- Jeremy Floyd - http://www.jeremyfloyd.com -

This is Your Brain. This is Your Brain on a Smartphone.

As a constant fan of CBS Sunday Morning, I’m always intrigued to see what stories they are cooking up for the weekly magazine–I know, call me “O-L-D.” This week’s cover story focused on the Connected World’s obsession with smartphones. Ultimately, this piece asks the question that some of the more reflective (and unplugged) among us might be asking: in the most technologically advanced and connected society in history, are we isolating ourselves into silos?

This piece calls on experts like:


Sorry for the advertising this is the CBS embed. If you have any problems viewing this video, view the story here.

Do you remember in the 90’s when Internet-Anonymous recovery groups were all the rage? We are trained to see symptoms, and “tech-itis” is the latest diagnosis. I understand proceeding with caution…I’ve been to dinner parties where more people are texting each other than talking to one another. Families are suffering the same fate; this point is nicely illustrated in this cover of The New Yorker.

New Yorker Cover Art - Vacation

July 23, 2012 – New Yorker Cover Art – “Vacation”

Before we throw the cell phone out with the soy latte, I want to think about some of the amazing benefits of this technology:

“With great power comes great responsibility.”

I too “love” my iPhone, and I am drawn to the allure of its power. This power, however, does not mean that I can rewrite the rules of society. Etiquette is still a defining characteristic of this civilization. I have heard of several instances where (1) a plaintiff’s attorney attributed a major victory to not looking at his smartphone while the defense counsel missed a key piece of evidence because they were looking at smartphones; and (2) several cases where clients have fired their consultants because they never felt heard because the consultant was always checking email. Sure the temptation is there, but so is the temptation to eat a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts hot out of the glazing machine. A little discipline keeps temptation in check.

What are your thoughts? Are we better or worse off because of this technology? Can we control it, or does “it” control us?