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973741 tn?1342342773

Do smartphones help or hurt relationships?

Two people sitting together enjoying each other's company, not a cell phone to be seen.  circa 1990.  lol

Remember the days?  No constant draw to look at the phone, text someone immediately when our phone lights up, looking people in the eyes rather than over the screen?  On the other hand, it connects us to people that we used to have to physically be available to see or talk to.  We have access to them anywhere or any place.  

What are your overall thoughts about society and how cell phones have infiltrated our lives, including our lives when we are with other people.  
6 Responses
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973741 tn?1342342773
COMMUNITY LEADER
Last night I was driving car pool home from a sports practice. I had three kids in my car, one mine.  I told mine to put his phone away (firmly).  Another boy had his out and the third didn't.  So, my son and the one who didn't chatted away about some things happening at school.  The third stayed on his phone playing a game grunting out one line phrases like "there you go, take that", "I did it" and such. The other boy without a phone asked the boy with a phone a direct question and he did not respond.  Just face in phone. When we dropped the other boy without a phone off, he was waving like a chicken at my son and they were laughing making weird faces and the boy WITH the phone finally looked up and was like "what are you guys doing"?  

He completely missed socializing.  

Problem with phones.
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
Yeah I think it prevents the kids now a days from learning to socialize face to face. My 18 yr old daughter doesnt recognize the tone to her voice is just rude alot of the times. She says all the time how at school she doesnt have many friends. Then when I ask her well have you tried to make any she ask what I mean. I remember being younger and just starting a conversation up with a random kid in class because we had free time. Now she tells us she plays on her phone during her free time. It is sad. I warn her she needs to step away from her phone and learn to talk to people before it is to late.

Hopefully now that she has a job at a nursing home serving food to the resident she will pick up some of those very important skills. (By the way just in case you are wondering I would keep her away from the phone more if I could but she is my step daughter and lives with her mom).
134578 tn?1693250592
I do notice (on the positive side) that we get a lot figured out with less argument when there is a resource at our fingertips to tell us how old Vince Vaughn and Mel Gibson are (didn't they look awful in their movie together? Bad lighting, I hope), or where to turn for the restaurant on that winding little road. And now that my son has a phone, he can call us to find out where we are when we're driving up to pick him up in the school queue, no worries about whether we have forgotten.

But the thing that actually distresses me most about the easy access to phones is that parents seem to use them to ignore their kids. Many parents I've seen apparently would rather watch sports, play games or text to their girlfriends, even when with their kids. I at least TRY to attend to the things my son says, not have my face turned away to a screen and give absent-minded answers (if any). Kids hate it when their parents act like their computer is more fun than them.
Helpful - 0
707563 tn?1626361905
On the plus side, you can let your partner know if you're running late and why, and when you'll be home.

You can text gentle reminders to not forget whatever at the store on the way home.

Kids can call their parents if there's a problem, or parents can call someone if the car breaks down in the middle of nowhere.
Helpful - 0
495284 tn?1333894042
Let's not forget the people in the grocery stores that park their big old carts in the middle of an aisle and are on their phone and you cant get by them on either side so you say excuse me, nothing...EXCUSE ME, nothing......maybe you will notice when my cart meets your ankles!

On a serious note, i see young kids in the morning waiting for the bus at the mall (they come into the store and get their candy fix)  Most of them have phones and are on them.  Not many words are spoken as each of their heads are in their phones.  Words are all getting abbreviated and i have to go to urban dictionary to read some of the sentences grown adults write, lol!!!
Helpful - 0
973741 tn?1342342773
COMMUNITY LEADER
I just think it is sad when you see people with other people and one or both are staring at a phone.  How lonely!!  

Helpful - 0
495284 tn?1333894042
Personally they drive me nuts.  It may be due to working retail and having to WAIT for people to get off their phones to finish a transaction.  What in the fat sh!t is so important that you have to be texting while someone is waiting on you?  Let me add closing time to this now.....It is time to close and you are too busy being on your phone to realize you need to get your shopping done as we really do want to go home but you sit there and yack on your phone and THEN you shop when you are done......I dont need to hear your arguments either and if you feel the need then put the other party on speaker so i can be your judge and jury.  Holidays..........put your flippin phone away.  I promise you wont miss out on anything during the meal.  Oh Oh and THEN...........once we realize you are on the phone we walk away as we are busy and have other things to do, waiting for you to get off your phone isnt one of them......soooooo you finally get off your phone and then EXPECT us to be right up in your grill helping you........Nice try Scooter.  I better stop here as i think you get the drift of what i think......Oh one more........when you start walking outside and are on your phone NOT paying attention to traffic dont you dare give me the stink eye when i almost ram you in your APPLE.  Rant over, just sign me going on 8 days in a row of working and it is very peopley out there and i am out of patience and cant wait for the weekend!
Helpful - 0
6 Comments
LOL, you have good rants.  makes me laugh but I'm sure you are tired and sick of human nature right now after 8 straight days.  I'm on a never ending cycle right now myself these days, it feels like.  My kids are so busy and both have hard classes (I thought their work was hard from like second grade on) and in fall sports and trying to figure out who they are as teens and socially have their own challenges, etc.  seriously running all week.  so, if you ask me a question or ask me to do something right now, you might get a tooth snarl.  Okay, enough about me.

I guess sometimes when forced to be sitting for example at a game of one of my kids and I feel like snarling rather than shooting the poop with another parent, my phone is a barrier between us?  But therein lies the problem for me.

Totally get how that would drive you nuts to sit and wait on people to finish on their phone WHILE they are checking out or you need to close up.  And driving is bad.  Real bad with smart phones.  Other than google maps which I could NOT live without.  lol.  I'm so old blind now (eyes started going and can't read anything close up) that real maps are torture and I love the woman who calls out the directions to me while I drive. That is good tech there.
DominoSarah, amen.

And your rants are hilariously true.
I called the lady on the phone giving me directions a bad name when she led me to a road closure on my way to the zoo.
Hahahaha I have a name for her. It's not nice.
Was at Kroger checking out when my phone started dinging with urgent texts from my son about "where are the doritos and fruit roll ups" and instead of answering "in the pantry.  where they ALWAYS are", I ignored it based on your rant. ha ha
Use to work at taco bell I can feel your rant. Those that would get in line and have conversations on the phone holding up me and the people behind them, because they are to busy talking. The other one I hated was when we would call the numbers for their orders real loud 3 or 4 times and could see they were on their phone. Then they would come up and want to complain that the meal got cold because no one let them know their order was ready. I JUST WANTED TO SCREAM PAY ATTENTION NEXT TIME.
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