We were warned of a massive technological revolution, where our our well being was to be heightened. Where something gigantic was about to happen, then it did. This was the cusp of the digital revolution, where it altered the state of how we live our lives today.
There was once a time when we had to work for everything. Where instant meant almost automatic.
Then the dawn of digital was born, which completely altered the way we now live.
We now take it for granted, something that once needed to be earned. It’s now given to us on an electronic platter.
Life as a result has propelled forward, and has become lightening quick.
It’s now a lot more ephemeral, it’s become virtually instantaneous, and the latest generation take it for granted.
The Instant Gratification Generation
We now live in a world of give me everything right now. Massive entitlement, as our patience as a result has become paper thin.
We now live in a world where the Internet will immediately give us any type of information we need, with a few strokes of the keyboard.
Our attention spans as a result have shortened. Digital connectivity has completely replaced personal interaction and thinking.
A World Of Prompt
In just a span of a few decades, what the world of instant everything has boxed us into, is our inability to pay attention.
Experts claim our attention spans, have been reduced by one-third, as our brains short circuit.
Everything we need, want, is now readily and instantly available in a stupid square electronic device, at the snap of our fingertips, a few taps away.
Instant gratification for something we once needed to work for, is fed to us on a blinking digital screen.
We’ve become a world of robotic morons, as we’re force fed mass media down our throats.
We lose our concentration quicker, as we now dwell of something for just eight seconds, then move on to the next topic.
So if you can’t communicate information to someone within this time span, then they won’t remember it and is lost forever.
Where’s My Digital Box
Fast forward to today, and life without our smartphones is unthinkable, we suffocate with anxiety.
It’s social suicide to go anywhere without it, even when we go to the bathroom.
The average user today checks their smartphone, once every four and a half minutes.
This obsession of all things instantly digital, has lead to new medical conditions, both mental and physical.
One of the most notable being nomophobia, which is the very real fear of being without our mobile phones.
So if you break out into a cold sweat, once you leave your phone just for a few moments, you rush into a panic.
This is known as smartphone attachment disorder. It happens, if for god forbid you leave it at home, or your battery is low.
Technology Anxiety
This is different however when it comes to other digital devices, such as our desktops and tablets. It’s found the same mental attachment isn’t there.
What tablets don’t activate are the same drastic stressful emotions, that our smartphones do.
The reason for this is we consider them to be more permanent. They’re more of a stay and use at home or the office device.
Something we can conveniently place on our laps, as we sip our latte while shopping online.
But if we ever lose sight of our smartphones for even a few moments, it becomes an entirely frightful situation.
What it evokes is a sense of deep emotional loss to the outside world, regardless of where we are.
Becoming A Habitual Obsession
Our smartphones are now considered so addictive, it activates the same emotional response as being addicted to playing slot machines at the casino, or alcohol abuse.
The spell is cast because of a loss of connection to the world. It’s become an electronic limb of our survival and existence.
What smartphones provides is an immediacy of response, which offers instant gratification.
Along with this satisfaction we get, it forces us to crave more of it, wanting more of it right now.
This Is Our Brain On Digital
What having this instant technology at our fingertips means, is we no longer need to think, to use our brains to process.
At one time, we had to store names, numbers, dates, facts, places, answers to the simplest of questions.
So why would we even bother to use our noggin any longer, as it takes too much effort and energy.
With something marvel like our smartphones, it can do so easier and faster for us.
Why Me Think
What research has found, is we now use our smartphones for every little whim, every little concern.
We’ve become reluctant to exert any effort to use our brains, which is programmed to take the path of least resistance anyways, to be lazy.
It’s known we’ll now use the apps on our digital devices, or search for information on the Internet, for even the most simplest of queries.
Solutions to answers, we can usually come up with on our own.
We don’t bother to do so, as we’re no longer willing to invest the tiny cognitive energy it takes to solve the problem.
When Smartphones Become Useful
Once we get over the annoyance, our poor anti-social behaviour of our heads buried in our smartphones, tapping away pointlessly, there are benefits.
For instance, you’re at the airport, and realize you have to wait 30 minutes for your flight.
So instead of becoming anxious, what you can do is put your smartphone to work and get busy.
You can begin by reading those outstanding text messages, respond to all the overflowing emails in your inbox.
There’s time to perform the administrative tasks, you once needed a computer at the office or home for.
You can tap open your Facebook account, and get caught up with the latest from your friends, family, and associates.
So instead of wasting time, what you can have is a productive and enjoyable time well spent. This thanks to the convenience of technology.