Talk/Listen

[The Hammer]

It really seems that hardly anyone talks anymore. I see so many heads down in phones when I'm out in public.

On top of that I see and interact with so many people who don't know how to listen anymore, and by extension refuse to/cannot sit in silence. Constantly craving stimulus.

Why?

 

[JustGeorge]

It really seems that hardly anyone talks anymore. I see so many heads down in phones when I'm out in public.

On top of that I see and interact with so many people who don't know how to listen anymore, and by extension refuse to/cannot sit in silence. Constantly craving stimulus.

Why?

I suspect communication is shifting from the bulk of it being in person, to the bulk of it being online. With smartphones being in most everyone's pocket, there's a constant source of stimulation as well, making it hard to just 'be'. I think our brains get more used to the set up the internet offers, and we're less and less comfortable with what the 'real world' has for us.

 

[Jimmy]

It really seems that hardly anyone talks anymore. I see so many heads down in phones when I'm out in public.

On top of that I see and interact with so many people who don't know how to listen anymore, and by extension refuse to/cannot sit in silence. Constantly craving stimulus.

Why?

Cuz lookin at the wall is boring. Haha.

 

[JustGeorge]

Cuz lookin at the wall is boring. Haha.

It is boring.

But its kinda fun to talk to the person next to you, in my opinion.

 

[Jimmy]

It is boring.

But its kinda fun to talk to the person next to you, in my opinion.

Definitely

 

[The Hammer]

Cuz lookin at the wall is boring. Haha.

Not really.

 

[Valjean]

What are people doing when they're staring at their phones,;how are they "being stimulated?"
Staring at the wall? Doesn't anyonr read anymore?

 

[JustGeorge]

What are people doing when they're staring at their phones,;how are they "being stimulated?"
Staring at the wall? Doesn't anyonr read anymore?

I see almost no one with a book anymore.

That doesn't mean they're not reading on their phones.

Waiting room magazines were on their way out; Covid finished that.

 

[The Hammer]

I suspect communication is shifting from the bulk of it being in person, to the bulk of it being online. With smartphones being in most everyone's pocket, there's a constant source of stimulation as well, making it hard to just 'be'. I think our brains get more used to the set up the internet offers, and we're less and less comfortable with what the 'real world' has for us.

I agree completely, and I for one do not like the shift. As much as online conversation has widened possibilities and given the voiceless a voice. It has also done much to disrupt free conversation of ideas. As with everything, a balance needs to be struck.

 

[The Hammer]

I see almost no one with a book anymore.

That doesn't mean they're not reading on their phones.

Waiting room magazines were on their way out; Covid finished that.

I love books, and would buy more of them, were I not spending my dollars elsewhere

I keep at least one recreational book on me at all times.

I like magazines for the pretty pictures

 

[The Hammer]

What are people doing when they're staring at their phones,;how are they "being stimulated?"
Staring at the wall? Doesn't anyonr read anymore?

Even though people are "reading" on their phones. It tends to be little in the way of thought provoking or fantastical either. The bright phone screen and the constant alerts (email, phone/voicemail, Facebook/Twitter/insta, texts, etc etc). That constantly stimulation leads to a brain that forgets how to disengage if not careful.

 

[JustGeorge]

I agree completely, and I for one do not like the shift. As much as online conversation has widened possibilities and given the voiceless a voice. It has also done much to disrupt free conversation of ideas. As with everything, a balance needs to be struck.

I agree wholeheartedly. What, if anything, do you think can be done?

I love books, and would buy more of them, were I not spending my dollars elsewhere

I keep at least one recreational book on me at all times.

I like magazines for the pretty pictures

I'm a used book junkie...

I also tend to cart a book around. Or magazine...

Even though people are "reading" on their phones. It tends to be little in the way of thought provoking or fantastical either. The bright phone screen and the constant alerts (email, phone/voicemail, Facebook/Twitter/insta, texts, etc etc). That constantly stimulation leads to a brain that forgets how to disengage if not careful.

I wonder, too, about what signals the screens send to the brain. For example, we see TL;DR a lot, but many of the people that didn't want to read someone's 6 paragraph post would be content to read along with a novel or a long article. Do we get 'amped' for short bursts by screens, or perhaps certain mediums?

When I went to take my GED course, it was all on computers. I sat in front of mine blankly, unable to pay attention. To me, computers were for gaming! I felt too stimulated to concentrate. An instructor asked if I was having problems, and I explained what was going on. He offered me a book instead, which I took. I was ready to test out of that subject within an hour. It was just easier for me to engage with the book. I'm not sure if others have that struggle, or that was just a quirk.

 

[We Never Know]

I see almost no one with a book anymore.

That doesn't mean they're not reading on their phones.

Waiting room magazines were on their way out; Covid finished that.

Used to many people wore watches. Ask someone the time now and they pull out their phone.

 

[Twilight Hue]

It really seems that hardly anyone talks anymore. I see so many heads down in phones when I'm out in public.

On top of that I see and interact with so many people who don't know how to listen anymore, and by extension refuse to/cannot sit in silence. Constantly craving stimulus.

Why?

I think the social virtual world has now become more interesting than the real world for a lot of people.

 

[anna.]

I see almost no one with a book anymore.

That doesn't mean they're not reading on their phones.

Waiting room magazines were on their way out; Covid finished that.

A few months ago, I was waiting in the dentist office and reflexively pulled out my phone to pass the time. A random thought occurred to me: I'd been in that waiting room multiple times, but could I describe it if I had to? I'd inadvertently intrigued myself so I put my phone away and spent the next minutes 'in the moment,' and actually take in everything around me. The type of furniture, the paintings on the wall, the colors of the room, all the little details I'd missed in my previous visits. Phone or no phone, I've always had a tendency to lose myself in my thoughts at the expense of taking in the world around me, where I am, in that moment I can't have back. Trying to be more mindful in that way now.

 

[anna.]

I think the social virtual world has now become more interesting than the real world for a lot of people.

Agreed.

 

[JustGeorge]

A few months ago, I was waiting in the dentist office and reflexively pulled out my phone to pass the time. A random thought occurred to me: I'd been in that waiting room multiple times, but could I describe it if I had to? I'd inadvertently intrigued myself so I put my phone away and spent the next minutes 'in the moment,' and actually take in everything around me. The type of furniture, the paintings on the wall, the colors of the room, all the little details I'd missed in my previous visits. Phone or no phone, I've always had a tendency to lose myself in my thoughts at the expense of taking in the world around me, where I am, in that moment I can't have back. Trying to be more mindful in that way now.

That's a wonderful exercise!