If you've been following my blog for more than just a few weeks, you know that my family and I just moved back to the US after our four year stay in Germany.
And my, how things have changed.
At first it didn't seem that significant. Yeah, I saw more people oblivious to the world, heads bent over their smartphones, than there were in the first half of 2009, but I didn't think much of it.
It's just now, after a month and a half of being back in the good old USA that I'm beginning to have a grasp on how smartphones have changed American society.
When we left, I felt like smartphones were a luxury. People had them, but they weren't so widespread. Now they've been ingrained into our lives in a lot of different ways that weren't so apparent in Germany. Everyone is expected to have one. Not only our we expected to have one, we are expected to be reachable at any moment.
The work lives and personal lives of Americans are now even more enmeshed than before. Your clients and your employer should be able to contact you at any time and they do because they assume you have a smartphone, therefore you can be contacted. In fact, I'm buying a house right now almost completely through email. Sometimes these emails are time sensitive and I need to get them and respond quickly. The only way I can do this up until now is at home because I put off getting a smartphone.
Our interactions with other people have changed. Facebook and twitter seem to be used much more than before. People don't call to make plans, they text or facebook message and assume others can check their facebook instantly wherever they are and respond. It's almost like owning a smartphone has become a prerequisite to join the new American society.
So we bought smartphones.
Even more troubling is that Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nirvana are being played on my local classic rock station.
And this might shock you: I saw a poster for the latest Now That's What I Call Music. It was number 47. Number one was released in 1998 and included The Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls and Hanson.
And my, how things have changed.
At first it didn't seem that significant. Yeah, I saw more people oblivious to the world, heads bent over their smartphones, than there were in the first half of 2009, but I didn't think much of it.
It's just now, after a month and a half of being back in the good old USA that I'm beginning to have a grasp on how smartphones have changed American society.
When we left, I felt like smartphones were a luxury. People had them, but they weren't so widespread. Now they've been ingrained into our lives in a lot of different ways that weren't so apparent in Germany. Everyone is expected to have one. Not only our we expected to have one, we are expected to be reachable at any moment.
The work lives and personal lives of Americans are now even more enmeshed than before. Your clients and your employer should be able to contact you at any time and they do because they assume you have a smartphone, therefore you can be contacted. In fact, I'm buying a house right now almost completely through email. Sometimes these emails are time sensitive and I need to get them and respond quickly. The only way I can do this up until now is at home because I put off getting a smartphone.
Our interactions with other people have changed. Facebook and twitter seem to be used much more than before. People don't call to make plans, they text or facebook message and assume others can check their facebook instantly wherever they are and respond. It's almost like owning a smartphone has become a prerequisite to join the new American society.
So we bought smartphones.
Even more troubling is that Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nirvana are being played on my local classic rock station.
And this might shock you: I saw a poster for the latest Now That's What I Call Music. It was number 47. Number one was released in 1998 and included The Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls and Hanson.
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