Life moves at a rapid pace, regardless of our profession or vocation. We rely on communication forms that are short and sweet: Texts, tweets, and SnapChat give a lot of bang for the buck in brevity, speed, and convenience.
We rely on “apps” that can arrange virtually anything we need to meet our needs. From grocery delivery to healthcare to dating to childcare, there’s an app for that. Apps often minimize some of the “messiness” of human interaction. Not only does Burger King let you have it your way, you can also order online so you can get what you want when you want it – without much fuss or human interaction at all.
As the capabilities of our cellphones have exploded, some researchers have suggested that addiction to the cellphone is a real and growing problem. Others researchers coined a term, nomophobia -- the fear of being without your cellphone. The root cause is the fear of being out of touch with others, kind of like separation anxiety.
For some, cellphone access is essential for responsible functioning and keeping up with the demands of daily life. For others, it’s like a sentient companion. Siri and Google answer our questions or offer suggestions when they’re stumped, and “Alexa” is like our personal assistant.
It seems that it’s the personal power and the gratification for even animatronic personal interaction that’s provided by technology that’s at the heart of the addiction. It’s the power to connect, not the device itself, which we crave.
People still need people, whether they admit it or not.
I’m Suzanne Degges-White, and that’s my perspective.
