Comments on: The Effect of Mobile Communication on our Culture

By: DanBlank

DanBlank — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:33:57 +0000

Thanks. What's interesting is if you watch younger people when out with friends (teenagers, college students), oftentimes the mobile phone is HIGHLY integrated into their socialization. A group is walking around, each on the phone or texting – always planning and expanding. It's not necessarily a bad thing – just interesting.
Have a nice day.
-Dan

By: femmefm

femmefm — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:30:20 +0000

Great observations. Many of those things have crossed my mind many times. Perhaps I'm old-fashioned, but I still feel rude if I answer my phone while out with friends.
Scared for the day they start messaging while clerking in my area, they already move incredibly slow.

One wonders if ADD will be the norm in the future?

By: DanBlank

DanBlank — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:03:39 +0000

Agreed!

By: dragondrop

dragondrop — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 22:52:54 +0000

I love the collection you've assembled. It is interesting how people pause current social interaction to have low-bit audio interaction with someone in a different place. It's mad to try and imagine a world pre mobile.

By: DanBlank

DanBlank — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 01:14:21 +0000

So true. I've been interested in the “slow movement” that people talk about in books. Living in New Jersey, I don't think that movement will ever really take hold here though!

Have a nice evening.
-Dan

By: communicatejesus

communicatejesus — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 00:27:02 +0000

Great article!

When I looked at the photos, I realised that as a culture we now struggle to do just one thing at a time. Why serve a customer when you can serve a customer and talk to your friend? Our attention is split. We drive and phone. We're in a meeting and we text. The first thing we're doing suffers because of our split attention. Some activities suffer less (e.g. sitting on the train), but even then, opportunity to meet strangers and engage with those around us suffers too.

By: DanBlank

DanBlank — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:31:32 +0000

Good catch – but luckily, they were on break at the time. If you click the photo, you can see the original photo with a note stating such. Whew!
-Dan

By: DanBlank

DanBlank — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:31:02 +0000

Erin – it's definitely a double-edged sword. In one way, we communicate more than ever with those we care about. In another way, we fail to create new friends and communities by focusing only on our own little worlds, not the moment we are in. Fascinating though!
-Dan

By: DanBlank

DanBlank — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:29:16 +0000

Hi Brad – I got it off Flickr! Funny though.

By: Libertarian Girl

Libertarian Girl — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:49:17 +0000

The one you label as a business meeting seems to actually be a legislative body of some sort=- particularly sad, since their business is supposedly important, and the taxpayers are paying for it to the tune of a pretty penny, but the legislators aren't even there. Or maybe this one is getting last minute information on a bill?