I am a bit
of an outlier when it comes to the use of mobile technology. The only thing I
use my phone for is listening to music and as a form of communication, but not
particularly often. When I’m bored and have my phone on hand, I usually don’t
feel the need to browse on it for very long. Much more often I find myself
getting lost in thought. Analyzing the events of the day or thinking about my
life’s direction. That being said, I do recognize that, mobile technology
especially, has changed the way people behave and interact. For instance, if
you’re hanging out with someone and a slight awkward silence arises, it doesn’t
take long for both participants to pull out their phones instead of trying to
force some topic of conversation. It just seems like the easier way. I think a
lot of it comes down to the fact people want to seem interesting and engaged.
If you’re just sitting there lost in your own thoughts some might look at you
and think that you’re boring or not engaged in anything interesting. If you’re
on your phone however you could be doing any number of interesting things, like
reading an article, texting a bunch of friends, or more likely browsing
Instagram. Ironically however, it’s probably the person who is without their
phone, lost in their thoughts, that is the more mentally engaged of the two. At
least that’s the case for me personally. Whenever I’m on my phone I’m simply
taking in content, most of it not very challenging to say the least. When I’m
in my own thoughts on the other hand I am almost always challenging my brain,
analyzing situations, thinking of ways to better my life, or at the very least
planning what I’m going to eat later on.
