We have all noticed that most George Mason University students are on their phones when walking from one class to the next. A majority of students are on iPhones or application-savvy smartphones. According to CNET, the popular tech media website, over one-third of the U.S. population owns a smartphone. This means that every third person sitting in your class right now has one.
On what would seem like a completely irrelevant note, many couples are also calling it quits and many friendships are now losing value. So what does this have anything to do with smartphones? It has to do with smartphones because many blogs and editorials are now seeing a correlation between deteriorating relationships and this popular technology.
There are more than a few reasons why your beloved iPhone is keeping you single — reasons like distractions.
Half the time when you’re on a dinner date and your phone keeps vibrating, you will eventually check it. And this will lead to the infamous line, “Sorry, what’d you say?” or playing Temple Run on your iPhone while tweeting about your date. Now that’s a really bad first impression and will probably be your first and last date.
Miscommunication is another common problem. There probably have been times when you sent a funny, sarcastic text to your significant other, but he or she wasn’t in the joking mood. Miscommunication is probably the most frustrating problem with smartphones. A text cannot only be misunderstood but also misread and misinterpreted. Even a simple “OK” can come off seeming slightly annoyed. The phone — like the future of your relationship — is in your hand. So just call the person.
What about secrets? Most people have probably been in an incident in which their significant other’s phone went off and they rushed to silence it. What about those mysteriously flirty messages on his phone from some other girl? Smartphones have damaged many relationships because unfaithfulness is easier when you can just text or download an entirely separate app to communicate with other people that your better half never has to know about.
Then there’s the blame game. When you’re annoyed with a friend you’ll most likely ignore them. Unlike a friend, a girlfriend or boyfriend will continuously call and text. A whole day of ignoring calls and texts will get you nowhere. Once they show up on your doorstep what will you say? Probably something unimaginative such as, “My phone died,” or, “I just got all your texts!” Congratulations on using excuses that stopped being viable five years ago.
Smartphones, or any cellular phone, have benefited relationships tremendously as well. But as we readily adapt to this common technology we also find loopholes to abuse this privilege. This puts a great deal of stress on any relationship. Using a smartphone will become almost necessary in the future, but we can’t forget to give an actual hug and kiss to the ones we love. “XOXO” simply will not suffice.
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