Written by: Likewize
We have become a society dependent on our phones. We can no longer function or live happily without them. Covid-19 dramatically affected our tech obsession because we became reliant on our phones to keep us in contact with loved ones. However, the problem grew when we came out of isolation and still relied solely on our phones for human interaction. Our first thought when talking to a person is to not go get coffee or food, but instead, it is to make a phone or facetime call. After two years in this state, people have become reliant on technology. While we still had a tech obsession before Covid-19, the pandemic exponentially increased our addiction to the devices. We had to adapt to fit the times; however, we have not fully gone back to before the pandemic. Now, more and more people are choosing remote work, remote school, and meeting people online rather than in person.
With that said, the overwhelming majority of 18–24-year-olds say they use messaging apps more now than pre-pandemic. Our form of communication has changed to digital, and we are close to losing all of the soft skills of in person communication. The easiness of using technology has made it into our crutch and resulted in a lot more use. In fact, two-thirds of Gen Z respondents claim to spend more time online than they would like to. Because we have not been forced out of our bubbles and comfort zones in a while, we have become dependent on technology. Many people have not been able to sole their reliance on technology problem and stay in the cycle of overuse. While some discovered their love for being outdoors, there has not been a large enough incentive for people to spend time off their devices. The easiness of spending time online is more than ever before. Most people work on their laptops all day and then spend even more time on personal devices afterwards. More than one in two young people say the technology in their life distracts them from day-to-day tasks. A message comes through, we have to check it immediately. Someone posts on social media; we have to check and then like and comment.
Our lives have revolved around technology, and we now have an obsession that is not stopping anytime soon. In fact, 47% consider themselves “addicted” to their phones. We have developed a strong dependency on our devices where we cannot live happily without them or function productively without them. There is hardly anyone that can go long periods of time without their device. We need to work and ensure that we develop a balanced life. We often hear that work-life balance is important, but now it seems our life has turned into our devices. We need to make certain that we start to incorporate a work-device-life balance. This way of living will hopefully incorporate a distance in our reliance on devices and instead involve more in person experiences.
