Technology has been a driving factor in making cell phones stronger and better. Cell phones now carry address, emails, phone numbers, and so much more. Is all of this instant gratification of information making us more forgetful and less patient?
How many numbers do you know?
There was once a time when knowing your home phone, work phone, and friends phone numbers was as easy as counting to ten. The days of the cell phones have put quite a damper on this once simple number memorization.
The reason this is becoming a harder and harder task is due to how smart phones display who is calling. Now we often see names instead of phone numbers. Voice dialing also took away having to know a number and replaced it with simple speech.
Take a moment and think about the last time you had to remember someone’s phone number. Outside of your immediate relatives, how many numbers can your recite? There is a growing issue with this as well.
The biggest issue is what happens when you are stranded. If you can’t recall a simple phone number, whom will you call? Maybe it is time to sit down with your contact list and start committing those numbers to memory.
There is a growing concern on GPS incorporation onto phones as well. The days of pulling out an atlas are far going the way of the dinosaur. In fact, some people follow the GPS so strictly; they drive themselves into a lake. You only need to do a Google search to see just how true this is. Is the dependence on technology so great people are forgetting how to navigate from point a to point b?
Connectivity is killing our patience
The prolific growth of cell phones has also made us more impatient. The biggest contributor to this decline in waiting is just how connected we have become in our everyday lives.
Cell phones now bring email, phone calls, and social media right to the palm of your hands. Emails are easily read, composed, and sent in a matter of seconds. Text messaging brought on instant communication between friends. Social media brought the global wealth of information right to your immediate needs.
If you think this is all hogwash, think of this example. You receive and email. It is urgent. You respond, but you pose a question to the original sender. The email fires off. Instead of moving along, you sit there waiting for a reply. Ten minutes pass and no reply. How frustrated are you getting? What happens when an hour passes with no reply?
This constant connectivity has a negative effect on home life as well. Work can now contact you in the middle of dinner. Playtime with the kids comes to a crawl thanks to Twitter updates. All these interferences are only justified by the need to stay connected with the fellow man.
There are times when it is just good to disconnect. Maybe it is time for you to take a weekend and disconnect from your cell phone. Spend time with your contact list and see how many numbers you really do know. You might be surprised at just how few you really know.
