Inspire Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Are Smartphones Killing Buddhism? Orlando Barton It happens at least once a day. I’m walking down the street in Bangkok and some completely unaware Thai person slams headlong into me because they are face down in their mobile phone and in a hurry to get where they are going at the same time. It doesn’t seem to matter if I am moving or standing still. People are so engrossed by whatever it is they see on those tiny little LCD screens that they lose all sense of where they are and what they are doing. And what are they looking at? Because I’m taller than the average Thai, I have peeped over some shoulders on the Skytrain, elevators and escalators. Mostly they are just distracting themselves with silly games and mindless jabber with friends on one of a dozen apps tailor-made just this purpose. It’s not like they are solving some problem at work or consoling an ailing family member … it is distraction for distraction’s sake for people who are already easily distracted. Before Smartphones took over our lives, roaming around in the Thai public arena was a wonderland of human interaction and reflection. Step onto the BTS or MRT and witness a cluster of schoolgirls giggling and chatting about the day’s activities or some new K-Pop heartthrob. Or maybe a young couple is holding hands and whispering sweet nothings in each other’s ear. Thai people always seemed to be squeezing every drop out of every minute of life. I was jealous of their ability to live “in the moment”; to be where they are and enjoying it to the fullest. Full story: http://www.inspirepattaya.com/lifestyle/smartphones-killing-buddhism/ -- © Copyright Inspire Pattaya 2017-01-29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaiwrath Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 You don't have to draw the line at Buddhism, it is a sad state of affairs really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintLouisBlues Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 13 minutes ago, Thaiwrath said: You don't have to draw the line at Buddhism, it is a sad state of affairs really. I'm not sure that it's wholly a sad state of affairs. I've had friends remark that once they were intimidated by gangs of youths on public transport with nothing better to do; now they all pull out their smartphones. What a pacifier is to a baby, a smartphone is to his older siblings and, often, parents. As well, there tends to be the usual inverse relationship - the smarter you are, the less you use a smartphone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Get Real Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Purely it´s just a sad state of human behaviour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinchester Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Sat in a restaurant yesterday and a family of four roll up and sit down for lunch. Mum, dad and the two kids each pull out a smartphone and start tapping away with hardly a word between them their whole lunch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Get Real Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 58 minutes ago, edwinchester said: Sat in a restaurant yesterday and a family of four roll up and sit down for lunch. Mum, dad and the two kids each pull out a smartphone and start tapping away with hardly a word between them their whole lunch. That´s what anti-social-media does to people. Social in the made up world, and anti-social in real life. Sad to see that so many people choose that virtual life instead of living i reality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintLouisBlues Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 6 minutes ago, Get Real said: That´s what anti-social-media does to people. Social in the made up world, and anti-social in real life. Sad to see that so many people choose that virtual life instead of living i reality. But what would TV do for posters if everyone lived in reality? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakhonandy Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Sadly worldwide not just here. Don't get the Buddhism reference at all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebluewater Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 I can't figure out how any of this figures in with Buddhism as the thread title suggests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoshowJones Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 1 hour ago, edwinchester said: Sat in a restaurant yesterday and a family of four roll up and sit down for lunch. Mum, dad and the two kids each pull out a smartphone and start tapping away with hardly a word between them their whole lunch. I don't think this is just a Thai thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotpoom Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 5 hours ago, SaintLouisBlues said: I'm not sure that it's wholly a sad state of affairs. I've had friends remark that once they were intimidated by gangs of youths on public transport with nothing better to do; now they all pull out their smartphones. What a pacifier is to a baby, a smartphone is to his older siblings and, often, parents. As well, there tends to be the usual inverse relationship - the smarter you are, the less you use a smartphone That is a truely new observation that I had never thought about before now. I would have agreed with the article 100 % but you have a point. My Grandad used to "The Devil loves an idle mind".....maybe now there is no such thing as an idle mind since the smartphone has made it's appearance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilymat Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 I was taliking to a fellow golfer about the fact I don't have a smart phone and also always switch off my simple phone when on the golf course. His reply "Get a life". I was quite taken aback Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Get Real Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 1 hour ago, SaintLouisBlues said: But what would TV do for posters if everyone lived in reality? Ok! Explaination entirely for you. As for a fact you can live in the real world as a normal human being, and still spend some time with the computer or phone. Now you know that. Next question? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinchester Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 12 minutes ago, emilymat said: I was taliking to a fellow golfer about the fact I don't have a smart phone and also always switch off my simple phone when on the golf course. His reply "Get a life". I was quite taken aback Try calling his number mid swing of a crucial putt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulldozer Dawn Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 The title of this topic/survey is incorrect. It should read: Is materialism killing Buddhism? Smartphones are just one facet of materialism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintLouisBlues Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 9 minutes ago, Get Real said: Ok! Explaination entirely for you. As for a fact you can live in the real world as a normal human being, and still spend some time with the computer or phone. Now you know that. Next question? Any chance of getting that in English? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elgenon Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 2 hours ago, bluebluewater said: I can't figure out how any of this figures in with Buddhism as the thread title suggests. Please reread it. He explained what it had to do with B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elgenon Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 I am tired of not only people w their eyes on their phone walking in to me, but all the people that are looking one way and walking another. It's as though I have the responsibility to look after them as well as myself. If they want to walk into me I will be prepared. I can still see taxi drivers are a lot calmer than most American drivers. Still rarely do you hear a horn blasted in anger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freebyrd Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 How right he was. Smartphones are killing the art of real communication everywhere, not just in Thailand. The Thais no longer enjoy 'sanuk' the way they once did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryder88 Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 1 hour ago, emilymat said: I was taliking to a fellow golfer about the fact I don't have a smart phone and also always switch off my simple phone when on the golf course. His reply "Get a life". I was quite taken aback the guy was an ahole.....because you DON'T have a smart phone is precisely the reason you do actually have a life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryder88 Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 24 minutes ago, freebyrd said: How right he was. Smartphones are killing the art of real communication everywhere, not just in Thailand. The Thais no longer enjoy 'sanuk' the way they once did. wow...Al was dead-on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Get Real Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 1 hour ago, SaintLouisBlues said: Any chance of getting that in English? So, that was the best you could do? I do think that you understood, but you really do a good job of making a fool out of yourself. If you don´t understand I feel sorry for you. Most people here understand what everybody write, even if they don´t have enlish as a native language. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panda13 Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
off road pat Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 I remember the times you walked along the streets, and look to the peoples faces and at this time Thailand was really the land of smiles, the girls smiled back at you.... without no reason just like that... Just happy I have lived that time.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freed1948 Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 4 hours ago, elgenon said: I am tired of not only people w their eyes on their phone walking in to me, but all the people that are looking one way and walking another. It's as though I have the responsibility to look after them as well as myself. If they want to walk into me I will be prepared. I can still see taxi drivers are a lot calmer than most American drivers. Still rarely do you hear a horn blasted in anger. As for the 1st paragraph: I don't get out of their way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiSePuede419 Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 People are still living in the moment... Someone else's moment posted on Facebook. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaoulDuke Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Ever seen Wall-E? It is currently right alongside Idiocracy for the best glimpse of the future of humanity. I just hope the whole glasshole movement never catches on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilymat Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 11 hours ago, edwinchester said: Try calling his number mid swing of a crucial putt. Good idea, thanks!. The point was he was holding up the whole game - and the one behind - whilst he had an argument with some woman on the phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fookhaht Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impulse Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 Gotta wonder what the OP's doing wrong if he's running into people every day. Or, as he claims, they're running into him. Takes 2 to collide, and at 1 km/hr... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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