When phones act smarter than their owners

We, as a society, have become overly dependent on our smart phones.  They are more powerful than the early generation(s) of desktop computers we all used to own.  They are faster, store more in memory, have more function than all but my last laptops.  And as is human nature, we’ve allowed these small devices to take over many areas of our lives; particularly decision making.

At the Denver Airport, I watched countless people, (literally, I’ve lost count), walk past 8 (EIGHT) signs, the smallest of which are 2 feet by 5 feet.  Then they walk past the 5 flashing, scrolling, eye-catching signs on the train.  They come up to me, and I’m often standing directly under one of the signs, to ask me if “this train goes to Union Station.”  It is the same way at Union Station only that the destination is reversed.

People have opted out of the thinking business.  They have abdicated their course of action decisions to other people.  And I blame the smart phone.  So afraid to accept the answers provided by the little device, they ask overly obvious and idiotic questions to other people so as to affirm what they refuse to believe.

But it goes much deeper than that.  The phones have made people demand to be catered to or pampered by others, particularly those they see as being in the service industry.

I had one woman ask me if I knew where (name the hotel) was when we got to Union Station.  I told her that I had no idea; that I had never heard of the place.  She stopped, and looking and sounding exasperated, said, “Well, how am I supposed to get there, then?” I said, “I don’t know.  Maybe hire a personal assistant.”

 

A man on the train tries to explain why he has no ticket to ride.

Him: “I thought I could buy the ticket on the train.”

Me: “Did you buy your ticket from Logan to Denver when you sat down in seat 12D?”

Him: “No, but there weren’t any signs where to buy a ticket.”

Me: “Yet you walked by 6 ticket machines, 8 signs on the platform, and 5 on the train itself.  Then you look up from your phone to ask me if this train was going to Union Station.  So signage isn’t the issue here, is it?”

Then, while riding, almost everyone is nose deep into their phone.  Most of them scrolling their FaceBook page(s), Instagram accounts, or Tinder swiping, further numbing their minds. And if not that, they have headphones in blocking themselves off from the world—and my instructions.

I’ve had people watch me check fare tickets the entire length of the train, and then look at me with an incredulous look on their face when I get to them as if they have no idea why I am standing before with a scanner/counter.  They didn’t hear ANY of the five or six announcements made to get tickets prepared for inspection because they are absorbed into their own little bubble.  And again, it is usually the smart phone.  (I think I am the only person left on the planet who still uses an iPod.

Another example:  A man in his 20s approaches me and asks the usual idiotic question about if this is the train to Union Station.  He has ear buds in his head and barely looks up at me as I answer.  I notice in his hand he has a Region Discount ticket.  It is a half priced ticket.  I ask him the 4 qualifications for being eligible and he is not.  I tell him to go back to the machines and simply buy another Region Discount ticket.  (It would equal $9.00)  He returns with a Regional ticket, having paid full price for it, and wasting the original $4.50 he spent.  Why?  He wasn’t paying attention to my instructions as it was less important than whatever Buffy or Dirk had posted on FaceBook.

This isn’t going to get any better.  The coming generations would prefer to not be engaged, thinking that others who “are working” will simply cater to their needs and protect them from harm or misguided actions.  They willingly pull back from having to think, reason, or decide.  Having never had to do these things, what will they do when they MUST act, or choose, or decide?  If I’m around, I’ll tell you what.  They’ll do exactly what I’ll tell them to.  Or I’ll pummel them into submission.  They can then post it on social media.