social weapon

the weapon i am talking about is practically in our hands during most time of the day. well, not exactly literally but we are always a metre away from it. yes, the weapon i am talking about is your fancy smartphone. 

like most real weapons, the smartphone can be a good or bad thing to really rely on all the time. yes, it is good in its built-in functions. we can work efficiently and communicate to one another in a matter of seconds. knowledge can be learnt and information can be shared readily using the smartphone. nonetheless, having a smartphone can be really damaging to you social relations.

social relations, you sure? yes, i am sure. while better means of communications can boost social ties, having it on actual social gatherings can be harmful. let me walk you through it..

how often someone in the group will be absorbed into his/her smartphone and stopped communicating to the people present around? how often a real conversation is disrupted by the sound from the smartphone or the sudden vibration of the smartphone? how often you meet someone who would check his/her smartphone say every 10 seconds? how often everyone suddenly fall into an awkward silence because of either of the three situations? well, that is not all. after that, the situation might snowball and suddenly you realised everyone, including yourself, has started to draw that social weapon out and use it.

simply put, i think we have come to a point where smartphone has become our social pillow in real social gatherings as well. whenever we are in an awkward situation, we use it. whenever we have nothing to say, we use it. whenever we are alone in public, say waiting for a friend or what not, we use it. what’s even more disturbing is not all the time we touch the smartphone is due to the fact that you have to reply a message or what not.

well, i won’t accuse anyone of being over reliant on it or what not. even i myself am guilty of using to avoid awkward situations now and then. i’m pretty sure i am not in the minority. so what’s the point of me saying all these? well, i hope me highlighting here can let you all know that these things exist. whether you are guilty or not of any of the things mentioned, let’s embrace it and take note what we are doing with our smartphones during a social gathering. personally, if i am out in a social gathering i would rather the people present to interact all the time and never to use their smartphones at any point of time. for that to happen, i know i myself should practise some self-control as well. so yeah, hope we are all on the same page on this.