Human Zombies Unaware Of The Real World
How often have you seen this… head down – in their smartphone – texting – while crossing the street – driving their car – at the dinner table – in a meeting – in the bathroom… ? An apparent human Zombie.
Survival preparedness stems from a combination of risk awareness and a desire to be less reliant on external systems while being more self sufficient. It is a way of life. The lifestyle can easily fit within the modern world while we carry out our business. However, there is something that I’ve noticed for quite some time that I believe is a hindrance to real world awareness. Something that has created a human sub species of Zombies. The following excerpt from a recent ZDNET article spells it out clearly…
You’ve seen these poor, lifeless beings everywhere. People… if you can still call them that… with pallid, emotionless faces, staring down at small screens while they walk direction-less down the street, completely unaware of their surroundings.
Yet these poor souls actually believe they are more “connected” to the outside world and more people than ever.
Sometimes they return to real life, and have real interactions with living human beings, but then this horrible urge kicks in which compels them to pull out their iPhone, their iPad or their Android device. Their PRECIOUS.
They’ll pull it out in the middle of a business meeting while someone else is talking, and they’ll fiddle with it in the bathroom stall at work (or, good heavens, take calls on it and seal deals while on the can).
They’ll pull it out in the middle of dinner with family. They’ll mess with it while everyone is cuddling on the couch, watching TV. And even after satisfying the most basic of human requirements, it still won’t go away. “Oh was it good for you, honey? Great, you nap, I’m gonna play Scramble with Friends.”
If they can think of any inappropriate, awkward time to stare at their little screen and tap on their little itty, bitty keys, they will. Because their PRECIOUS compels them.
And the longer they have their favorite toy turned off or not being used, the greater the urge is to pull it out and use it, as if it has some evil spell cast on them. They must Tweet. They must Status Update. They must Check In. They must Text. They must check for emails. They must. MUST!!!!! EVERY. SINGLE. MINUTE.
They’ve become the 21st-century equivalent of Smeagol. Once, they were human beings. But now they’re Smartphone and Tablet Zombies. They may think they’re connected to more and more people and information than ever, but for these poor creatures, life is just an illusion.
Shut if off. Take some time to discover the REAL WORLD that you actually live in. When TSHTF, your little electronic device is not going to help you. Just a thought…
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I LOVE this article! One because it is so true and apparent everywhere around us, and two, because of the Tolkien references, as I am, an admitted geek of his writings. I am sharing this with some zZombies I know! Thanks again Ken.
That is why I don’t have a smartphone or a Ipad, just plain old cell phone with no internet and a computer that takes effort to log on too. Spending time with the hubby, reading and watching old movies. That’s what’s it’s about. Sitting outside and playing with our dogs. (and no we aren’t “grey-haireds”, well not quite yet…haha) Gardening is fun too! And you get tasty veggies and a lil exercise.
Full Marks Ken!
@ “H”, “T.G.”, and “Anon”, YES!!! “Ken”, Has Eyes Wide Open! Survive-All… o…
Hey Texasgirl, we seem to have a lot alike. I am one of the few people “surviving” without a cell phone. I tell my students that humans have existed without them for thousands of years and we can continue that way, but they just don’t see it. Too many of the teens in school can’t bear to be without their phones for even a day. It’s madness and their parents are making them that way. We seem to be breeding a generation of zombies. The schools are even changing curriculum to involve the cell phones. Just disappointing. My niece is only 10 and has the latest phone and can’t live without it. I won’t let my kids have one until they’re they’re late teens and ONLY the phones that will just call home in emergencies.
Really fantastic article and funny too. Everything you said was spot on.
@Stuckinnac I have a friend whose child had a class assignment that included looking up info on their smartphone or Ipad. Really? I was amazed. What about the kids who didn’t have one? There has to be kids who don’t have one, right?
That creates massive peer pressure and will probably influence their parents to buy one for them… ‘the system at work’
I wonder how many of these kids can add and subtract in their heads, or ‘think’ for themselves (now I sound like an old fart)
Love this article, its so true.
I’ll admit it, I have a phone and iPad and I do enjoy using them. BUT, I live in the real world too. I work, run a home, make Quilts of Valour for our injured Soldier Heroes, go hiking and camping, I’m writing a book and don’t watch much tv.
These modern gadgets are brilliant, but there is a time and place and it must be remembered that they are a tool, rather than an appendage! I can go for days without being on the net and actually visit real people rather than just chat to an inanimate object on the table top!
I will not tolerate gadgets at the dinner table and them texting and stuff whilst out visiting or whilst you’re trying to deal with them as a customer at a till! I feel like ripping it out of their hands and launching it! It’s so ill-mannered.
Your photo at the top… Happened near where I live… A bus almost ran into the pram because of the ignorant mare reading her text and not looking where she was going! my mother shouted and said to her about her being a danger to herself and her baby for not looking where she was going… And guess what! My mother got a right load of verbal abuse from this little strumpet!
What a world we live in!
Hah! There’s a bad habit I’ll never acquire: Texting while crossing a parking lot. (or going down the street, etc.) It’s impossible to text whilst operating a manual wheelchair, LOL.
I resisted even getting a cell phone for years. Finally broke down and bought one last summer after having a flat on the freeway and being stranded for over two hours in 115 degree heat. I can do a lot of things, but changing tires isn’t one of them anymore.
My cell phone is an emergency tool, it is always with me, usually in my pocket, along with the other emergency items I carry. I don’t text, go online, play games, or have casual conversations on it. As a matter of fact, it pisses me off if I forget to turn it off and it rings while I’m in the grocery store (hubby adding items to my list at the last second).
Although it is kinda funny when it rings in odd places since my ringtone is a rooster crowing, get odd looks for that.
It’s getting dangerous in public because of these devices, people inadvertently injure you because they just aren’t paying attention to the ‘here and now’. I had to publicly humiliate a woman (and threaten to shove her cart um you know where) after she rammed me from behind FOUR times while waiting in line because she was too busy blabbing on her phone to even know that I existed.
@Tammy – love the rooster crow ring tone…
I can’t count how many times that I’ve had to hit-the-brakes, etc., or otherwise would have collided into someone with their face in their
smartdumbphone.“Smart” phones. Oh, my… What do you call something that fosters increases in stupid behavior, neglect, rudeness, recklessness, and a poor work ethic? “Smart”? Hardly.
Addiction to one of those idiotic little electronic toys is as unattractive and potentially damaging as addiction to alcohol, gambling or porn.
We are acting as enablers when we put up with this. Jammers, people… The FCC might think jammers present a security risk, but from what I’ve seen in the last few years, it’s phone addicts who are the greater risk.
Headlines in our local Melbourne Australia newspapers this morning.
“Top cop in charge of roads and traffic wants all phones barred from cars.”
Using a hand held mobile phone while driving a car is illegal in Australia. In Melbourne Australia alone there are 150 fines issued each day for phone infringement.
@Beano, So, if it is already illegal in AU to drive and use a mobile phone, are they looking to ‘ban’ phones from cars? It sounds like the same argument for gun grabbers who want to ban guns rather than to enforce the laws that are already on the books. I’m not suggesting that I am in favor of driving while texting, etc., but I’m curious about the position there in Australia. It’s crazy because I know that some people are perfectly adept at driving and holding a mobile phone while others are complete idiots at it. The bad apple always seems to spoil it for the rest in the bushel…
It is illegal to handhold a mobile phone while driving. It is illegal to dial numbers or text while driving.
You can use a hands free kit which is integral to the car.
The jury is out on talking on a phone while driving where the phone is on handsfree and sitting on the dash or in an approved holder.
Experts have done studies and found that talking on a mobile phone while driving is the equivalent of 800 milligrams of alcohol in your system.
A young girl was almost sentenced to jail for running over and killing a bicycle rider while she was texting and driving at the same time.
The judge in that case warned that the next case where texting was the cause of a traffic death a custodial sentence would be applied.
In the case of a traffic fatality, the police now investigate the driver who caused the death for alcohol or drug levels and also check their phone records to make sure they were not talking on the phone or texting at the time of the crash.
Further. I have made some serious traffic errors myself while talking on the phone while driving. Run through a red light more than once – engrossed in the conversation instead of concentrating on the road.
It truly is horrible as to what can happen. Some people lose sight of the fact (or never knew to begin with…) that they are driving a ‘weapon’ thousands of pounds, and the damage that it can do. Even the best driver can let their guard down from time to time. No one is immune, although some definitely worse than others.