Over the years, I’ve talked – hypocritically, given my gadget addiction – about societies obsession with technology.
How something that was created to serve us now rules us.
How we are all junkies to the power of the screen …
How we turn to it whenever we find ourselves with a minute of freedom … whenever we feel we are not being stimulated enough in the ‘real World’ … when we want to quieten our kids …
When I was younger, I used to see office workers standing outside their offices, huddled around ashtrays, smoking on their cigarettes. Now, they are huddled around their smartphone … getting their fix through twitter, snapchat or tinder.
There’s a bunch of reasons for why this might be the case.
And no, I’m not talking about cigarettes being a filthy, dangerous habit – even though they are.
I’m talking about issues like social dissatisfaction … unemployment … the need to belong … loss of hope … the cult of celebrity.
Of course technology is also a wonderful thing – it has changed lives and industry in countless positive ways – I’m simply saying we are reaching a point where maybe we are losing sight of the brilliant things we are inadvertently giving up.
What’s frightened me is how Otis – from 5 months old – was captivated by the iPhone/iPad.
For someone who is a tech groupie, I had told Jill that I would rather we keep this stuff away from him – and we did – only for him to see them in the corners of the rooms … blinking at him, tempting him over with pictures and sounds.
The iPhone helped him crawl.
Sadly I’m not joking. He saw it on the end of our bed one day and willed himself to get to it.
The sound of accomplishment he made when he finally got his hands on it will always stay with me … both for good and bad reasons.
The other thing that has blown me away is how quickly he worked out his finger could make things move to his command on the screen.
How did he know this?
We had to develop that skill but for my son, it was natural.
You have to give Apple respect for creating a navigation system that a literal baby can use.
Fortunately he is more interested in the cover of the iPad than the iPad itself – and that’s important to me. Not just because it has been proven that overuse of smart devices actually stunts a child’s development, but because I don’t want him to spend his life with his head pointed down towards a screen, but up towards the wonders of life.
I say all this because I saw a photograph collection where the photographer had taken photos of families using smartphones and then airbrushed them out. By doing this, he highlights our obsession and over-reliance on a device that, for many, is creating a barrier to the World rather than a gateway to it. [See the photo at the top of this post]
Have a look. It’s brilliant and scary all at the same time and it might – just might – make you put whatever device you’re reading this on, down for a while.
[And let’s face it, if my writing hasn’t done that for you already, you have problems]
More info on the background to the project can be seen here.
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Guess we know what Otis will be spending his inheritance on. That’s if you haven’t spent it all on windmills and wifi gadgets.
Comment by DH November 10, 2015 @ 6:36 amYou sound like Jill.
Comment by Rob November 10, 2015 @ 7:57 amAnd for a man who couldn’t let go of his mobile even when all they could do was make calls, you are not the person to set rules for digital gadget access. I’m a member of Team Otis on this one.
Comment by DH November 10, 2015 @ 6:38 amMake that on every thing.
Comment by DH November 10, 2015 @ 6:38 amin a choice between campbell and otis, id always be team otis even if he went and joined isis. he still wouldnt cause as much destruction as his fucking dad.
Comment by andy@cynic November 10, 2015 @ 6:46 amTo be fair to me, I’d be on team Otis too.
Except when the new iPhone comes out. Ha.
Comment by Rob November 10, 2015 @ 7:58 amhey bazza, campbell has just given you your new pr shit. iphone 66, has the power to advance babies development. better than “funnest iphone yet” or whatever shit your media arts wankers vomited up recently.
Comment by andy@cynic November 10, 2015 @ 6:48 amOtis is growing up so quickly. I know it is his first birthday soon, but it only seems a few months ago that he was born. It appears he will be a chip off his fathers block.
Comment by Lee Hill November 10, 2015 @ 6:55 amThe photographic project is interesting. What interests me is how eery the images look without the device in them. Alarming.
He is. He’s walking now … blows my mind. And yes, he’s 1 next month. How on earth has that happened?!
Comment by Rob November 10, 2015 @ 7:58 amits called time and despite you not changing your fashion for the past 30 fucking years, even you are experiencing it.
Comment by andy@cynic November 10, 2015 @ 8:03 amMy daughters started crawling to reach their favorite book. Yours starts crawling to reach his favorite ipad. Evolution.
Comment by George November 10, 2015 @ 7:09 amThe photo exhibition is excellent. I will send the link around the company and see how confused it makes the programmers and engineers.
They work for an internet business, surely they’ve seen it already?
Comment by John November 10, 2015 @ 7:48 amBased on my experience there, the only things they see are code and the only things they listen to is Norwegian death metal. So maybe they haven’t.
Comment by Rob November 10, 2015 @ 7:59 amYou’re giving them too much credit John. But even if they have seen it, it would be good for them to see it again. Or I should say it would be good for me to make them see it again.
Comment by George November 10, 2015 @ 8:55 amSo Otis going for your ipad means he’s going to smoke?
Comment by Billy Whizz November 10, 2015 @ 7:43 amNo, but it might damage his health. http://tinyurl.com/nez88zx
Comment by Pete November 10, 2015 @ 7:49 amBut I’m sure Android powered tech is fine for kids health.
Comment by Pete November 10, 2015 @ 7:50 amThat’s why I know I’m a hypocrite Pete, I use it all the time but I want to curb my sons access to it. I have to not use the phone in his presence – it’s so bloody hard for me – but even I’m not that much of a dick to use my tech in front of his face and then say it’s bad for him.
Comment by Rob November 10, 2015 @ 8:00 amIn my usual spirit of positivity, let me recommend a well-written book that addresses this nicely
http://www.amazon.com/The-End-Absence-Reclaiming-Connection/dp/1591847923
And while I’m at it. Ciaran chastised me for crticising that light/football thing you posted some time back and wondered if I could be more positive. So here’s the sort of solution I’d go for – not a kickstarter thing, but proven technology.
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/11/climate-change/solar-power-text?linkId=18351797
Comment by John November 10, 2015 @ 7:54 amI’m just trying to come to terms with your positivity.
Comment by Rob November 10, 2015 @ 8:00 amHave the Birkenstocks helped him walk? Under a year is pretty good.
Comment by Northern November 10, 2015 @ 4:19 pmYou wouldn’t believe the amount of folks I nearly run over on my bike everyday, head down looking at their phone.
It’s also amazing looking at the attention spans of younger people in the office.. In fact one lad identified he had a problem concentrating so downloaded the bloody mindfulness app
Are you saying my son is advanced for his age?
Brilliant, it’s official and I can tell people that I’m not just being a proud Dad, I’m quoting the great Northern.
As for people walking with their heads down … Asia does it better than everyone else. Not only does everyone walk with their head permanently down, when they see something of interest, they just stop.
Middle of the pavement.
Top of the escalator.
Doesn’t matter. And yet, if you bump into them, they look at you like you’re trying to mug them. Mind you, it could be because they know I’m from Nottingham.
Comment by Rob November 10, 2015 @ 4:27 pmFight or flight is a strong instinct, so we have to consider that Otis is walking because he wants to get away from something.
Comment by John November 10, 2015 @ 7:29 pm[…] An iPad encouraged him crawl at 10 months old. […]
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