Is this real, is this what we have become?

[Thebobo]

Holy bejesus be hard to find the few who don't have their heads planted in a device. What does this say about our civilization? Is this bad in the long term?

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1334885773308952

 

[Zanovar]

True that.i was in a docters surgery and they were alll like that.scary heads in their laps creepy.

 

[Zanovar]

i took out my huge cock and started banging them on top of their head.no reaction.

 

[richaron]

I lol'd walking around my University the other day. On my way home past the a nice scenic spot in the park I saw a group of about a dozen people who had obviously decided to meet together.

Everyone was standing around in a loose circle looking bored staring at their phones and I was wondering wtf they bothered to meet irl.

 

[ImpulsE69]

While I would say it is more universal now, before phones it was newspapers, magazines, books, smoking, drugs...etc

 

[DietDrThunder]

8 people in 2017 were hit by forklifts, golf carts, and moving equipment at my work. In January the company posted signs in the factory at my work that say "No Zombie Walking." Since January we've had 12 injuries due to Zombie walking. My guess is they don't look up from their phones to see the signs. An email blast from the company went out August 1st to highlight this issue. They've hired monitors to police the factory floor and said they will give warnings until August 31st and will start confiscating phones of the violators starting September 4th.

 

[FerrelGeek]

Yep. People get together (loosely stated) and text each other.

For some people, they won't answer if you call them. They text you back and as 'what'd you call me about?'.

Sure, texting is great for simple things like 'Be there in 5 minutes' or 'pick up some wine otw home', etc., but people actually think they're having REAL conversations via text.

I lol'd walking around my University the other day. On my way home past the a nice scenic spot in the park I saw a group of about a dozen people who had obviously decided to meet together.

Everyone was standing around in a loose circle looking bored staring at their phones and I was wondering wtf they bothered to meet irl.

 

[FerrelGeek]

While I would say it is more universal now, before phones it was newspapers, magazines, books, smoking, drugs...etc

But more people would have actual conversations. Most people didn't walk around with their face buried in a magazine.

 

[lxskllr]

I use the phone to pass time in lines and other boring places. If I'm outside, and/or with people, the phone stays in my pocket.

 

[Kaido]

One of the best videos on the subject:

 

[Kaido]

What does this say about our civilization?

It looks bad, but it's not bad:

1. A lot of people have social anxiety and/or don't want to talk to strangers, so if you're sitting there waiting for a concert to start or whatever, you can either sit there & be bored doing nothing (especially if you're waiting in line somewhere & don't have friends to talk to IRL), or you can hop on your phone to play a game, chat on social media, etc. Yeah, it looks like a bunch of zombies, but those smartphones are fulfilling a need that people have.

2. This is absolutely nothing new:

 

[spacejamz]

I don't see any 8 year olds reading a newspaper in any of those pictures....

It looks bad, but it's not bad:

1. A lot of people have social anxiety and/or don't want to talk to strangers, so if you're sitting there waiting for a concert to start or whatever, you can either sit there & be bored doing nothing (especially if you're waiting in line somewhere & don't have friends to talk to IRL), or you can hop on your phone to play a game, chat on social media, etc. Yeah, it looks like a bunch of zombies, but those smartphones are fulfilling a need that people have.

2. This is absolutely nothing new:

 

[nakedfrog]

I don't see any 8 year olds reading a newspaper in any of those pictures....

Imagine there are some in there holding comic books instead.

 

[spacejamz]

Imagine there are some in there holding comic books instead.

I think it would be safe to say that for a majority of kids back then were outside playing, not reading comic books most of the day.....

 

[zinfamous]

I lol'd walking around my University the other day. On my way home past the a nice scenic spot in the park I saw a group of about a dozen people who had obviously decided to meet together.

Everyone was standing around in a loose circle looking bored staring at their phones and I was wondering wtf they bothered to meet irl.

There is a good chance that those people were pokemoning. There is a spot here on campus, outside of my building, where they occasionally gather to fight each other with their phones.

It's effing weird.

 

[clamum]

While it's true in the past it used to be newspapers, as evidenced by those pictures, I think the cellphone addiction is WAY more pronounced and complete than that ever was. Younger kids are doing it and way more time is spent on it. That video the OP posted is pretty crazy. I was already like "holy shit" just a few seconds in... but it keeps going, and going, and going. LOL. God help us

 

[lxskllr]

While it's true in the past it used to be newspapers, as evidenced by those pictures, I think the cellphone addiction is WAY more pronounced and complete than that ever was. Younger kids are doing it and way more time is spent on it. That video the OP posted is pretty crazy. I was already like "holy shit" just a few seconds in... but it keeps going, and going, and going. LOL. God help us

Also, newspapers were generally left to public downtime. Trains, busses, morning breakfast... It's not like people went out to see Count Basie, and sat around the dance floor reading papers.

 

[Darwin333]

8 people in 2017 were hit by forklifts, golf carts, and moving equipment at my work. In January the company posted signs in the factory at my work that say "No Zombie Walking." Since January we've had 12 injuries due to Zombie walking. My guess is they don't look up from their phones to see the signs. An email blast from the company went out August 1st to highlight this issue. They've hired monitors to police the factory floor and said they will give warnings until August 31st and will start confiscating phones of the violators starting September 4th.

Wow. After that many injuries you'd think people would stop doing it purely for self-preservation. You know that there had to have been 1,000 times as many close calls were the driver saw them and either honked or swerved. Nope, whatever is on their phone is more important than getting hit by a friggen forklift.

 

[DietDrThunder]

Wow. After that many injuries you'd think people would stop doing it purely for self-preservation. You know that there had to have been 1,000 times as many close calls were the driver saw them and either honked or swerved. Nope, whatever is on their phone is more important than getting hit by a friggen forklift.

The company also installed on all moving equipment (forklifts and golf carts) blue LED lighting. It shines on the floor 15 feet in front of the object moving. The hope was that people walking while looking down with their heads in their phones might see it before crossing in front.

 

[dud]

Yes, it IS that bad and YES, this is what we have become. You don't have to go to the theater to see a real-life zombie movie any more.

I have co-workers that track their spouses with their phones.

One of my co-workers will leave any meeting that he is involved with EVERY time his wife calls.


Proud to have only a pay-as-you-go voice plan, using about 600 minutes per year.

 

[KMFJD]

I agree it's getting pretty bad these days

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

There is a good chance that those people were pokemoning. There is a spot here on campus, outside of my building, where they occasionally gather to fight each other with their phones.

It's effing weird.

Precisely what I thought. I know people love their phones - but no where near this degree of seeing 500 heads down at all times.

This has to be a Pokemon Go gathering or some shit.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Two things:

1) The Smartphone has ruined pictures. What used to be something for reflection, remembrance, importance, etc... is simply a joke now. Selfies here - selfies there, does any of that have any real reflection on anything other than you faking a smile? Remember when grandparents used to whip out old photobooks and you would actually see INTERESTING things? Those times are dead. The picture has been ruined. Forever to exist only digitally and be forgotten and untouched until your hard drive craps out and you lose them all

2) Of all things that gets me - It's seeing people (3-5 or more) at a lunch or dinner restaurant in public - and all or most of them just have their head down at their phone. There are people all the fuck around you to discuss things with - and all you want to do is see what everyone else is doing? Jesus fuck people have mental issues.

 

[Jon-T]

Love it, always happens.

Someone makes a comment about a group of people out to dinner completely ignoring each other as they look at their phones. Not being social in a social situation.

Someone responds with a picture of people on a train full of strangers reading a paper. Riding public transportation is not a social situation with your friends.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

It looks bad, but it's not bad:

1. A lot of people have social anxiety and/or don't want to talk to strangers, so if you're sitting there waiting for a concert to start or whatever, you can either sit there & be bored doing nothing (especially if you're waiting in line somewhere & don't have friends to talk to IRL), or you can hop on your phone to play a game, chat on social media, etc. Yeah, it looks like a bunch of zombies, but those smartphones are fulfilling a need that people have.

2. This is absolutely nothing new:

It is absolute nonsense to compare those. There are two VERY distinct differences.

1) In the newspaper days newspapers were used mostly with strangers. People on a train, people walking down a street alone, waiting for a bus, hospital waiting room, etc. They were not a substitute for actual human contact. Groups of friends and family members would not meet to ignore each other and stay glued to a paper. You would never see something like the video in the OP with newspapers. Each of those separate groups would be interacting with other members in their group, not ignoring them in the idiotic belief that 3 letters on a screen are more important than an actual conversation with a person.

2) Content is key. There were no emoticons, no selfies, no pictures of LOL Catz in newspapers. There was one page of comics and 20 pages of news. People were getting informed, educated, staying aware. Phones are the exact opposite. Those idiots are not reading about genocide in Africa, the fiscal ramifications of Brexit and relations with North Korea. They're almost completely fixated on counting how many people comment on the picture they shared of the coffee they're drinking. They're doing everything possible to insulate themselves from the real world while newspapers were the doorway into the real world. The difference is like that of one person watching Meet the Press and another watching Keeping Up with the Kardashians. They both might be looking at a screen, but the purpose is very different and the purpose of newspapers was about 180* opposed to the purpose of what social media has become.