Smartphones have become a constant companion for most of us. In a recent study by the Pew Research Center, around 50 per cent of adults reported they ‘couldn’t live sans’ their phones. Researchers at the University of Arizona and Wayne State University in the US examined existing research on ‘technoference’, or the potential interference smartphones and other technologies can have in our face-to-face social interactions.
They propose an explanation for why humans are so drawn to their smartphones, even when the devices take us out of the moment in our close relationships. It is because of our evolutionary history and the fact that humans are hard-wired to connect with others, according to the study. In the course of evolutionary history, we have relied on close relationships with small networks of family and friends for survival as individuals and as a species, researchers said.
These relationships were based on trust and cooperation, which is built when people disclose personal information about them and are responsive to others, they said.
Smartphones, and the constant access they provide to text messaging and social media, make it easier than ever for people to disclose personal information and respond to others in their social networks. These networks are much larger and more far-flung than those of our ancestors.