Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Showing Original Post only (View all)This simple solution to smartphone addiction is now used in over 600 U.S. schools [View all]
Graham Dugoni was at a music festival in San Francisco in 2012 when he witnessed something that disturbed him. A man was dancing, uninhibited, perhaps drunk, losing himself in the moment. Some strangers thought it was funny, so they filmed it and uploaded it to YouTube.
Its the kind of thing that happens a thousand times a day. But it bothered Dugoni. Traditionally, as he saw it, people at such festivals would come together to commune, to share a collective feeling that those not present would never be able to participate in (see: Woodstock, 1969, or any Grateful Dead show from the 1960s to the 1990s). But now, everyone had a smartphone. You had to act cool. And that old group intimacy? It was gone.
Its the kind of thing that happens a thousand times a day. But it bothered Dugoni. Traditionally, as he saw it, people at such festivals would come together to commune, to share a collective feeling that those not present would never be able to participate in (see: Woodstock, 1969, or any Grateful Dead show from the 1960s to the 1990s). But now, everyone had a smartphone. You had to act cool. And that old group intimacy? It was gone.
SNIP
In the end, Dugoni wants people to ask themselves: What is the point of all those instantaneous texts, shares and likes?
If you think of this phone as the ultimate expression of technological efficiency where things are easier, cheaper, faster all the time, I think it comes down to what are the limits of a purely efficiency-driven mode of life? What people really enjoy has nothing to do with efficiency. You can play a melody faster, but that doesnt make sense. What does it mean to be more efficient in our social interactions? Is that something we want? Does that make sense at all?
If you think of this phone as the ultimate expression of technological efficiency where things are easier, cheaper, faster all the time, I think it comes down to what are the limits of a purely efficiency-driven mode of life? What people really enjoy has nothing to do with efficiency. You can play a melody faster, but that doesnt make sense. What does it mean to be more efficient in our social interactions? Is that something we want? Does that make sense at all?
Good article by Tara Bahrampour from back in Feb in the Washington Post
The device discussed, by a company called Yondr, is a small, gray neoprene pouch. The phone is locked in and cannot be used until the end of the event. Comedian Dave Chappelle requires them at his shows and some courts and schools have begun using them.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2018/02/05/this-millennial-discovered-a-surprisingly-simple-solution-to-smartphone-addiction-schools-love-it/?utm_term=.8e9181351232
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
24 replies, 2576 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (7)
ReplyReply to this post
24 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
This simple solution to smartphone addiction is now used in over 600 U.S. schools [View all]
FSogol
Aug 2018
OP
Sorry, yeah, I hope it does. There's a guy in our office who is attached to his phone like an
FSogol
Aug 2018
#7
The anecdote about the concert is so weird to me. This guy was mad that some people were
WhiskeyGrinder
Aug 2018
#10
They can still mock him, they just can't upload it so thousands can mock him too. n/t
FSogol
Aug 2018
#13
But this is written in a way that the mocking, the lack of "group intimacy," was the problem.
WhiskeyGrinder
Aug 2018
#14
Stand by your convictions! Send us a video of your most embarrassing moment and we'll upload it
FSogol
Aug 2018
#15
Cell phones are simply a tool. If he doesn't like the way people use the tool, taking it away
WhiskeyGrinder
Aug 2018
#16
LOL, putting the phone away for a short perod of time equals taking away their phones?
FSogol
Aug 2018
#19
We've all seen films of people dancing similarly at Woodstock. Were they
WhiskeyGrinder
Aug 2018
#18