Why do we refuse to embrace the potential of smartphones?
A recent SocioMétrica study commissioned by Spanish digital daily El Español reveals that some 85% of Spaniards agree on banning smartphones in schools (link in Spanish); pretty much the only issue that the country isn’t divided on.
Sadly, a subject on which the country is agreed on is precisely the one on which it is profoundly and radically wrong.
First of all, just because the public support something doesn’t mean they’ve understood the consequences of their actions: at one point, Adolf Hitler enjoyed some electoral support. There are many other examples, but let’s focus on the matter at hand. The issue of smartphones is complex issue. First, because although most people still call them “cell phones”, proof that they are way behind the curve. This devices are, in fact, powerful pocket computers, enormously versatile, and their uses, as we all know, go way beyond making phone calls: as well as giving us access to all the information on the internet, they are high definition cameras and videos, have highly detailed maps, are notepads, can be used for a range of financial transactions, store train or plane tickets and credit cards, and do many, many other things. Knowing how to use one properly is essential. As Douglas Rushkoff very well says, this is “program or be programmed”.
