For the past four weeks I have been the University Adviser to a number of students who are completing the Practicum Teaching Block as part of their Education Degree. It has been an interesting four weeks as I have been noticing a very disturbing trend being shown by these young adults in the dependency of constantly having a mobile phone in their hands. In my observation, this frantic need is impacting on the way they are relating to, and connecting with, others.
It has occurred to me that screen time could be the ‘hidden’ addiction that no-one wants to admit to.
I have found myself feeling quite astonished that mobile phones devour so many hours of their day-to-day livingness. Working with my students in the world outside of University I began to witness the extent of how much this all-consuming use and dependency on mobile phones is having on their ability to connect with, communicate with and develop a relationship with their fellow human beings. These very human skills are being eroded to the point that they appear to be non-existent, or at least much less important than the SMS text messages these young adults are intent on sending and receiving.
The human relationship is being replaced by a screen relationship!
These young adults were on their phones when walking into the school playground, they were on their phones at every recess break opportunity and as soon as the students left the classrooms they were back on their phones. Now schools are a hub of conversational opportunities – to connect with your colleagues, to connect with students and with parents. Being on phones, text messaging, and checking Facebook/Instagram/twitter postings, are robbing these young adults of the many occasions they could be talking with people, developing personal relationships and making connections that will be much more engaging and ongoing than any screen relationship they so value.
It really hit me when I went into the school staffrooms and saw these young adult students sitting in a corner of the staffroom checking their phones when they could have been enjoying a cup of tea or coffee, chatting with their colleagues and learning more about working in the school environment and teaching children.
My observation of break-time from classes is that older teachers rush for coffee and younger teachers rush to open up their phone screens!
Is this need to be electronically connected with others a problem that screams out for society’s attention? Are we demeaning the honouring and valuing of our humanity to a baseline of placing more importance on screen relationships than is placed on connecting with, interacting with and communicating with another human being face-to-face?
Is it possible that electronic devices and screens are artificially stimulating us to the point that being in life and engaging with people is no longer socially valued?
This dependency on mobile phones and/or tablets is very much in evidence during tutorial times in Uni. It is becoming accepted as the norm for students to have their phones on desks to answer calls and text messages throughout the tutorial sessions. These students believe it is their right to be able to access their phones and are loath to leave them in their bags, even when asked to by their tutors.
Is this addiction the ultimate form of distraction?
Is this need so strong that it has become normalised and is even intruding into their times of learning and education?
The evidence of these screen relationships is exacerbated when one sees students walking through the campus talking on their phones, even when they are walking with other students – again and again there is little face-to-face connection being made with their fellow students. It is accepted in their own social world that one needs to be having a greater number of screen relationships than the personal relationships they could be having with their peers.
Are we, as a society, accepting this as normal behaviour; accepting the notion that we are staying in contact with others through technology and that this is a good thing – but is it really?
Is it not a dire state of distraction we choose to be in? There is an ever-increasing demand to seek this constant distraction and stimulation, but why? Coming from my long career in education and in living life, it seems to me it is the reality of life humanity doesn’t want to face.
Is it that screens are the distraction from our responsibility to serve humanity and to be honest about the troubles we live with, the hurts we hold in our bodies and the unpredictability of the future?
Choosing to have more meaningful personal relationships allows us to learn the human qualities of decency and respect for ourselves and everyone else. It also brings the awareness of the effects our behaviours have on others. Living this way develops true loving responsibility and we find that purpose naturally returns to our lives.
To truly connect with each other is to bring the joy back into our lives.