{"id":9942,"date":"2019-09-26T20:27:57","date_gmt":"2019-09-27T00:27:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/?p=9942"},"modified":"2019-09-26T20:28:54","modified_gmt":"2019-09-27T00:28:54","slug":"project-1-draft-brett-smith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/project-1-draft-brett-smith\/","title":{"rendered":"Project 1 DRAFT – Brett Smith"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brett Smith<\/span><\/p>\n

NMD 200 Project 1<\/span><\/p>\n

Sept. 27 2019<\/span><\/p>\n

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Phone Addiction<\/span><\/p>\n

What is one thing you do too much? Would use of your phone be on the list? One of my biggest pet peeves is trying to have a conversation with someone who is on their phone. Living in the moment can be hard for most frequent smartphone users. Whenever there is a dull moment or a lack of interest, the phone comes out, and the head goes down. Phones have become more than a resource, they have become a connection, a bond. From lifelong observation, I can say the majority of teens have their phone within three feet of them at all times. One of the problems is that a smartphone is more than a phone, it\u2019s a swiss army knife with multiple tools and resources. A phone has more than one function or purpose, which is what makes it so attractive. From my perspective, I am looking for a way to break this habit and better train myself to know when to use my phone less. To become less phone-dependent. In this paper, I will be discussing the negative side effects of phone addiction, a new design that could possibly fix it, and what I think could make it even better.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Phone addiction does not stem from the phone itself. Users are not addicted to the physical properties of the phone, but rather what is one the phone \/ what it displays. Smartphones have the ability to use social media apps such as Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter just to name a few. Social media provides a love-hate relationship for its users. Everyone loves to post things about themselves and receive amazing comments and tons of likes which boosts your self-esteem, but everyone hates to see amazing pictures of what their friends were doing over spring break that you were not invited to. It is a very confusing system that somehow leaves the user coming back for more. When I look around in the cafeteria or some other public space, I see a lot of phones out, and it sounds relatively quiet. It seems like everyone is so interested in what’s on their phones when what is really going on is what’s happening around them. Using a phone for a social separation is not a healthy habit to have. According to Kim Williamson, <\/span>\u201cthe ability to read cues like tone, body language, and facial expressions… Email and texts don’t convey <\/span>empathy<\/span>, tone or subtext the way face-to-face or phone conversations do (<\/span>Williamson, “5 Ways Technology Has Negatively Affected Families”<\/span>). The generation that doesn\u2019t know what life was like before computers and the internet are at risk of losing the ability to have meaningful conversations. Living in the present can be hard when there is so much going on in your mind and on your phone. When my friends and I are watching TV, they will be on their phones while watching TV. This makes me feel as though I\u2019m a bad host and that they aren’t satisfied with what is going on. Personally, I think using a phone in front of someone else, unless there is a purpose, is rude and disrespectful. However, so many people are hooked on their phones that they subconsciously grab it and check for messages. I have also seen peoples fingers swipe across the screen multiple times just because they are bored, not having any direction with where they want to go, rather than having a conversation with someone sitting right next to them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Every like or bright and loud notification the user gets a small dose of dopamine gets released from the brain. This makes the user feel good and rewarded. There is a certain level of satisfaction that you feel from receiving that l<\/span>ike, or see how many followers you have because life is a movie and you are the main character. We are living in a self-centered world that is all about self-promotion. If you do not love yourself and show why you are so great, you do not belong in this world. That is the effect that social media can have on some people. Smartphones were introduced in 2007, and by 2015 fully 92% of teens and young adults owned a smartphone. The rise in depressive symptoms correlates with smartphone adoption during that period, even when matched year by year (Miller, “Does Social Media Cause Depression?”). There is a strong correlation between the use of cell phones and depression rates. There is causation between using social media and being depressed. One backfires that these social media companies did not consider the side effects of using too much social media. The goal of these companies is to attract your attention for as long as possible. The more time you spend on their apps, the better the business is for these companies. Like anything, too much of one thing isn\u2019t good. Social media does have a lot of pros, but as stated earlier, it also has a lot of cons. It is just one of the tools in the swiss army knife, the hard part is just knowing when to use it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When thinking about redesigning phone addiction, there is one source that comes to mind immediately. There is this company based out of Brooklyn, NY I found about a year ago on Indiegogo. Their slogan is, \u201cA phone that actually respects you.\u201d They are a phone production company whose goal is to make a simplified phone that gives you what you need, without all the other stuff. It is designed to be used as little as possible, giving the user the ability to break the bond with their phone. From their website, it says \u201cA phone is a tool, and it should serve you as the user, not the other way around\u201d (“The Light Phone.”). I often feel attached to my phone in times when I don\u2019t want to be. This phone redesign will hopefully make the user less attracted to using their phones when they shouldn\u2019t. According to Indiegogo, they have <\/span>$3,514,148 by 10,733 backers, which means there are other people who feel the same way as me. People are tired of being attached to their phones, they want to start living lives handsfree, without having a phone in their hands all the time. Although it could if you wanted to, this phone is not designed to be used all the time or as a substitute for the current smartphone, you already have. Rather, its purpose is to take only what you need, important contacts, maybe some directions, or a ride-sharing app, and leave all the other stuff behind. An example of this would be going to dinner with your friends. Without bringing everything with you (your phone which you know is distracting and has social media) you might decide to take your light phone instead. This would limit your usage of the phone, only using it when you have to, not when you are bored. I personally really like the idea of this. I\u2019ve been waiting for something like this for quite some time and I am excited that it is finally here. Without feeling obligated and socially disconnected from not being able to use social<\/span> media, you can have the option and the choice to feel independent when you want, having the ability to take that break from your device. The phones website puts it nicely by saying, \u201cThe Light Phone II will never have feeds, social media, advertisements, news or email. All of the tools are custom-designed for our Light OS. There is no infinity, just intention\u201d (“The Light Phone.”). There is nothing worse than wasting time endlessly scrolling through social media or unread emails. With the Light Phone, the only tools you have are what you need, phone, settings, alarm clock, calculator, some songs, notes, and finding a taxi, all of which can be added or removed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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References so far…<\/span><\/p>\n

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Miller, Caroline, and Child Mind Institute. “Does Social Media Cause Depression?” <\/span>Child Mind Institute<\/span><\/i>. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2019. <<\/span>https:\/\/childmind.org\/article\/is-social-media-use-causing-depression\/<\/span><\/a>>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Williamson, Kim. “5 Ways Technology Has Negatively Affected Families.” <\/span>HowStuffWorks<\/span><\/i>. HowStuffWorks, 06 Mar. 2012. Web. 26 Sept. 2019. <<\/span>https:\/\/electronics.howstuffworks.com\/family-tech\/tech-effects-on-family\/5-ways-technology-has-negatively-affected-families3.htm<\/span><\/a>>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Light, Phone. “Light Phone 2.” <\/span>Indiegogo<\/span><\/i>. N.p., 26 Feb. 2018. Web. 26 Sept. 2019. <<\/span>https:\/\/www.indiegogo.com\/projects\/light-phone-2#\/<\/span><\/a>>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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“The Light Phone.” The Light Phone. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2019. &lt;<\/span>https:\/\/www.thelightphone.com\/&gt<\/span><\/a>;.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brett Smith NMD 200 Project 1 Sept. 27 2019   Phone Addiction What is one thing you do too much? Would use of your phone be on the list? One of my biggest pet peeves is trying to have a conversation with someone who is More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":9946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[70],"class_list":["post-9942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-project-1b"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/aqmzzougveizsst6zcfn-840x422.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pahVQP-2Am","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9942"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9942\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9944,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9942\/revisions\/9944"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}