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A group of friends checking their smartphones while hanging out. Almost everyone on the subway with their eyes fixed on their gadget's screens. A couple laying together in bed with their iPhones in their hands. People with their devices up in the air taking pictures of a concert. And I could go on. Technology, and especially smartphones, is ruining society, making us disconnected from others, interacting with our devices instead of with each other.

Except, fuck that.

Illustration by Rosangela Ludovico

People like to criticize current society. Not necessarily the current society relative to us, but the contemporary society of the time they live in. It's just so cool to romanticize the past even if it makes us feel bad about the present. Past times were always better. And in this age of information and technology, in which the smartphone is so ubiquitous, it's only obvious to blame them for some of society's problems. Of course, it's perfectly reasonable to stop and reflect on the use we give to technology and to criticize the bad behaviors associated. But I believe that accusing technology (and, again, especially smartphones) of ruining social interaction and even all kinds of experiences is, to say the least, quite wrong and misguided. Some people would even qualify that as pretentious, but I'll refrain from that.

If you have used the internet in the last years (and I suspect you have), you have probably seen a picture on your Facebook feed or on your Tumblr dashboard or nearly everywhere pointing out, with a sense of superiority, how people are slaves of technology nowadays, always using their electronic devices in public. I'm talking about illustrations like these. Or comics like these. Or short films like these. Or articles like these or these. Or photographic projects like these. Again, I could go on. The world wide web is filled with all kinds of expressive works related to this issue, probably because it's something people care about. But I feel that most of that content treats it using the same premise: smartphones are ruining our lifes (at least to some extent).

Illustration by Jean Jullien. The fun people didn't go away - they're here and everywhere

Everytime I see content like that, I feel the need to express my profound disagreement, for which I usually resort to Twitter, always ending up wanting to say more than I could, so I decided to write this piece. Of course, this expresses my views (and, I hope, the views of many others) just like those authors whose works I'm commenting on, so you may disagree with me and find that they are right and I'm not.

My main premise is that I don't think smartphones are isolating us, destroying our social lives or ruining interactions. I see smartphones as instruments for communication. Instruments that enable interaction on ways that just weren't possible before, connecting us with people all around the world, via Twitter, instant messaging or other services. Some may say that if you want to interact with people, you should interact with the ones around you, and that is probably true on certain occasions. But, on other occasions, I'm just not able to comprehend why should we be forced to interact with those physically close to us instead of with the people that we really want to interact with.

Is it so bad to prefer talking with a long-distance partner using a smartphone than with someone who does not interest me but happens to be next to me? To prefer reading how the people you've followed by years on Twitter are doing instead of making smalltalk with that friend of a friend sitting across the subway car? Maybe you think that yes, it is bad, that people should always prioritize physical interaction to digital one. I disagree. Except for obvious occasions (a work meeting, an actual conversation that is taking place between you and someone, etc.), I think people should be able to interact with whomever they please without being judged by people for using a smartphone to do so.

It all boils down to letting people connect freely using the medium they feel the most comfortable with at the moment. Maybe that acquaintance of yours hasn't gone talk to you because she has had a bad day and just wants to relax checking her Instagram feed or listening to some music. Maybe your friend has taken his smartphone out of his pocket because he has gotten a message that he needs to reply now. Or maybe it's just that he feels a bit uncomfortable and is using his phone to try and avoid the awkwardness of the moment because he has social anxiety and you should respect that. And yes, maybe, maybe some people are using their smartphones while they objectively shouldn't without any possible excuses and they're jerks (or they just made a mistake and didn't realize taking their phone out would make someone upset), but I think it's really unfair to assume everyone or nearly everyone who uses a smartphone in public does that.

Photo by John Blanding tweeted by Wayne Dahlberg. It's trying to convey the idea that this woman is enjoying the experience more than the other people taking photos or recording. I'm not sure those people are really enjoying it less because of their smartphones

Part of the commentaries I've seen criticizing this whole issue also touch on social media, since it is so integrated with our usual smartphone usage. For example, I see lots of people complaining about people who take pictures of the food they order at restaurants for posting them on Instagram or wherever. I don't get that. Is it wrong to create a permanent memento of an otherwise temporary experience, to capture in a photo the work of the people back in the kitchen who made an effort to make the food look attractive? To me, those complaints allude to a lack of understanding of how modern social media works.

I think Tumblr user zmizet expresses this very accurately in their comments on the Jean Jullien illustrations that I've used here. On that exact topic of taking photos of food, zmizet expressed the following:

I'm happy seeing my friends take photos of their food. I like taking photos of my food. Because there is a chef in the back of the kitchen who works hard to plate things beautifully and in any other situation, people dive in immediately and ruin that image. We take photos to preserve that image and who the fuck knows, if I was the chef I would be digging through instagram hoping to see my plate on there. We're celebrating someones hard work, work that is generally temporary.

And I agree with that. zmizet concludes:

Technology isn't bad. You're just upset with yourselves for having a lack of self-control. You hate that people connect through technology. And maybe, you just don't like seeing people love themselves, enjoy life, and feel joy. That's your problem, not technology's.

Social media itself is also not bad. It doesn't make us more socially isolated. Quite the contrary, it expands our social network, as shown in this report by Pew Research Center which concludes:

Compared to those who do not use the internet, most people who use the internet and use a social networking service, such as Facebook, MySpace, or LinkedIn, have social networks that are about 20% more diverse.

It dates back to 2009, when social media wasn't as big as it is now, but I firmly believe it still stands correct today. I'd also like to point out this key paragraph:

Newer information and communication technologies provide new settings and a means of communication that independently contribute to the diversity of people's social networks.

Social media, and smartphones for that matter, only contributes to make our social experiences richer by connecting us with people in new ways. I'm sure many of you have met lots of interesting people. I sure have. Thanks to social media, I've been able to meet people that are now close friends of mine. And when I'm out, I like to open Twitter and check how they are, what they are doing, if I have something to say that may interest them. Heck, I even met my girlfriend on Twitter years ago. And I'm absolutely certain that my experience is not an isolated one, as the research above shows.

Vignette of a comic by Gavin Aung Than

Popular image of nearly everyone on the train reading the newspaper instead of talking with each other decades ago

Other frequent topic appears to be one I've already mentioned. People using their smartphones on the subway, the bus or the train. This is shown in the illustration used at the beginning of this writing or in the comic I referenced above. This is probably the one I get the least. What else could people do? What would they do if smartphones didn't exist? Talking to each other? Let's not fool ourselves. People in general do not like to interact with strangers in these contexts. They didn't when smartphones were far from existing; they just used another object instead, like a newspaper. In response to the vignette next to this paragraph, Tumblr user bogleech commented the following:

OH MAN look at those ignorant, pathetic people of various ages, sexes and ethnic groups all doing internet shit on their phones while they ride on a subway! HOLY SHIT THEY'RE ALL DOING IT! EVEN THE GUY IN THE TURBAN FROM WHATEVER THE HELL VAGUE COUNTRY HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE FROM THAT HAS TURBANS!

WHY ARE THEY MESSAGING ESTABLISHED FRIENDS AND FAMILY ON A PHOENEZ WHEN THEY COULD BE INTERACTING WITH COMPLETE AND UTTER STRANGERS ON A GROSS FUCKING SUBWAY CAR

HOW DARE THEY HAVE PERSONAL OUTLETS AND PRIVATE SPACE AND SHIT

The person who wrote that was clearly really passionate about this topic. And well, I think that, although violently, they deliver the message I'm trying to convey here.

They also went on to say:

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY OVER JUST THE PAST DECADE HAS CONNECTED AND EDUCATED MORE HUMAN MINDS THAN PROBABLY THE ENTIRE SUM OF OUR PLANET'S HISTORY

IT'S ALSO A MIRACULOUS FIRST-WORLD PRIVILEGE THAT ALLOWS YOU TO MAKE FRIENDS, SHARE YOUR IDEAS, LEARN NEW THINGS, HEAL EMOTIONAL WOUNDS THROUGH SOCIAL INTERACTION, FIND ESCAPE FROM ABUSIVE SITUATIONS, FIND NEW LIVING SITUATIONS, APPLY FOR JOBS, CREATE YOUR OWN PERSONAL OUTLETS AND GENERALLY PURSUE HAPPINESS AT THE TOUCH OF A DAMN BUTTON

Illustration by Jean Jullien. Is it so bad to have the ability to not be alone using our phones?

You don't have to take their word for it. There are studies that back up all of that like this one or this one.

In conclusion, I think we need to stop thinking technology is ruining everything, making us a slave to it, mindlessly using our smartphones all the time. It is not. It is enriching our lives, connecting us to the people that matter the most to us regardless of how far away they are, connecting us to all kinds of people whom we wouldn't have met otherwise. So, stop feeling superior for making fun of other people because they're using their smartphones, stop pretending our lives and society would be better without them, stop blaming technology for natural human behaviors. If you see an image like the ones I referenced here, the ones trying to show how we are "letting technology ruin social interactions and pleasant experiences", stop and reflect on why people are actually using their electronic devices. Furthermore, stop romanticizing the past, believing life was better without all of this ubiquitous technology like in some form of "neo-ludism". Consumer technology is good. It enables us to connect in amazing ways as humans. It is not replacing real interaction. It is augmenting it. Embrace it.

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Stop Saying Technology is Causing Social Isolation

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A group of friends checking their smartphones while hanging out. Almost everyone on the subway with their eyes fixed on their gadget's screens. A couple laying together in bed with their iPhones in their hands. People with their devices up in the air taking pictures of a concert.

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129. MARC MARON: The social media generation

Marc Maron is a comedian and the host of my favourite podcast, WTF with Marc Maron, which is a comedy podcast where Maron interviews not only comedians, but musicians, actors, chefs and artists. His conversations are always engaging, funny, raw and honest. I recommend it especially to those who are pursuing a creative field, as most of his interview subjects have insightful and unique stories about how they became successful. (As you can tell from its title, WTF contains explicit language and is for mature listeners ... you've been warned!)

Maron's own success story is worth mentioning. In his 40s, having lived a life of anger, resentment, addiction, failed relationships and burnt bridges, Maron had just gotten fired from a radio gig when he started the WTF podcast as a last, desperate attempt to stay in the comedy game. The podcast not only became incredibly successful, leading to a resurgence in his stand-up career and a television series, but it's also proven to be his salvation.

I can't believe it's taken me so long to do a Maron quote, as I must have listened to hundreds of hours of his voice while working on Zen Pencils. This quote is taken from his latest memoir, Attempting Normal.

RELATED COMICS: Bill Hicks It's just a ride, Louis C.K. We don't think about how we talk, George Carlin On assassination (explicit), Henry Rollins Who's the crazier man?.

- Since my last comic about social media, I think it's fair to say I'm still totally dependent and addicted to my phone. Who checks their phone as soon as they wake up and while still in bed? I do. Who takes their phone into the toilet with them? Me. It's gross, but I bet you do it too ... don't lie. Who can't be alone in public without looking at their phone every five minutes? Yep, me again. While I love social media (it has obviously helped Zen Pencils enormously and it's incredible how easy I can interact with readers from all over the world), we should also remember some of its negative side effects, as this article points out.
- What are your favourite podcasts? Some of my other recommendations: Hardcore History, The Bugle, The Smartest Man in the World, The Nerdist, Stuff You Should Know, StarTalk Radio and The BS Report.

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Marc Maron is a comedian and the host of my favourite podcast, WTF with Marc Maron , which is a comedy podcast where Maron interviews not only comedians, but musicians, actors, chefs and artists. His conversations are always engaging, funny, raw and honest.

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Technology has hijacked family dinnertime. Watch the DOLMIO® PEPPER HACKER™ reclaim it.

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#LIKELIFE! World with vs World without Social Media

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Stop Looking At Your Phones ('The Britishes')

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Jon Iwata is the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications at IBM. As a member of the communications team for over 25 years, Iwata has taken an active interest in watching the workforce change. Every year he meets with IBM's summer interns for an informal focus group on the state of emerging talent. In this lesson from Big Think Edge, Iwata explores key millennial values and what every company can do to embrace them.

Jon Iwata leads IBM's marketing, communications and citizenship organization. His global team is responsible for the marketing of IBM's product and services portfolio in more than 170 countries, market intelligence, communications, and stewardship of the IBM brand, recognized as one of the most valuable in the world.

Jon and his team lead the marketing of Watson, the breakthrough technology that is bringing cognition and artificial intelligence to healthcare, retail, financial services, education and all industries being transformed by the phenomenon of data.

Jon reports to IBM Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Ginni Rometty. He is a member of IBM's Operating Team, responsible for day-to-day marketplace execution, and IBM's Client Experience Team, which focuses on making distinctive client experience systemic across IBM. He is vice chairman of the IBM International Foundation.

Jon joined IBM in 1984 at the company's Almaden Research Center in Silicon Valley. He was appointed vice president of Corporate Communications in 1995 and senior vice president, Communications, in 2002. He assumed his current role on July 1, 2008.

Jon is a trustee of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. He is a director of the Japan Society and a director of the Association of National Advertisers. He is past chairman of the Arthur W. Page Society, a professional group of Chief Communications Officers.

In 2015, Jon was inducted into the CMO Club Hall of Fame. That same year he received the Distinguished Service Award from The Seminar, an organization consisting of Chief Communications Officers. He holds a B.A. from the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at San Jose State University.

Jon is co-inventor of a U.S. patent for advanced semiconductor lithography technology.

One of the greatest meetings I have any year at IBM is breakfast with our summer interns. And I've been doing this now for over 15 years. And so they're just wonderful interactions with these young people and they're full of energy and they want to make a good impression and they're working on interesting things. But I use it as a kind of personal focus group and I've asked the same set of questions for over 15 years. I ask questions like, "There's breaking news this afternoon. How are you going to hear about that news? Tell me about that." "You're going to shop for a product starting this afternoon. Tell me about how you're going to initiate that journey to purchase something."

And, of course, as you guess over the years the answers to that have changed a lot. Well just a few weeks ago I met with this year's, you know, group of summer interns. They're all millennials by definition. And I talked a lot about what makes a millennial a millennial. And I'm, of course, comparing it to everything I've read about millennials. And it is true that the purpose of their work matters greatly to them. They don't want to differentiate what they do in their personal life from what they do in their professional life. It matters to them. They are technology savvy. They take it for granted. It's like breathing to them. And they assume that the companies they work for or engage with are going to engage with them on that basis. They are highly empowered with information and they rely on social networks not for idle things alone but to make decisions. All true.

What surprised me in this group are two things. One is they said, "As much as we're doing this [using smartphones] all the time, we really value face-to-face. And we want to work in a place where we get to work with people physically." And so I think X years ago people said, "No, I'd like to work at home or work on the road" and all the rest. Very, very different with at least this generation of young professionals. This [smartphone use] plus face-to-face. And so suddenly at IBM, you know, we're having to pay a great deal of attention to the physical design of our offices and labs, the physical environments, the technical tools together. The team configurations, the method of working, all very, very important to millennials and it won't be limited to millennials.

The last point I've asked for, you know, a long time now, "How many of you, you know, are concerned about giving away your personal information?" You know you're telling everybody in the world like what you're doing and where you are and what you're looking for. And people who aren't millennials, let's put it that way, say, "I would never tell the world those things about myself." So, for example, "How many of you have turned off Geo Location on your smartphones?" Up until this year like one percent. I get like one or two hands saying I've turned off GPS on my smartphone. This year over half had turned it off and it was quite startling. And I said, "Well why did you do that?" "Because I don't want my physical location to be seen by companies and other entities. That's my data, not their data." Others said, "I turn it on and off because I get serviced for that." What I learned from this is this is not just a tech-savvy generation meaning this [smartphone usage]. This is a tech savvy generation when they understand that one of the most powerful things and most valuable things they own is their data, is their personal information and they're not going to naively give it away without return of value to them. And that's a great eye-opener. First, it gives me hope that they're not naively embracing technology to their regret one day. It gives me hope that it will cause, whether it's a government or a business, a healthcare system, a university system to respect the customer, the employee, the citizen. And that's only a healthy thing.

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MILLENNIALS: Embrace Millennials' Values, with Jon Iwata

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Jon Iwata is the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications at IBM. As a member of the communications team for over 25 years, Iwata has taken an active interest in watching the workforce change. Every year he meets with IBM's summer interns for an informal focus group on the state of emerging talent.

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Beautiful Commercial From Thailand  Disconnect to connect  VIDEO

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This EFL lesson plan is designed around a short film by Matthew Frost starring Kirsten Dunst, and the theme of celebrity selfies. Students discuss meeting famous people, roleplay meeting their hero or heroine, watch a short film and discuss selfies and celebrity selfies.

Language level: Intermediate (B1) - Advanced (C1)

Learner type: Teens and adults

Time: 90 minutes

Activity: Speaking, performing a roleplay, watching a short film,

Topic: Selfies, meeting famous people and modern society

Language: Questions

Materials: Short film
Downloadable materials: selfie lesson instructions Step 1
Ask your students the following question:

Have you ever met a famous person?

Ask some of the students to tell the rest of the class how they met the famous and what they said to them.
Step 2
Pair the learners and ask them to answer the following questions:

If you could any famous person, who would you most like to meet?

What would you say to the famous person?

What questions would you ask?
Step 3
Get feedback from the whole class on who they'd like to meet and what they would say to them.
Step 4
Ask the students to roleplay the following situation:

Student A is a fan of a famous person he/she meets at a party. You want to speak to your hero/heroine. You ask the questions you prepared in Step 2.

Student B is a famous person who meets a fan at a party. Your fan has a lot of questions they want to ask you. You answer their questions in as much detail as possible (you'll have to use your imagination!).

The students roleplay the situation. When they have finished they change roles.
Step 5
Get feedback from the students on their dialogues. Ask for volunteers to perform their roleplays at the front of the class.
Step 6
Write "selfie" on the board. Elicit or explain that it is a photo a person takes of themselves with a mobile phone.
Step 7
Ask the students if they ever take selfies of themselves. If they do ask them to show examples of selfies they've taken.
Step 8
Ask your students the following questions:

Why do people take selfies?
Step 9
Ask the learners if they have ever taken a selfie with a celebrity. If so, ask them to give more details about what happened.
Step 10
Do a search for "selfie with a celebrity" on Google and show some of the photos to the students.
Step 11
Show the image of Kirsten Dunst. Ask the students if they know who she is. Try to elicit that she is an actress who has appeared in films such as The Virgin Suicides, Marie Antoinette and Melancholia. Ask them what they would do if they met her in the street.
Step 12
Tell your students that they are going to see a short film which shows Kirsten Dunst being recognized in the street by two young women. Ask them to predict what they think happens in the film.
Step 13
Show the film and ask the students if their predictions were correct.

ASPIRATIONAL from Matthew Frost on Vimeo.
Step 14
Write the following questions on the board:

How does Kirsten Dunst feel?

Why do the two girls take their own selfies?

Why do the two young women ask Kirsten to tag them?

Who are random followers?

Tell the learners they are going to watch the film again. As they watch they should try to answer the four questions.
Step 15
Put the students into small groups to discuss the following question:

What is the message of the film?

Do you think the film is realistic?

Why do you think the film is titled Aspirational?

Hold a plenary session based on the questions.
Homework
Pair the students. Student A has to find out information about Kirsten's childhood, family, career, romantic relationships and interests. Student B is a great fan of Kirsten and has to create 10 questions she'd like to ask Kirsten when she meets her. In the following class the pairs roleplay the situation.

I hope you enjoy this ESL lesson.

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This EFL lesson plan is designed around a short film by Matthew Frost starring Kirsten Dunst, and the theme of celebrity selfies. Students discuss meeting famous people, roleplay meeting their hero or heroine, watch a short film and discuss selfies and celebrity selfies.