n0mesorah,
“My point is that instead of saying to stop looking at this or you might see this, it would be better to say put your full attention on what you are trying to be immersed in.”
That’s nice in theory; however, it ignores the reality of how smartphones and their apps are designed. Google, Apple, Facebook, etc. have a vested interest in users spending time in their apps, viewing as much content as possible, and coughing up personal data. Smartphone apps and Web sites play on human psychology to accomplish this, providing a constant stream of dopamine-inducing stimuli in an easy to carry form factor that also has a lot of useful tools people want available (phone, messaging, flashlight, camera, etc.). A person may intentionally seek out one piece of information, but the app or Web site then throws a ton of unsolicited content back – links to other articles, pictures, etc. So is it really a bad thing that some people would prefer to stay off that battlefield?
“I wish people without smart phones would fill the void by being more attentive. But they are just as unaware of their surroundings as when they were phone addicts.”
This seems rather negative, and doesn’t fit with my own observations. How do you define being “aware” of your surroundings?