Book Review: Smart Phones Dumb People? - Parthajeet Sarma

People are getting dumber while phones are getting smarter. It’s a known fact. A funny saying these days goes such – “It’s important for man to be honest. Even phones are smart these days.” I had blogged about this here. The author, Parthajeet Sarma, looks to address this notion. Or so it seems by the title of the book – Smart Phones Dumb People?

Parthajeet Sarma is a fan of free markets and technology. This is evident from what he writes about. The author has slotted his thoughts into 5 main categories:

• Technology

• Innovation

• Entrepreneurship

• Priorities

• Corruption

The author’s writing seems inspired by Gurcharan Das and the likes. He presents a holistic view of India and its citizens in each chapter and provides relevant examples to justify his view points. He reminds us of how lucky we are because mobiles phones and vehicles are affordable today viz-a-viz 2 decades ago. He focuses on how technology is being leveraged to make common man’s life easier. Examples include travel portals, e-commerce websites, banking and ATMs (which he predicts may turn mobile soon) and more. He laments over the attitude of students joining IIT (simply to adhere to society’s or their parents’ norms); how Facebook has reduced the amount we interact with real friends. He does this in anecdotal ways – some funny Facebook updates and incidents between his friends and him.

Smart Phones Dumb People?

Parthajeet Sarma believes innovation occurs mostly in the west and not in India. I would beg to differ. Jugaad Innovation points out how innovation is increasingly gaining speed in emerging nations (including India). The western world spends millions of dollars on innovation and invention with precious little gained from it. On the other hand, Indians invest lesser money and achieve results to address issues plaguing their people more effectively. Resource usage is optimized in India and other emerging nations more than in western countries today.

While the author talks about using 21^st century tools to address 19^th century issues, I wish he would focus more on how smart phones are hampering productivity of man today. He could have touched upon more aspects relevant to the title of the book. While some humans have used technology for the enhancement of society, most of us are distracted by it. E-mails, chats, Social media and more keep us so distracted that we refuse to spend even a few minutes by ourselves. In fact, someone I know wants m-indicator, an app which suggests train and bus timings in Mumbai, to start suggesting which trains we should catch to reach work on time. Our increasing dependence on technology is scary. The book can also do with more concise writing. We Indians are guilty of framing long sentences; trying to put too many points in one sentence. That, however, adversely impacts the attention span of the reader. I’m sure, with time, Parthajeet Sarma will become more adept at writing (or he’ll find a better ghost writer ;) ).

The book is a breezy read; one that can be finished in a few hours. It doesn’t beat around the bush. Instead, it briskly covers a lot of points. ‘Smart Phones Dumb People?’ is a good read for youngsters who would like a bird’s eye view of how India has progressed over the ages. However, voracious readers may find it a little wanting in language. I wish Parthajeet Sarma all the best and hopes he keeps coming out with better books.

Why We Are Silent Now...

Ramya had gone to a restaurant with her friend. On the adjacent table sat 6 guys who were barely conversing. Strange! Why? They were busy with their mobile phones. One must have been playing Temple Run, one must have been on WhatsApp, one on Facebook, one tweeting, and so on.

Silence engulfs a lot of gatherings these days. We’re lost in our smart phones connecting with people who are not in front of us and neglecting those who are. We prefer WhatsApp and Facebook chats to face – to – face conversations. We inform our friends of changes in our lives via Facebook instead of phone calls. “You didn’t know about it? I put it up on Facebook.”

I’ve been keeping a low profile on the web lately. So a friend called and asked “Where are you these days? You’re not tweeting, no Facebook updates, no blog articles, no WhatsApp messages...” “Well, you should’ve called,” was my response. “Aah! That slipped my mind,” he sheepishly grinned.

Smart phones were meant to supplement us, just like PPTs are meant to supplement our presentations. But just like we let PPTs drive our presentations, we let smart phones control our lives. Internet connections must be on until the battery runs low; switching off our phones feels like a bigger catastrophe than 21^st December 2012; most ads are now about mobile phones; we’ve lost count of the number of apps there are... wait, we never had count of them anyway!

We can't spend a minute without Smartphones

Tyler Dunden had said “Shut down Facebook and Twitter servers. People will make real friends when they come out on the streets rioting.” It is said that we cannot have more than 150 friends in our lives. But 150 friends on Facebook is nothing short of a shame, right? It doesn’t matter if only 10 of them interact with us regularly.

We agree that we need to spend more time in real life than online, right? Let’s extend that lesson to our phones also. Let’s meet people in real world than in the virtual one. Let’s make it a point to call at least one friend a day and speak for 5 minutes. Let smart phones make our lives easier, not become our lives. Let the conversation flow at dinner or lunch rather than on WhatsApp. Reduce playing Temple Run and take a dip in the pool. Stop looking for mobile phone apps and catch a snack with a family member instead. Stop listening to your iPod on a walk. Let your mind wander; you’ll be surprised at what it comes up with. Let’s remember we are humans, not robots; let’s live like them.