A recent article in the New York Times, still the newspaper of record, focused on the importance of letting go of devices. Sure, there is a time and a place to use your mobile device, but in “Stop Googling. Let’s Talk,” I learned all about the issues with split concentration, which doesn’t really work.
Despite widespread comments like “I can do two things at once, such as listening and texting, many studies have shown you are not in fact doing either one very well. And it is probably the listening, to the dismay of your dining partner.
That is the opinion of Sherry Turkle, a professor in the program of Science, Technology and Society at MIT. She has just completed a study on just this subject.
Hotels Have Wifi Free Zones
We’ve been seeing the trend at some hotels of Wifi free zones, where the managers are restricting use to guest rooms and specific spaces designated for computers and mobiles. That way, particularly at resorts, some of which our boutique PR firm represent, guests can truly unplug. The concept of unplugging is really amusing when my kids say, “I am unplugging,” and they are tapping away on their iphones!
It is disturbing when you are on vacation surrounded by people on their phones texting. Early on, when cell phones first came about, Le Cirque, the famous restaurant in New York City, where our luxury and travel PR agency is located, had a strict policy. I remember entering at the famed (and extremely pricey eaterie), and the gentleman at the door informed us that they had a strict policy to collect cel phones from guests before being shown to their table. The phones would be held there until you finished your meal.
After a wonderful dining experience, which in that case was with a hotel general manager and a reporter from a leading travel magazine, everyone got their cel phones back. It worked just fine.
What happens nowadays is after the entrée, everyone stares into the black hole of their mobile. I understand when I am with a reporter on deadline, of course. But when friends just start reading their texts and responding, I personally think it’s rude. After all, here we are in real life, sitting together, and presumably catching up and spending time with each other. So why would we then go send instant messages to someone else? Unless it is pressing, is there any reason for this?
Clearly the tide is shifting. Everyone feels surrounded by technology and is amused when someone walks into someone else because they are blindly texting away. The Times did an hilarious piece on accidents that have happened when people are texting and walk into garbage cans and telephone poles.
So, eat, spend time with your friends, and put away your phone in your pocket or your purse until you really need it! Just my opinon, and that of Sherry Turkle of MIT.
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