Have Mobile Phones Changed Us?

Undoubtedly, our lives today are incredibly different from how they used to be before the prevalence of smartphones. Years ago, it was perfectly reasonable to not get a call back from someone for a week. Today, we expect to hear back from whoever we are talking to in minutes, not days.

The impact of mobile technology on our lives

Like anything else, mobile technology has positive and negative impacts on our lives. So let’s look at the positives first.

The Positives

There are three well-known and widely-accepted positives of mobile technology. These are improved communication, simplified daily utilities, and more advanced and accessible healthcare services.

When it comes to communication, the benefits of mobile technology are apparent. We can more easily contact our friends and family wherever we are, and we can even share photos and videos with them with just a click of a button. In addition, the rise of social media has also allowed many communities to rise up and voice their opinions and reach out for help in times of need.

Next up is daily utilities. Many of us today never leave the house without our phones. We look up information online when we are stumped (or want to settle a disagreement). We can book hotels and cabs, order food, and plan routes to new destinations from our phones in just minutes. For many of us, our phones function as a virtual device that simplifies our lives.

The final widely-recognized positive of mobile technology is the improvements to healthcare. Healthcare organizations are embracing the rise of technology to help make their essential services more convenient and accessible to people worldwide. For example, in third-world countries, it is not uncommon for villages to not have any type of local healthcare facility. But, with the rise of mobile technology, healthcare facilities can provide support and even diagnose conditions from far away. Patients can also easily communicate with their healthcare provider using messaging applications, and many mobile applications can help individuals with certain conditions monitor their health.

The Negatives

Now, it is time for the negatives that come with the advancement of mobile technology. There are four primary negatives that many people associate with mobile phones. These are time-wasting, increased distraction, addiction, and decreased social skills.

How many of us pick up our phones and start browsing through social media or the news when we have a free minute, only to look at the clock and see that half an hour has passed? Phones make it incredibly easy to lose track of time and waste time you could spend doing something else.

The second negative effect of mobile technology is impaired concentration. Study after study has shown that people are not good at multitasking. As much as we may want to believe that we can do it, as the Harvard Business Review states, we simply switch tasks rather than working on two simultaneously. Mobile phones are notoriously well-known for pinging news, email, or social media alerts at some of the worst times — like when you are focusing at work. Then, because we get curious about the notification, we get distracted from our primary task and then need to re-focus, which can take, on average, 15 minutes.

The next negative is addiction. Did you know that the fear of being out of contact with your cell phone has a name? It is called nomophobia. Whether or not you have this fear, cell phones rarely leave our sides and can make us feel uncomfortable or concerned when we do not have them with us. Addiction of any kind can lead to signs of anxiety, depression, or other mental health problems, so it is essential to realize that addiction to a phone can have the same effects.

Finally, the last negative effect of mobile phones that we will mention here is their impact on our social skills. Before cell phones, we talked briefly with others in the grocery checkout line. We exchanged hellos and smiles with people on the bus or passing by on the sidewalk. Today, so many of us simply stare down at our phones with our earbuds in our ears and simply ignore all of these critical instances of causal human interaction. Because we interact less with other people, our ability to do so effectively in real life can be dramatically impaired. One study found that preteens who spent time away from digital communication tools and spent more time interacting socially with others had an increased ability to understand and read emotions.

How Australians are using their mobile phones

The number of Australians using mobile phones is continually rising. The number of Australian children using mobile phones has been increasing steadily over the past years. While many Australian children still do not own or have access to a mobile phone, the number of those that do is increasing just as the number of Australian adults who have smartphones is.

As more and more people use mobile phones, the convenience of these devices continues to increase for Australians. According to a Deloitte survey, around 6 in every 10 Australian households use mobile devices in place of phone books, cameras, calculators, calendars, road directories, and alarm clocks. The same study notes that over 82% of Australians use their mobile phones to communicate with their friends and family on a weekly basis. The survey also reports that almost 95% of Australians who use smartphones rarely leave them at home when they leave the house. Many Australians even say taking their mobile phones with them more often than they take their keys or wallets.

At our fingertips: Are we addicted to our phones?

As mobile phone usage continues to increase, we must ask the question, are we addicted to our phones? A recent study noted the active internet usage by age group during December or 2019. This study looked at six age groups: 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, and 65 and over.

The study found that the most active users were the 35-44 age group, with 150 hours and 48 minutes spent on average online. The least active group was aged 18-24, with only 88 hours and 54 minutes. The second least active group was the final group (ages 65 and over), with 99 hours and 42 minutes.

While these numbers are pretty surprising when you think of the time spent on a mobile device, they do not mean that we are necessarily addicted to our phones. There are definitely individuals who are, and there are individuals who are not. What is important to note is the amount of time we spend on average on these convenient devices because that is time that we are not spending interacting with people face-to-face or productively focusing on whatever task is at hand.

Have mobiles changed us socially?

As we’ve mentioned before, there are both advantages and disadvantages to the ease and convenience of mobile phones. Whether we are focusing on the pros or cons of these devices, there is no question that these highly advanced portable computers have changed our lives in many ways. One of the most impactful ways that mobiles have changed our lives is social. Without these devices, keeping up with social media accounts, contacting friends and family, and keeping up to date with social events and news would be much harder to do.

Years ago, a missed phone call probably just meant that you were not home. Today, a missed phone call means you are either ignoring someone, in an important meeting, or otherwise preoccupied. Even so, the person who called expects to hear back promptly because, societally, no one is ever too far away from their phone to not notice the message in a matter of minutes.

Are they killing conversation?

There are mixed opinions about this question. While some remark that phones are a crucial part of allowing us to have more conversations with our loved ones who may live far away from us, others note that they inhibit our ability to have authentic conversations with others. In an interview, Turkle notes that conversation itself is the most human thing that we do, but because we no longer place the focus on eye contact, body language, the tones of someone’s voice, and learning about the other person in a conversation, we have lost the ability to have these humanizing conversations. At the very least, we are out of practice, and it can be tough to break the habit of turning to a phone in the lull of a conversation or awkward silence.

Turkle found that 89% of Americans report taking out their phone in their last social interaction, and 82% note that this simple (and often unintentional) action immediately decreased the quality of the conversation. When we allow ourselves to escape an awkward silence or lull in a conversation, we miss out on incredible opportunities to actually get to know someone. And the unfortunate truth is that phones provide a convenient and easy escape.

In summary, mobile phones bring a level of convenience and easy communication to our daily lives. With this convenience, however, comes a number of disadvantages — such as diminishing social skills and easy distractions — that can also negatively impact Australian lives. Therefore, finding the right balance between these advantages and disadvantages is crucial to avoid suffering from these devices' more negative side effects.

Now that you have a better understanding of how phones have changed Australian lives and individuals in other parts of the world, you may wonder how they will continue to impact our lives.

As Australia’s Telecom Industry continues to grow and 4G network technology becomes more easily accessible in both urban and rural areas throughout Australia, the convenience of mobile phones will only increase.