Thanks to an ever-growing dependence on technology, the once-complacent morning routine of a pot of coffee and the local newspaper may be a thing of the past—the Internet’s hold on s’ time and attention has created an online monopoly.
Such morning —along with newspapers and magazines—have come to shrink in size and popularity. As more content heads online, many publications have downsized and many more are on the verge of collapse. To keep their subscribers, newspapers must answer the question: why charge $300 for a subscription when readers can read content online for free?
Readers now more than ever can gain free access to online videos, audio clips and the jounalists’ blogs—all of which are exclusive to the web. There’s a well-established routine to it: e-mail, then Facebook, Twitter, blogs, bookmarked news sites and the weather. Much of people’s time is spent shopping, chatting and watching videos and reading news on the Internet.
A recent study by Retrevo.com, an online electronics retailer, found that 83 per cent of people under the age of 35 check Facebook at least once every day, but a full 27 per cent of the those under 35 log on more than 10 times a day. According to CNet news, consumers this year alone have bought 27 per cent more Smartphones than they did a year ago. That, despite of a global recession, doesn’t even include the busy holiday shopping period.
Smartphones like Apple’s iPhone or RIM’s BlackBerry have become ubiquitous due to the ease with which s can surf the web, log onto Facebook and various Internet applications.
Jennifer Jacobson, director of public relations at Retrevo.com, calls this the rapid adoption of a new form of communication.
“People need to have a think about the amount of time they spend ‘connected’ or ‘available’ and set aside times during the day,” she said. “They need time they can spend just for themselves, or their family, where the proverbial BlackBerry won’t be buzzing—even if it’s only for an hour or two.” Despite the fact that there are 276 million wireless devices in the United States, only 40 million of them are Smartphones—a meagre 15 per cent.
Jacobson said technology is becoming a large part of our daily lives.
“Nowadays much of that technology is ‘connected,’ so it’s safe to say that people will be spending more time than ever online,” she said. “If you check your email at the dinner table, you may be missing out on an important or idea question from your partner, or child.” But how much connected time is too much? Retrevo.com’s poll shows that 64 per cent of people under 35 check their Facebook or Twitter s at work, 40 per cent do it while driving and 34 per cent do it while on a date.
Jacobson said the possibility of those who rely too much on the Internet may be less likely to know how to communicate in person. “That can have potentially disastrous results in both personal and professional relationships,” she said.
Dan Trottier, PhD ’10 teaches a course on communication and information technology. Trottier said some people compare being without their mobile phones to missing a limb.
“You’re talking about the Internet, but it’s tied to things like family, to being able to navigate throughout the day,” he said. “It’s like living a life without walls and ceilings.
“There’s also, however, this sense in which, if you’re connected, you’re never really apart from your friends or your family,” he said. “So you have to turn off your phone if you want to get a hold of that personal time. I think it has to get to the point where you recognize points in your day where you’re not connected.” Trottier said if he was having a conversation about technology 10 years ago, people would be asking the same question about e-mail.
“I think that idea of it being an addiction kind of speaks to it being a shift in culture. If you’re a journalist or a doctor or a lawyer, if they were to leave it at home, it would kind of mess up their entire day. This idea that we’re not quite comfortable with this technology but its already become such a foundational aspect of people’s lives.” The ability to log on from anywhere opens up a world of possibilities we might otherwise miss, but it’s not without its downsides.
Nick Bontis, a professor at McMaster University specializing in human capital, said he coaches his kids’ soccer game and keeps his BlackBerry buzzing constantly on his belt. Bontis said he’s concerned about the opportunity costs of spending more and more time online. “Children don’t play outside like we used to,” he said. “Our parents used to say go outside and play and when the lights come on you can come inside.” Perhaps even more alarming, though, is what Bontis calls the digital persona Internet s create for themselves.
“We’ve all seen unflattering pictures of ourselves on Facebook, but all of a sudden, it’s in that digital ether forever,” he said.
Bontis said the permanence of s’ digital persona is what we should be most worried about.
It’s no secret some employers screen potential candidates by searching their Facebook or Twitter pages. As we spend more and more time online, our digital persona grows more complex, and the ramifications of that can be potentially dangerous.
Bontis said generation Y grew up as the so-called MTV generation, where there are always simultaneous windows in front of people—whether its windows on a computer or windows on television.
“We had one green monochrome screen on an IBM computer, or one of a selection of 12 TV channels at a time,” he said. “The generation of expectation for generation Y is much stronger. This mentality also has to do with speed. Our mommy and daddy told us that spelling and grammar are very important, where as if you look at generation Y, they’ve created a whole new mode of speech.” Bontis said it’s important to identify when people’s digital lives begin to interrupt their daily routine.
“When it starts impacting your relationship with your loved ones, it becomes a problem,” he said. “This is a peer-pressure type of experience. If your boss sends you an email at 10:30 at night, the expectation is that you respond to that e-mail at 11:30 p.m. It’s kind of a snowball effect—it’s like a drug. Whoever is a BlackBerry owner has a very difficult time of living up its expectations.”
In the end, Bontis said, it’s all about personal moderation.
“There’s just not going to be a law that says stop checking your email after 10 at night.” Like anything else, Smartphones have their place and taken in moderation are nothing to worry about. It’s when they begin to control their owners that they start to become dangerous.
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