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Is Our Connected Society a Little Too Connected?

Is Our Connected Society a Little Too Connected?

This holiday season more and more of us are shopping using our seemingly ubiquitous smartphones. These devices have become the modern equivalent of Linus’ security blanket for most of us, including yours truly. Those rare moments I find myself having left my phone at home when I pop out to grab some groceries or the like are utterly nerve-wracking. What if!? MY GOD WHAT IF someone tries to get in touch with me and horror of horrors they cannot! This from the woman who regularly puts the thing in Do Not Disturb mode so that I can focus on work uninterrupted.

Logic and sanity have no place when it comes to one’s smartphone.

Smartphones are and have the potential to further change nearly every aspect of our lives, making us feel that they are increasingly indispensable. So just how obsessed are we?

Turns out, most of us are truly bonkers. Forget that morning smile or snuggle with your partner when you first wake up – gotta check my phone!

Softly whispering sweet dreams to your children and/or partner as you drift into sweet slumber? Nope! Gotta check Twitter and Facebook!

Various scientific studies have linked smartphone usage in bed to inferior quality of sleep, and yet, millions of Americans cannot resist the allure of checking their Twitter timeline one more time before falling asleep. According to research conducted by Deloitte, 14 percent of smartphone owners in the U.S. check their smartphone immediately before trying to go to sleep and 35 percent do so within 5 minutes.

 

And this obsession is global.

We get particularly committed the iPhone.

Yet there is plenty of room to add addicts to our ranks.

For the younger crowd, smartphone beats or nearly beats interest in watching TV.

While we may have our noses down on those little handheld displays, we are mostly driven to connect and learn about what is happening in our world.

 

Source: • Chart: America’s Favorite Bedside Companion? | Statista

About the Author

Lenore Hawkins, Chief Macro Strategist
Lenore Hawkins serves as the Chief Macro Strategist for Tematica Research. With over 20 years of experience in finance, strategic planning, risk management, asset valuation and operations optimization, her focus is primarily on macroeconomic influences and identification of those long-term themes that create investing headwinds or tailwinds.

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