Smartphones : Addiction and Gaze
by Abhik Roy
Comprehension
Read and answer
1. The following statements are false. Identify the errors and rewrite each statement correctly.
a. Ivan Pavlov's dogs wagged their tails each time the bell that they associated with food, rang.
= Ivan Pavlov's dogs salivated each time the bell that they associated with food, rang.
b. Our addiction to smartphones stems mostly from the fact that human beings love to be alone.
= Our addiction to smartphones stems mostly from the fact that human beings are essentially social organisms.
c. According to MIT professor Earl Miller, our brains can be completely focused on two different tasks at the same time.
= According to MIT professor Earl Miller, our brains can not be completely focused on two different tasks at the same time.
2. List out two health problems caused by smartphone usage.
= Two health problems caused by smartphone usage are -
i) There is a new health problem due to our virtual co-dependency called "tech neck", which can effect many of us since we tilt our heads forward 60 degrees to peer at out phones, putting about 60 pounds of pressure on our neck.
ii) There is vision fatigue and headache along with insomnia, which is very common among heavy users of smartphones.
Reference to context
3. "I've been a heavy phone for my entire adult life. But sometime last year, I crossed the invisible line into problem territory."
a. According to the writer, what were the symptoms that showed he had crossed into problem territory?
= According to the writer, the symptoms that showed he had crossed into problem territory, were typical ones -
i) He found himself incapable of reading books, watching full-length movies or having long uninterrupted conversations.
ii) Social media made him angry and anxious, and even the digital spaces he once found soothing weren't helping.
iii) He tried various tricks to curb his usage, like deleting Twitter every weekend and installing app-blockers. He he always went back into the previous condition.
b. What about social media, according to you, makes people angry and anxious?
= According to me, how we compare with other people and wait for other people's opinion and appreciation in social media, ultimately make us angry and anxious.
4. "There are also many self-help books written by experts who offer their advice as to how to take a break from our phones."
a. What are some techniques suggested by experts to reduce our smartphone addiction?
= Some techniques suggested by experts to reduce our smartphone addiction are -
i) The authors of these self-help books urge us to spend more time in nature, which may counteract the focus-draining effects of too much time spent on looking at our phones.
ii) Other experts recommend that we put our phones on silent mode, and to set our email to deliver new message only every 30 minutes.
iii) Digital Sabbath has become quite popular in the West among many heavy users of smartphones, where the users give their devices a rest for 24 hours over a weekend.
iv) Finally, experts exhort us not to carry our phones everywhere we go.
b. Suggest one additional way in which we can reduce out smartphone addiction.
= We can engage ourselves in co-curricular activities like - drawing, painting, singing, reciting, various types of outdoor sports and so on.
Reflect and answer
5. Imagine yourself in a world 30-40 years ago when smartphones did not exist. Give three examples of ways in which you think smartphones have made human lives easier.
= Three examples of ways in which I think smartphones have made human lives easier are -
i) It is the smartest way of communication. We can connect anywhere and anytime very easily.
ii) We can store many types of usable data in it. We can access them whenever we need.
iii) It is a good device of entertainment. We can play music, videos of our choice anytime and anywhere. It doesn't let us feel alone or bored when we are alone or waiting for something.
6. Your friend argues that he can study for an important exam while texting and playing game on his phone. Use evidence from the article to convince your friend why this is not possible.
= According to Earl Miller, professor of neuroscience at MIT, when we are working and using our phones simultaneously, we get distracted and that prevents us from thinking deeply on the project we are working on. Although we may think that we will be able to check a text or email very quickly and get back to whatever we're doing, we really can't. Professor Miller says, "you switch your focus from one thing to another, there's something called a switch cost. Your brain stumbles a bit, and it requires time to get back to where it was before it was distracted." So it is quite clear that my friend can nor study for an important exam while texting and playing game on his phone.
7. The writer says that today, we have fewer 'genuine' interactions due to smartphone addiction. Think back to a conversation where you were frustrated by your friend's or relative's use of their smartphones. Explain in what ways you would have liked them to interact with you more genuinely.
= It is true that we are having fewer quality conversations based on physical presence. As we have become more technological savvy, we also seem to have lost our ability to live in the present where we can engage in genuine, one-on-one communication. For instance, I can recall an incident. We were packing and getting ready for our vacation trip last year. I was talking to my brother and he was busy in his phone. I was asking him various matters and he was replying me in text while chatting with his friends online. I was present in front of him but he was so engaged in phone that he had no time or patience to reply me saying it in voice. This is truly ridiculous.
I want one to one conversation with eye contact. This is genuine interaction not those virtual texting. We are under one roof but smartphones have made us feel far away from one another.