Does the i stand for isolation?
Ten years ago, Apple Inc. began using the phrase
”
Think different
”
in its advertising campaign, and the phrase quickly became as
iconic as
”
Where’s the beef?,
”
”
Got milk?,
”
and other catchy slogans.
Does the i stand for isolation?
Ten years ago, Apple Inc. began using the phrase “Think different” in its advertising campaign, and the phrase quickly became as iconic as “Where’s the beef?,” “Got milk?,” and other catchy slogans.
Last week, the company released its newest invention, the iPhone, and Wall Street analysts expect 3 million units to be sold in the coming weeks, according to the “New York Times.” Everyone who hopes to be cool will want one, and what could be wrong with that?
A lot, as it turns out.
Our society has devolved into a mass of turned-on, tuned-out, and plugged-in technophiles. Whatever distinction used to exist between public and private life is all gone. Waiting in line at the grocery store or post office used to mean striking up a conversation with the person in front of you; it now involves blurting the intimate details of one’s love life into a cell phone for all to hear, or scrolling through a playlist for just the right song, or checking our e-mail.
The cost first is an opportunity cost. Our social fabric is in danger of being ripped to shreds as we swap electronic connection for personal relationships. The very nature of community depends upon us being connected to one another. Being civil means, or at least used to mean, valuing the relationships beyond our immediate circle of family and friends.
The second cost is to our psychological health. I don’t know about you, but my best ideas come when I’m brushing my teeth, putting on my shoes, or simply daydreaming. That’s right, daydreaming. Some of the time spent fidgeting with a cell phone or MP3 player is time we could put to better use, such as doing nothing at all. The nonstop avalanche of images and sounds from electronic media (among other distractions) is a barrier, not a portal, to creativity.
The third cost of our absorption in technology is the most serious of all: the possibility of an increased risk of morbidity and mortality. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that drivers who use a cell phone are four times more likely to be involved in an accident. The American Automobile Association has challenged that study, but it doesn’t really matter who is right. Imagine that your son or daughter has just gotten a driver’s license and is taking your car out for a spin. Would it matter to you if other drivers are yakking away on a cell phone while cruising next to, or heading toward, your child?
None of what I am saying is a call to return to the days when people got their entertainment by huddling together in front of a radio (though that sounds pretty good, if you ask me). Nor is it an indictment of the telecommunications industry. After all, technology is morally neutral. It can be put to useful or harmful purposes.
If the introduction into our culture of several million iPhones results in more self-absorption, it won’t be the fault of Apple, or anyone else we care to blame.
It will be our own fault.
But it’s not too late to think different.
Bruce Weinstein, Ph.D., is the public speaker and corporate ethics consultant known as The Ethics Guy. His latest book is, “Life Principles: Feeling Good by Doing Good.” Visit TheEthicsGuy.com for more.
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