Has smartphones become our ‘Next Of Kin’?

The advent of information and communication technology cannot be overemphasized in nation building, economic stability, education and even the fight against terrorism. Day-to-day activities are being made easier by the superfast and smart device called the ‘smartphone’ overshadowed by the conjugal bliss of the ‘internet’.

Let us talk about the smartphone. Life has been classified stress-free as almost everything can be done from your comfort zone using the smartphone. The letter ‘e’ now carries a lot of complex human based activities thereby making every of man’s endeavours electronic.

There is no closing hours attached to banking neither is their odd hours inclined to learning, even information is not restricted by distance neither is commerce confined to the borders of weekdays only. Everyone has the opportunity of doing whatsoever he likes, anytime he wants and in any atmosphere.

The circumference of this great innovation cannot be separated from the family circle. Parents now purchase devices with internet running through its very fibre even though they have name tags as toys thereby giving this little one a clique they are following themselves. Moms don’t need to spend much time in the hairdressing saloon to hear the latest gossips or keep with the latest trends in fashion as “Bellanaija” has done them the honours. Dads have lost the vey excuse to run out of the house as even the “Supersports” and “Mensroom” have been created to function well on their devices.

Organizations now reach their least customers through the smartphone, students prefer the online courses as it carries convenience in its wings, fashion houses are not left behind as their products are displayed on the internet and purchased at the push of one button. People now even make a living from the social media platforms because almost everyone has a basic need and the social media is the only place they feel such needs can be met.

The euphoria created by the union of the smartphone and the internet cannot be fully discussed and this has made us overlook the dangers that this blissful moment is pushing towards us. Despite all the beautiful picture and sense of relief, a ‘but’ in this context is worthy of consideration. I took a brisk walk through my college on a beautiful morning expecting to see the female students buzzing about the previous day’s maiden beauty contest and for the guys the bizarre whooping of Arsenal the previous night.

To my greatest surprise, I met a hall full with students glued to their smartphones. A few caressing their earphones while others busy with their keypads doing the exact thing that should be done in person. Then it done on me that we have taken a big leap into the eradication of inter-personal relationship. A child has to struggle with the smartphone to get her mother’s undivided attention after she has spent a bulk of the day at work.

Deep and profound secrets are hidden in the private diaries apps of young adults that even their parents don’t know of. Cyber bullying is on high alert and most of the victims of these atrocities are reluctant to come forward because even the highly paid counselor is glued to his/her smartphone trying to follow a trend on twitter. Our smart devices has all the information our “Next-of-kin” should possess.

A group of people that boarded a bus from the car park left one person at a bus stop because they left interacting with themselves during the journey to entertainment provided by their devices so they don’t know the next person sitting beside them. Someone lost in a new city can’t ask for directions because almost every sensible looking person he came across had an earphone on or busy trying to reply a chat that he can attend to at his free time.

Statistic has it that majority of young adults prefer saying most of their intentions while hiding behind the cover of their devices than doing it person. Oh! What a build-up of low self-esteem.

We are in the information age but it is not useful because the device providing the information has eaten away our moral standard. People die of little things because their next door neighbor prefers greeting him with the back of his smartphone.

The place of inter-personal relationship cannot be taken away from the family, economic sector and even in education. Sharing that happy moment, discussing the latest trend or even arguing about the previous premier league action in person is highly rated to improve relationship one way or the other.

Despite the fact that this is appearing on your smartphone means I am not undermining the importance the smartphone is for both me and you but after the last line, take your eyes off that phone and give a warm greeting to that person seated close to you. You don’t know how far that bright smile can go in the life of the recipient.