- Martin Lindstrom,
Professional branding consultant
Welcome to the 21st century where a cellphone becomes an extra appendage. A technology that was once accessible to only a minority of the adult population is now in the pockets of nearly six billion people worldwide, many of whom are still too young to drive. They are with us everywhere we go and never more than an arm’s length away, acting as both our greatest resource and our greatest distraction. Perhaps it is time to power-down the hand-held computers we call cellphones, at least long enough to remind ourselves that there is a world beyond the touchscreen.
These days, it’s not enough for a cellphone to just be a cellphone. After all, anything that’s not a “smartphone” has since been deemed entirely obsolete. Today’s cellphones are considered smartphones for a reason; they can do just about everything. A device that used to serve one primary function – two-way communication – is now used as a multimedia platform capable of fulfilling a person’s every need. Surfing the web, taking high-definition photos and video, listening to your favorite songs, purchasing movie tickets, checking your bank account, sending e-mails, altering your fantasy league, and keeping constantly updated on your Facebook and Twitter accounts are all things made possible the moment your thumb touches the screen. And oh yeah, you can make phone calls, too.
With all these possibilities – among countless others – it’s really no wonder people can’t seem to put their cellphones down. In 2009, the amount of data in text, e-mail messages, streaming video and music surpassed the amount of voice data in cellphone calls. With so many functionalities at our disposal, the technology that was initially developed to bring us all closer together has actually kept us further apart. We’re constantly tuned-in to our own worlds, content to carry on until something or someone from the outside world snaps us back into reality.
According to a number of recent studies, our cellphones may have the potential to create addictive tendencies. Some psychologists suggest that constant use of our phones may affect the associative learning pathways of our brains through the release of dopamine, a powerful neurotransmitter that affects our compulsive, addictive behaviors. It’s an addiction that Martin Lindstrom has researched extensively to support his work as a professional branding consultant.
“I headed an effort to identify the 10 most powerful, affecting sounds in the world. I found that a vibrating phone came in third, behind only the Intel chime and the sound of a baby giggling,” Lindstrom wrote in in his article “You Love Your iPhone. Literally.” published in a 2010 issue of the New York Times. He went onto discuss a syndrome he calls “phantom vibration,” the sensation that our phones are vibrating in our pockets when they aren’t.
“Similar to pressing an elevator button repeatedly in the belief that the elevator will descend sooner, we check our phones for e-mails and texts countless times a day, almost as if we can will others to text or e-mail us,” Lindstrom said.
With each passing generation we become more dependent on our cell phones to make it through each day, and most institutions have caught on. Cellphone courtesy is now an issue that must constantly be addressed in schools, theaters, concerts, workplaces and just about any kind of formal setting. Even so, cellphones are rarely ever turned “off”. With the amount of data that today’s smartphones are storing, turning on a phone takes nearly as long as booting-up a computer. And with the all too convenient “silence mode” featured on nearly all phones, “silence” has become the new “off.” We can still get our cellphone fix without bringing attention to ourselves. Seems like a somewhat addictive tendency to me.
I am not suggesting that the world would be a better place without cellphones. They are incredible machines with incredible capabilities, and I am constantly amazed at how much simpler life is made because of them. I am suggesting, however, that if we allow our cellphone to become the center of our universe, we’ll never be fully aware of what it is to live beyond them. We can’t afford to lose sight of how important it is to be involved in the world around us, not just the world our cellphones create. We need to challenge ourselves to live with our cellphones, not through them.