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I ride the bus to and from work every day, and on average at least 65 percent of the riders spend their entire transit time staring into their smartphones. Of those who don’t, at least half periodically check in with their phones, to see if they have missed anything.

I have seen passengers so transfixed to their phones that they are oblivious to others who are trying to get past them in the isle. It is not an uncommon occurrence for me to bump into someone on the sidewalk because the person in front of me is engaged with something on their phone, and they need to abruptly stop to pay more attention to it.

And I have a neighbor who is so intent on online gambling that he will not take a break from it even to spare others in the elevator from the noise and chatter that emanates from his phone.

The worst, though, is when I see a little child walking with her mother, holding a smartphone. Why does that child need a smartphone?

Cigarettes and alcohol are prohibited to minors, and for good reason. They are addictive substances, and children who are prevented from using them are, theoretically, more likely to grow up healthy.

So, if an adult cannot bear to draw their attention away from their phone, why give such an addictive device to a child? After all, we are basically addicted to our smartphones, are we not?

Losing Touch With Real Life

It is true that there are some very positive, pragmatic advantages that the smartphone brought to everyday life, which didn’t exist prior to its advent. It is very convenient to be able to text someone, or to be able to google something from wherever you are, or to check your email at a moment’s notice.

But is it something we absolutely cannot live without?

For every minute that someone is engaged with their smartphone, that person spends one less minute engaged with the life that surrounds them.

Why does a child need a smartphone?

You could argue that someone who is constantly checking news feeds is in fact more in touch with society than someone who is not, but by being consumed by your phone, you’re not really in touch with society. You’re in touch with your phone.

My concern is that as people are more and more in touch with their phones, they are becoming less and less in touch with their surroundings.

If this is true, I suppose it is inevitable. Regrettable, perhaps, but also inevitable. We are the product of technology, and we will always adapt to it. My only request is that you please silence your video feed when you are in a public place because it is not necessarily true that everyone else wants to hear it. Mahalo.

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