Eric,
I enjoyed your comments. Someday I'd like to read a comprehensive analysis of the impact of things like cell phones, texting, social media, etc.
One kind of weird thing I have experienced is sitting in a conference room witching about ten people having a meeting, but nobody, including the boss who called the meeting is really paying attention. Instead, everyone is really glued to their cell phones.
Even worse was a business lunch I went to. There were two reps from a vendor, myself and a colleague who barely participated in the conversation nor reacted when his meal was brought. The only thing my colleague paid attention to was his phone. Really rude.
Another interesting thing was a comment from a young person who basically said that reading or knowledge wasn't necessary. Google was all that mattered!
Hi Tim
Appreciate your comments also.
I am a health care provider ,and very much interested in texting and cell phone use as a matter of public health. Texting addiction is becoming a serious problem. Many teenagers are texting in excess of 10,000 per month, and they are sleep deprived, because the culture requires rapid response. Ask any teacher about this problem, ask any employer. It has become a real policing problem. Texting and internet addiction is ruining lives, familes, and careers. The effect that texting has on the brain is NO different than any other addiction. It is an addiction, make no bones about it. I recently heard about one study that brain scans were taken of teenagers who were addicted to texting, their brain wave patterns and pictures of their brains resembled alcoholics. This "cancer" has infiltrated every aspect of our existence. Restaurants, churches, sporting events, concerts, seems so many folks texting or staring into a laptop.. I saw something last week that really took the cake. My wife and I were at an expensive steakhouse, enjoying a wonderful night out. The table next to us, both parents had laptops, the two kids had laptops, it was a pathetic sight. Another interesting anecdote, I know someone who tells me that her kids will not answer her in the house anymore. If she wants the kids to come down for dinner, she has to text them. She has been so emotionally stricken by this, yet feels powerless, because when she tries to curtail the cell phone use she gets temper tantrums and the kids become antisocial and don't want to do their chores around the house. We have lost the ability to enjoy the moment , to savor the wonderful things in life, to enjoy the company of others without constant interruption.
I have a friend who is a retiree and he works as a ranger at a local country club. He tells me that all day long he has to tell people to keep moving on the course. People are texting on the greens, on the tee boxes, and while addressing shots on the fairways. And he tells me that he sees maintenance staff pulled over and hiding in the bushes and restooms, texting instead of working. I wonder how many employers are losing major productivity with this issue.
My phone comes with me on the golf course because the unexpected can happen. But it stays off, and after many years I have not lost a friend, a business associate, or had anyone angry at me about it. And I don't play with people who text or use their cell phones continually while playing. Maybe that gives me a smaller circle of potential playing partners than many, but I am interested in the quality of my golfing experience, not how many I can find to play with. I am frankly amazed, no shocked, at how many golfers are texting while practicing on the driving range, putting area, and even in the sand practice area. I watch some folks literally checking their cell phones every 3 or 4 practice swings, is this healthy? No it is not, it is a sickness. My favorite cell phone related story on the golf course is last spring, one of the local high school teams was practicing at my club. The coach dropped off half the girls at the driving range, and went to the putting area with the rest of the girls. As soon as the coach left, all the cell phones came out. She came back, saw no one was practcing, let the girls have it. As soon as she left, the cell phones came out again. These girls were clearly more interested than their cell phones than practicing. The third time the coach came, she called it a day. She was disgusted, I could see it. Wonder if she is still coaching.
I am researching this topic extensively, and am seriously thinking about submitting a paper for publication. And I am aware that support groups are starting for those texting addicted, that is something I might want to volunteer some of my time with. Cell phones have their place, of course they do. That is not the issue. The issue is when you become so focused on texting and being socially connected that it consumes an inordinate amount of your time and you loose the ability to enjoy life and connect with people in the flesh. When you experience anxiety about being unable to text, or have this need to constantly feel the cell phone in your hand and constantly check for messages, something is very wrong. And it has become a major safety issue, how many accidents are related to not paying attention to what you were doing, because you were more consumed with the cell phone. Lives are being lost, and every one of us could be the victum of one of these addicts. Ever see the movie, The Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Well, it has happened, look all around you.
This is a problem of epic proportion, yet amazing how many shake it off or live in denial. Denial is a very powerful way of dealing with things. Just pretend a problem does not exist, or the problem is just trivial or could be much worse, and thus you don't have to deal with it. How many have lost their family to this, or they have lost themselves to it. Or just given up in frustration feeling powerless in seeing others get consumed with all this electronic gadgetry. Ever hear the expression, "Prison Walls do not a Prison make":. Well, someone who has the compulsive need to carry a cell phone with them everywhere, and check that phone continuously, and has the need to respond to the nost mundane of texts immediately, or suffer anxiety, is someone who is a prisoner. It is a virtual prison. Take a good look around you, there are a lot of prisoners out there and how sad.
I enjoy great friendships, great professional relationships, and enjoy my family. Yet, I seldom text, and spend very little time on the phone. I will not let an electronic devise enslave me.. It is easy to fall into this trap, just like any addiction. The problem with this addiction, is the speed which it hooks the victum. And you cannot see the injury, like you can with an alcoholic, or a heroin addict. So by the time you see harm, the addiction is real entrenched. The injury is psychic, and a rewiring of your entire nervous system. Do the research, excessive texting causes chemical shifts in the body I would encourage anyone who has even the most remote interest in this area to read this link. Excessive texting is not benign, it alters your chemstry Here is the link : http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brain-wise/201209/why-were-all-addicted-texts-twitter-and-google Here is another link, if this does not make you rethink texting you are lost:
http://www.harley.com/island-syndrome/28-technology-and-the-biology-of-excessive-text-messaging.html Bottom line,
excessive texting is not healthy. I think many parents think this behavior is cute or harmless, it is not. Because the device has a very strong potential to addict you. Do you think that the innovators of these devices are not aware of this? Of course they are, they are laughing all the way to the bank. Do you know how many billions are being made with all this? Buy one of these devices for your children, and don't monitor it, see where they are in a few months. They will be hooked. You are giving them dynamite, it is that dangerous, it just looks benign. Sorry for the OT, yes this is a golf forum, but this is also a very serious health issue, that most have seemed perfectly ok to ignore.
This all comes back to the question at hand, about public golf in a downward spiral. Yes, because of our infatuation and addiction to electronic devices, we will see less golfers. Of course, this is not the only reason for the decline of golf, it is multifacotrial, but an important demographic and sociological shift that will profounly affect golf and all aspects of our lives, including interpersonal relationships, our education system, our places of work, and the ability of this nation to be a leader or even survive in a dynamic and highly competitve world market.