Re:I wish mum's phone was never invented
by derefr on Wednesday May 23, 2018 @05:30PM
(#17138511)
Now this is a salient point, I think. We train ourselves to whip out our phones when there's even a minute of "unusable" time. We use our phones while waiting in line, while on the bus, while on the toilet, etc. We condition ourselves that you respond to being a little bit bored by pulling out your phone.
And so, if you're a little bit bored while talking to someone? Oops, you've just pulled out your phone.
I do that. I catch myself doing it, though, and sheepishly put it away, pretending I was just checking the time. It requires a bit of self-awareness, though, and that decreases when people are tired and under stress. I would expect that people who would previously just be "zoning out" are now "phoning out."
(On the other hand, you know what seems to be a novel piece of social etiquette that I entirely approve of? People whipping out their phones while eating. Not while waiting for their food—while actually putting the food in their mouths. There's seemingly no longer a social norm about "not talking with your mouth full", so people try to carry on a conversation while also getting food stuffed into their food-holes, and neither one goes as well. Presenting yourself as slightly distracted [by, say, an "interesting" article on your phone] decreases the social pressure on everyone else to talk. It's a social-engineering "hack", that seems to be rapidly approaching an established convention.)
And so, if you're a little bit bored while talking to someone? Oops, you've just pulled out your phone.
I do that. I catch myself doing it, though, and sheepishly put it away, pretending I was just checking the time. It requires a bit of self-awareness, though, and that decreases when people are tired and under stress. I would expect that people who would previously just be "zoning out" are now "phoning out."
(On the other hand, you know what seems to be a novel piece of social etiquette that I entirely approve of? People whipping out their phones while eating. Not while waiting for their food—while actually putting the food in their mouths. There's seemingly no longer a social norm about "not talking with your mouth full", so people try to carry on a conversation while also getting food stuffed into their food-holes, and neither one goes as well. Presenting yourself as slightly distracted [by, say, an "interesting" article on your phone] decreases the social pressure on everyone else to talk. It's a social-engineering "hack", that seems to be rapidly approaching an established convention.)