Witteman-Moore 1

Crystal Witteman-Moore
Dr. Sean. M. George
English 1010D.03
16 October 2015
A Disruption in Communication
As I try to sit down and write this paper, I realize that if I want to get anywhere with it, I
should probably disconnect myself from the world. Disconnect? From the world? Odd, right? The
sad part is that it is true. If I want to effectively communicate to my audience, it would be best if I
tuned into my thoughts. In order for me to do that proficiently, I must eliminate distractions.
In his article The Two Biggest Distractions- and What to Do about them Daniel
Goleman writes, Distractions are the enemy of focus. The more prone to distraction, the
worse we do. Yet we live in a time when we are more inundated by distractions than ever in
human history (par. 1-2). Daniel Goleman goes on to say that [t]ech gadgets and apps invade
our concentration in ways the brains design never anticipated. What Goleman is suggesting is
that these new devices of technology are distracting individuals. In this essay, I will define
communication and technology, and why each are important. Secondly, I will address the most
common device of technology, and how it is disrupting our personal relationships. Finally, I will
discuss why communication must prevail over this disruption in communication.
Consider, what is communication? Dictionary.com defines communication as the act or
process of exchanging information between individuals through a common system of signs,
symbols, or behaviors. Communication is a natural order of mankind. As infants, we naturally

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communicate through crying, moaning, and even grunting. We communicate our needs and wants;
most importantly, we learn to communicate, love. As adults, some may argue that if you dont
have communication in a relationship, then your relationship may be doomed to fail. Also
according to Dictionary.com, the definition of technology is, the branch of knowledge that deals
with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the
environment.
Now lets be honest with ourselves, technology is the biggest distraction that there is. We
have become so fascinated by the latest technologies and gadgets because these devices are so
affordable that most people own them. The most common device of technology is by far the
smartphone. In the 2013 article Smartphone Ownership Reaches Critical Mass in the U.S.
author Dara Kerr states, People of all ages appear to be snapping up smartphones. While young
adults are the highest adopters with around 80 percent owning a smartphone, people 65 and older
are also increasingly choosing smart over feature phones. According to Pew, 18 percent of people
ages 65 and older own a smartphone -- compared with 13 percent a year ago. Dara Kerr
continues to claim, [i]n the U.S., 56 percent of adults are now smartphone owners. This is the
first time since Pew began tracking the numbers that the majority of the population owns a
smartphone (Kerr, CNET).
In the 2014 eMarketer article titled Smartphone Users Worldwide Will Total 1.75 Billion
in 2014: Mobile Users Pick Up Smartphones as They Become More Affordable, 3G and 4G
Networks Advance eMarketer claims, [t]he global smartphone audience surpassed the 1 billion
mark in 2012 and will total 1.75 billion by the end of 2014. Nearly two-fifths of all mobile phone
usersclose to one-quarter of the worldwide populationwill use a smartphone at least monthly

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in 2014. By the end of the forecast period, smartphone penetration among mobile phone users
globally will near 50%. (par.2)
In a more recent article titled U.S. Smartphone Use in 2015 author Aaron Smith states,
64% of American adults now own a smartphone of some kind.... Smartphone ownership is
especially high among younger Americans, as well as those with relatively high income and
education levels. (Smith, Pew Research Center)
What these numbers mean in these reports is exactly what Daniel Goleman claimed in his
article. We are being invaded by smartphones, tech gadgets and apps. Smartphones are
everywhere, and we are becoming distracted by them.
Artist and beautician Kat Von D expresses her feelings of the disruption within
communication via a Facebook post:
Cant help looking out my hotel room window, hoping to catch someone elses
eyes from across the way. This has yet to happen [the people in that window are
actually mannequins]. Its all the same down there, though. For the most part,
people are far more fascinated with the phone in their hands, than the things
around them. I think it would feel good to one-day wave to a stranger from across
rooms. Cuz I know I cant be the only one.
Kat Von Ds post emphasizes on the constant use of smartphones; more importantly, Kat Von D
pleads for eyes that she has never seen to look up at her, and communicate with her. Kat Von D
implies that we are all too busy with our heads in our smartphones, that we are forfeiting
personal interactions and communications with each other.

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Intrigued by Kat Von Ds post, I recently decided to do a couple different experiments on

campus. I simply counted the DSU students, staff, and other personnel that walked by me, while
communicating with each other. I also noted those who walked with each other with their head
down looking at their smartphones. And Finally, I counted those who walked by themselves, and
had their smartphones in hand. I was astonished by the number of eyes that I did not see, versus
the number of smartphones.
The basis of the study I performed was simple. On three different occasions, I sat in front
of the Holland Centennial Building of Dixie State University and count the first 50 people that
passed by me. On the first day, I gave tally marks to those who walked together, but did not
communicate with each other. On the second day, I gave tally marks for those who walked by
themselves with their heads down looking at their phones; finally, on the third day, I gave tally
marks for two, or more people, who walked and communicated with each. Here is what my study
showed:

To Communicate or Not to Communicate

40

36

35
Two or more people walk
together with their phones
in hand; no communication
Walks alone w/ phone
Two or more walk together,
and communicate

30

26

25
20

17

15
10
5
0

Day
0 10

0 Day 2 0

0 Day
0 3

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This study reflects that on the first day, and out of the first 50 people, only 26 people walked
together, while a smartphone was visible; however, these 26 people did not seem to be
communicating with each other. On the second day, 36 of the first 50 people that passed by me,
walked by themselves with either their phone in hand, or worse, looking down at their phones.
Finally, on the third day, 17 of the 50 people that passed by me communicated with each other
with no visibility of a smartphone.
During the course of these experiments, I found myself feeling as Kat Von D did. I craved
for someone to look up at me; I craved for someone to say hello. I never did meet a single person
eyes; 150 people-300 eyes, and not a single pair of eyes connected with mine.
Consider, a society that has lost all interpersonal communication, bonding, and open
interactions. Who wants to live in a society that does not have personal, face-to-face
interactions? What would this world be like if we lived in a world that only allowed
communication via an electronic device of some sort? What if there were no words spoken? As
human beings, we learn at a young age how to communicate. We learn that we need
communication, interpersonal interaction and intellectual stimulation with other human beings.
In her article "When Your Smartphone Is Too Smart for Your Own Good: How Social
Media Alters Human Relationships" author Lori Wagner states, Communication is a skill that
must be learned, so those most at risk for failing to learn this still are the young, whose only
experience has been in a world in which their social lives were conducted through mediated
communication. The youth today have not had to learn how to initiate or carry on conversations
because they can retreat to their smartphones (3). If 64% of American adults own these
distractive and disruptive smartphones, who is going to teach the youth effective
communication? We as parents, siblings, teacher, and mentors have really dropped the ball; if we

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cannot disconnect ourselves from these smartphones and communicate to each other, then we
forfeit the natural bond mankind desires and needs.
One of the most important things within a relationship, other than communication, is our
youth and love. You cannot express love, unless you have communication. Lets focus more on
communicating with the ones we love, and less on these distracting and disruptive devices of
technology.
I never knew love, until it spoke my language.

-Anonymous

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Works Cited
eMarkerketer. Smartphone Users Worldwide Will Total 1.75 Billion in 2014: Mobile Users
Pick Up Smartphones as They Become More Affordable, 3G and 4G Networks
Advance. eMarketer. 16 Jan. 2014. Web. 22 Oct. 2015.
Goleman, Daniel. The Two Biggest DistractionsAnd What to Do About Them. Linked In.
Linked In, 8 Sep. 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
Kerr, Dara. CNET. 5 June 2013. Web. 1 Nov 2015.
Smith, Aaron. U.S. Smartphones Uses in 2015. Pew Research Center. 1 Apr. 2015.
EBSCOhost. Web. 26 Oct. 20105.
Von D., Kat. Cant Help Looking. Facebook. Facebook, 7 Oct. 2015. Web. 16, Oct. 2015.
Wagner, Lori Ann. "When Your Smartphone Is Too Smart for Your Own Good: How Social
Media Alters Human Relationships." Journal of Individual Psychology 71.2 (2015): 114121. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Nov. 2015.

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