Smarter Phones, Dumber People

 

My generation grew up without cell or “smart” phones. After lunch, on days we didn’t have school, we’d head outside and our parents (there were almost always two) would say, “Supper is at 6, be back by then.” That would be inconceivable to most modern parents, and I understand that. Kinda scary. Where are they and what are they doing? What if they should get hurt? How will I know and how will they get help? Legitimate questions all.

However:

The vast majority of us in my generation grew up to be relatively healthy and productive individuals. Unfortunately, as even surveys show, the same cannot be said of far too many of those raised with mobile phones and 24/7 internet access. Might there be a connection?

And then there is the A.I. chatbot that told a teenager that self-harm “felt good,” and that it sympathized with kids who killed their parents. With A.I. platforms like that, who needs the devil?

Even apart from extreme examples like that, modern technology is problematic at best for folks of all ages…and devastating to the healthy development of children.

Take the smart phone for instance. Please. Even for a few brief moments. Most of us are far more terrified of being separated from them for a day or two than we are of being separated from our wife and children. Most of us would admit that. This alone is not a good sign…to put it mildly. We walk bent over, staring into the mini-machines that entrap us, rarely looking up. Often unaware of our surroundings. And fellow human beings. There is talk about bent neck syndrome or other future genetic abnormalities arising from our obsession with smart phones. But the real problem will be the damage done to our psyches, our humanity. There are those who would rather see their significant other immolated in a house fire than get a crack in their smart phone’s screen, let alone see their smart phone immolated in a house fire. It is an understatement to say this is not good.

Many young folks can’t tell time on an analog clock…or do the simple math required to count back change from, say, an $18.47 purchase if a twenty-dollar bill was handed to them. A great many no longer like to deal with live human beings at all. And no longer know how to properly and effectively do so.

Even if in the immediate vicinity of another person or family member, many choose to text them instead of looking them in the eye and talking to them. You can see this in a dentist office’s lobby, a hospital waiting room…or at the family dinner table. It is a sad sight, indeed.

Moreover, communication skills have deteriorated to such an extent that many youngsters can only communicate by prefacing every statement with “I feel like,” and/or using emojis to convey their meaning. Acronyms and a sort of grunting have essentially replaced many words and phrases. Devolution is the order of the day.

Artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly, even as human intelligence, capability, and decency are declining. That cannot possibly be a good thing…or end well. It is anything but smart. We are writing ourselves out of our own story…and, yet again, cheapening what it means to be human.