Smartphone Effect

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Facebook timeline never stops; new posts continuously come up, people click on ‘like’, leave comments or chat on Facebook Messenger, or at least people keep scrolling down their timeline to see what they have missed during the night or during their work. The problem is that, surprisingly, we humans cannot keep eyes on Facebook and go sleep, or take a shower, or do our homework at the same time. We keep looking on smartphone, putting off the tasks and distracting ourselves. It has become common to see students who try to keep texting during the class; or even workers who get distracted by Facebook pop-up. People who possess their own smartphone must have common experiences like this―even when we are working, we think of our smartphones, lose …show more content…

Outside of negative physical impacts, mental distraction by smartphones has been already discussed by researchers. In the research led by Antti Oulasvirta, associate professor of Aalto university, in Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, researchers found that people were continuously checking their smartphones while they were working. They had no important or specific purpose, but they just turned on their smartphones simply to see if there was something new. This data was named ‘Checking Habit’ by the researchers. It can be partly because of ‘quick informational rewards’, which means real-time information provided by application, that users are more attracted to check their phones. As more and more applications adapt real-time service, it will be even easier to attract users to stick to their phones and get endless information, as the researchers …show more content…

Who, in the past, could have ever imagined a magical little device in one hand that has every convenient functions humans need? More specifically, the advent of smartphones has made it possible for workers to share opinions more easily and cooperate more efficiently. We can send an e-mail and share important files even if there is no computer around, therefore we are now able to work on tasks with very little limitation. But, does this mean we stay as concentrated as before the smartphones? It still needs discussion whether being more connected and more faster is always good for us in terms of our focus and productivity. Smartphones have enabled many things that have previously been impossible, but this does not necessarily mean that they also make humans more productive. Ironically, that we can do so many things with smartphones can disturb our concentration, rather than help us, at least when we are working.
By taking back our lost productivity from smartphones, we will be able to help irrational ourselves be better, more focusing and more productive ones. This change will not only make individuals improve but also contribute to company and further to society, as total amount of wasted time decreases. As smartphones have already become an ordinary part of our lives, now it is time to think about whether we are benefiting from the state-of-the-art devices, or are being dominated

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