads at all.)
By the end of 2013, according to the technology company Cisco Systems, there were more smart phones on the planet than human beings. During its amazing growth spurt, smart-phone use has evolved to become the ultimate pervasive intrusion upon everyday lives of otherwise ordinary, normal human beings, even the apparent few who do not own one.
According to a study published by the American Psychological Association, "the mere presence of a cell phone -- even when not being used -- influences people's performance on complex mental tasks."
Meanwhile, a University of Essex study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships concluded that the presence of a cell phone "interferes with our ability to form close interpersonal connections."
The smartest phone in the room
Of course, humanity faced a different set of problems that seemed more immediate than the concerns about the long-term effect of electro-magnetic radiation that emerged during the period before phones became digitally "smart." Those early devices were just minimally-functional analog antiques called "cellys." "Hit me up on my celly" was boastful hipster vernacular announcing one's membership in the vanguard of early cell-phone owners. But part of that boastfulness often included loud, often in-artful conversations by callers who seemed hell-bent on making sure that everyone within a two-block radius knew that there was a cell-phone owner in their midst.
Today however, carrying a smart phone for the purpose of actually talking on it probably carries the same level of low-cachet social irrelevancy as sending handwritten letters through the mail. No longer are phones used for the singular purpose of vocally communicating one's thoughts, wishes, dreams, and desires to a specific individual.
Instead, we'd rather use them to drone through cyber-space spilling out endless streams of unconsciousness -- issuing inanimate Facebook "likes," tweeting underdeveloped 140-character sentence fragments, dispatching emoji-encoded messages laid out like a kindergartner's rendering of floats seen at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade -- all while anguishing over decisions about whether to swipe left or right on Tinder.
It's been reported that certain long-established restaurant chains now struggle to lure in diners for a traditional sit-down meal -- particularly during weekday lunch. One reason is that it takes too long. But it's not due to customers who overstay their welcome because of lengthy, highly-animated conversations amongst themselves. It's more a consequence of diners spending inordinate amounts of time focusing not on their meals but on manipulating their devices: photographing their food, posting comments about them on Facebook, issuing tweets about the quality of the wait staff, etc.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
