The smartphone and the way we behave in public

A new Pew Research survey, the first to look into the use of instant messaging services as a separate category to SMS, clearly shows that their popularity — they are used by 36 percent of all smartphone owners, and 49 percent of those aged between 18 and 29 — and how they are changing the way we communicate.

The data is all the more important because it comes from the United States, a country where the SMS remained popular, but has slowly been replaced by these types of applications: in many other countries, the usage figures are much higher. In the case of Spain, my country, an application like WhatsApp is now installed on 98 percent of smartphones. Another difference lies in the popularity of applications that eliminate messages, such as Snapchat or Wickr, and that have yet to take off in other countries, and that in the United States are used by just 17 percent of all users and 41 percent of those aged between 18 and 29.

We are witnessing first order change: we started out using the cellphone to make calls, but the device has since morphed into a tool for accessing the internet and above all, for sending short messages. This evolution is bringing about major changes in how we socialize: this is illustrated most graphically when we observe a group of young people who instead of talking to each other are all immersed in receiving and sending text messages to third parties, and is still something of a surprise to anybody aged over 25.

McCann’s campaign to popularize the term phubbing, a portmanteau of the words “phone” and “snubbing”, or ignoring the person you are with and instead focusing on your phone, reflects the way different generations see communication. For one generation personal interaction in the here and now is the established way of doing things, but for another, communication is about priorities, i.e., what and who needs addressing, and has nothing to do with who you are actually with or where you are.

Smartphones are also influencing other areas: my office chair, the Gesture, assumes that the sitter will be using a smartphone as part of their work, and allows you to adjust the arm support accordingly. Employing a smartphone during work time is now pretty much the norm, as long as we regulate and limit use and it doesn’t interfere with the task in hand.

We also use our smartphones differently, depending on which generation we belong to: older people tend to apply traditional protocols to texting, greeting the recipient of our message, and signing off; younger people work on the basis of permanent, open communication, sometimes replying to comments immediately, and sometimes waiting several hours if there are interruptions or other things to do. Similarly, if the matter is sufficiently important, we can find ourselves sitting in front of somebody who completely ignores us while they deal with what has suddenly become a priority matter.

Where is this change in behavior leading? Will young people join adult society on the basis of accepting traditional manners by which we pay attention to the person we are with, or will the rest of society come to accept as perfectly normal the use of smartphones in company to engage with somebody who is not present. Australia is contemplating the introduction of phone breaks every half hour to allow students to deal with their social commitments on their smartphones: an aberration, turning the world on its head, or simply adapting to the new realities imposed by a new generation?

(En español, aquí)