"Smart" phones...

Can smartphones make you dumb? I’ve been thinking about that for the last few days. (Believe it or not, I do actually think once in a while. Then I give my head a shake and the feeling goes away).

This idea has been percolating for some years, ever since the advent of Personal Data Assistants, or PDA devices. This is not to be confused with the Hollywood type of PDA, which stands for Public Display of Affection. You can’t get arrested for having the first type of PDA, but you can for the second. Or at least become fodder for the paparazzi…

I always used a notebook to keep track of my life, which worked out pretty well for the most part. The biggest hassle was copying all the addresses and notes at the end of the year to the new book, or not having a pen or pencil handy when I really needed one. I missed out on so many supermodel phone numbers that way.

Then my boss at work told me the company would give me the cash to get one of these fancy devices of my very own. Before he finished the sentence, I had zipped out to the store and had a PDA safely attached to my belt. Having a phonebook, notepad and calendar that never went out of date was a boon for me. Especially the reminder feature on the calendar – haven’t forgotten a birthday or anniversary since then. Saved me a few times. Ask my darling wife…

So this is where the dumb part of smartphones appears. All of them have organizational abilities, document capabilities, video access and conversational abilities. That’s not the problem.

I see three things wrong with smartphones. The first is that they store numbers on speed dial keys. Heck, you can even voice dial some phones now.

Why is that a problem?  Because people don’t use their own memory anymore. Ask anyone what their home phone number is and chances are they’ll say “Speed dial 5”. If they have to call a child? Just say “Call Son Number One”. I can just hear someone yelling out in an emergency “What’s the number for 9-1-1?!?”

The second problem is the phones also remember all the important dates for you as well. But, if you leave your phone somewhere or the battery dies, you’d better make sure you’ve already looked at your reminders. Telling your wife that you forgot your anniversary because the phone died will not let you off the hook.

The third problem I see comes from all the applications the smartphones have now. If you could track the usage of a random smartphone, I bet you’d see ten percent of calendar work, twenty percent communications and maybe ten percent reviewing documents. The other sixty percent would be game play or watching videos.

Wait, you say, how can that make you dumb? Well, let me tell you. A few years ago, the City of London Council in England was debating on whether or not to pad the lamp posts with foam. Why would they do that? Because the young professionals that worked in the City were constantly looking at their smartphones and not where they were walking.

Seems there was a huge increase in forehead-lamp post collisions the year after smartphones were introduced.

I’m not sure what the Council was more worried about – people falling into the street or having to repaint the poles every week to get rid of the forehead marks.

So, take heed, dear readers. Make sure you are the master of your smartphone and not the other way around. Make sure your batteries are always charged and most importantly, watch out for those lamp posts jumping out in front of you!