At best obsessive, at worst addictive behavior. Thats not a great place to be.
I have been doing much thinking regarding tech and how it effects my life. More specifically, the instantaneous way we receive what we want, when we want it from our devices. The reality is frightening, but equally odd. Odd? Basically, we all know getting things immediately and without wait – on our time frame, in our elected way, all the time – is universally known to be awful for A). Raising children and B). Our expectation meter. But here we are driving a car off the cliff knowingly while we update our status, of course.
Are these machines and software just being built to keep people hooked on repetitive reward behavior, I thought? Another good question. I was thinking about this on my drive to work the other morning and then it hit me. So, so similar to the slot machine formula. It’s the same psychology to the point where its not just certain people are going to use their device to just be on twitter, or on Facebook.
Developers, etc are creating an experience to ensure that your decision making will choose the device over real people interactions and although I think deep down in their hearts they think they are just making an “good experience” for the user, the truth is they want you to use their software. Get on that app and post your status, pull to refresh all day. If receptive usage means good design, then by all means software designers are at the peak of their game.
How did it get like this? Truth is there always has been some degree of this in culture. The newspaper would be the first form of solo isolation in a mass market to utilize repetitive use. So honestly, the “everyone at the holiday party looking at their cell phones and not interacting” excuse isn’t applicable, because the same happened on many, many years ago with newspapers.
Then of course TV. Another medium that draws attention to the single item for repetitive usage. This is another iteration of an “on demand” product. Not so much that individuals had Netflix back in the 50’s. But to some extent that they had a remote and the option to choose a channel. The early stages of on demand I would contest.
You know the rest: Enter the Internet, the revolution of the personal PC, then iPods, iPhones, iPads and wearable devices. Theres no questioning this is our current isolation, reward seeking state.
To be completely honest, it’s disheartening . Its unfortunate to walk around restaurants and see every kid face planted in a cell phone instead of interacting with with their family. Or is that just todays version of everyone reading the newspaper?
Odd times we live in.
*ddileo 