The past fifteen years or so have been marked by the rapid growth of two things: smartphones and social media. While the social media industry now seems to struggle at times to not fall from grace, the toppling of smartphones is nowhere in sight. The presence of smartphones is projected to only rise especially when new technologies rush to enhance the convenience of our experience and ability to accomplish tasks from the little (and increasingly slim), seemingly innocuous piece of metal (or glass). Gone are the days we would amaze at someone pulling out a rare smartphone out of their pocket. Smartphones have their roots in the personal digital assistant (PDA) that aided professionals with handling work-related tasks, particularly email, with the incorporation of Internet connection. Nowadays, unless one works in an email-intensive job, email is far from the core functions of a smartphone. Even calling isn’t such a popular function anymore. And we’re talking about smartphones. Today, gen Z, the generation that grew up almost inseparably from smartphones, tend to use smartphones to navigate their socials (i.e., social media) and texting to an extent. Of course the smartphone remains a powerful multifunctional device as it permits so much more than just communication. And this is precisely why it distinguishes itself from any technological tools before, both for its versatility and portability.
More than anything, the smartphone is smart. If we were impressed by the mere presence of a smartphone in the past, we may possibly still be impressed now by how smart it gets today with each new advancement. And even though smartphones are dished out at a ridiculously and unnecessarily fast pace, smartphone makers somehow always find a way to dazzle us with new features and capabilities. We rush to purchase smartphones even before the shipments make it the store, that’s how excited we get at the little device that promises magic at our fingertips. Prior to the thrive of online shopping (yet another mark of the 21st century), photos of smartphone fans queueing up for the product drop are almost ridiculous when contrasted with images of queues for food in underdeveloped parts of the world. But hey, now that we are all getting to the point of universal smartphone ownership (some justttt a little later than others), there’s no shame in getting excited about a smartphone right?
The truth is that while the smartphone gets smarter with time, we as the users may be getting less smart. A term was even coined for the phenomenon of walking around with eyes glued to the phone screen, which is what a “smombie” (smartphone zombie) does. And zombies do not have brains or souls or any of the things that we homo sapiens take pride in so much. What’s more, texting while driving, though not an exclusive behavior with the modern smartphone, remains a tragically severe problem that constitutes much of the human error in traffic accidents. With the smartphone within arms reach whenever we hit the hay, sleep deprivation is growing into a crisis among populations today. Mental health suffers too, with working adults failing to separate work from personal life and ending up with high levels of stress and anxiety, and teenagers experiencing low self-esteem from using social media on smartphones. Pretty much anyone can get addicted to using the smartphone, as it is designed to make life convenient and easy, and aren’t we big fans of convenience at our fingertips? The smartphone can cause harm, but because it gives us so much comfort in our day to day life, we’re willing to look past these destructive patterns.
It’s quite clear that smartphone have increasingly weakened our social relationships, our physical and mental wellbeing, our cognitive abilities and even our awareness of the damaging effects of the device. I do like all the functionalities that my smartphone can offer, and I would be lying if I said I weren’t impressed by how smart it has become. But the growth of smartphone technologies should not turn us into half-dead smombies roaming around. The smartphone is smart as long as what it can enhance our quality of life, but once it takes a toll on us, its merits are undeserved and we might as well call it the dumbphone.