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.
They’ve been walking around the streets for quite some time – a human sub species of Zombies…
Something I read awhile ago on ZDNET went something like this…
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…
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.
I read that in london(istan), many street light poles have been padded because zombies were walking into them. I saw a video of a Russian woman hit by a car as she stared at her smartphone. In Australia, a woman walked off a pier into the bay while mesmerized by her Itoy. An American zombie walked into a mall fountian while glued to her smartphone. The list is seemingly endless. Nature will surely cull the herd.
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.
I’m right there with you Texasgirl. The only reason I have a cell phone is because they took out all of the pay phones, and since I travel mostly on country roads, I may need it if my car should break down. I use it so seldom that many times when I do pull it out to use, it’s dead.
Full Marks Ken!
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.
My sister on SSID has an Itoy 5 and a $200/month cable package. She has nothing but contempt for those who carry her.
People actually think somebody wants to know when they are running up the road for pizza.
OTOH, Facebook is a real boon to burglers. Zombies post that they are on vacation.
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?
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.
“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.
As I read your article on my smartphone…
So long as you’re not crossing the street in traffic with your head buried 😉
Or walking into something while you’re texting. I watched a young lady walk into a telephone pole doing so. Laughed my ass off. Not silently. She was not amused.
I don’t own a cell phone. What’s funny are the incredulous looks I get from people when I tell them. What’s even funnier is that over half the time they will say something along the lines of “…wish I didn’t”.
Yeah, uh-huh.
Because these idiots are always on their devices..they run their battery power down constantly. So, these droids seek places to charge them at work. Someplace safe and close to them. Why not unplug some piece of important equipment, and use its outlet, which enables them to hide the device behind it? Since they work near this equipment, they can keep an eye on it. However, these people do not care about deactivating the unplugged equipment, which may perform an important function and cause damage to business operations, product production, and create safety hazards.
Therefore, when I discover these personal devices plugged into sockets, which are meant for company equipment, I confiscate them. When the employee seeks to find their “lost” device, I give it back to them along with a formal, written, warning. Should the offense repeat, they are terminated.
I get employees so addicted, they feel compelled to leave their job station every 30 minutes, or so, to go outside and use their device for 5 or 10 minutes. At their station, they will try to be plugged into their device, via earphone, and often text someone instead of trying to keep up with work flow. These I terminate after warning them three times.
I think about this social mannerism all the time now, as it is a constant issue at work, and it evokes a sense of dread for the future.
I do not,and have not,ever owned a cell phone! Yes-they do have their uses,but I have survived all these years so far without one!
moderation in all things.
I see the importance and convenience of having a cell phone, and especially a smart phone. I myself have just a regular cell phone. But I wouldn’t be without it. What if one of my friends or relatives in another area or state came into some information of importance, they could call me anytime to fill me in. SHTF situations many times won’t happen everywhere in an instant, sometimes there are warnings starting in other areas/states first. And it is possible that you might be out somewhere when something does happen. You wouldn’t know about it until it was actually happening in your immediate area. But somebody could call you if you had a cell phone and give you the heads up. Even economic problems causing banks to close, doesn’t happen simultaneously everywhere, if you had a few minutes notice you could get to an ATM or Bank before the rush and pull all of you money out. Also if you had a smart phone you can get apps that will warn you if stocks fall or the dollar falls below a certain level, or you could verify or check the severity of a warning that a friend or relative gave to you. Or if everything was down on you phone, that could possibly be something serious was afoot(or that your phone was broken). I am not saying that you should use your phone all the time, I am just saying how important of a tool it is and can be if you set it up that way. I just don’t want to be the guy who is in the empty town wondering where everyone is just before the zombie gets him.
I forgot to mention you can be tracked by your cell phone, so if you are concerned about your secret bug out location being known by anyone (NSA)etc. you should get a phone with a removable battery and remove the battery before arriving in your location.
I was walking hand in hand with my daughter just last night when a guy on the sidewalk was walking face down towards us while texting.
Out of principle, I refuse to move for these “zombies” who are not engaged – and, that happens more than I care to admit honestly. He looked up only when he realized I was going to knock shoulders with him and cause him to potentially lose his cell phone…
Call them whatever you want, but there are too many zombies, sheeple, and dis-engaged folks to deal with anymore. The bigger topic and issue we are struggling with is why folks insist on being intentionally disengaged in society.
Could it be that religion is no longer at societies’ core?
Finally got an iPhone. Because I broke my other phone and needed one. I was due for a free upgrade. All they had were smartphones! Imagine that. The iPhone was like like a penny. I still have not turned into a zombie yet. I hate having lunch with someone who constantly looks at that phone! I keep mine in my purse! I did have to use mapquest and that was helpful, I will admit that. I choose to use mine just like I did my other phone.
I find it freeing not to feel compelled to be connected to the net 24/7.
Sitting out on the quiet back porch with my dogs and hubby, thats the life.
Where this can lead us is in question mark, but one things I know we human still depend on our sensed, imagine we live in jungle like our ancestors with this mighty gadget, do you think we can survive just for day surrounded by hundreds of predators without actually use our alert mode? Interactions with environment keeps us from danger that surround us.If we focus all our attention on these destructive gadget then we still expose on for evil that can easily distract us from coming danger.