Lights, Camera, Silence Your Phone.

I can think back to a time, long ago, when before a movie began you were asked to silence your phones… and everyone did so. Often, it wasn’t just a flip to silent people ACTUALLY turned off their phones, crazy thought right. As the number of mobile apps on our phones has grown, our investment in them has too. I’m sure we have all heard at one point, or thought to ourselves, that our heads are stuck in our phones and not the world around us. Granted, I’ve written a post before discussing my generation’s reliance on technology, and I still stand by my argument that at times it would be inefficient to not take advantage of the benefits the latest technology provides. But it was at the UGA v. Auburn game this weekend I was reminded how our dependence starts to affect our ability to genuinely enjoy life happening around us. It was as the Georgia Bulldogs, yes the 2016 Georgia Bulldogs, were about to score on the game winning drive. As I looked around me I was surround by Snapchat apps ready to capture the moment, as if our eyes weren’t enough.

This reminded me of an article I read this summer about an altercation between Slipknots lead singer Corey Taylor and a fan. A fan in the front row was spending the entire show with his face in his phone screen. Corey Taylor took it into his own hands to ensure his “fans” were enjoying the show, and reached off the stage slapping the concert goer’s phone from his hands. I definitely recognize the performer’s frustration, whether his response was warranted or not is another discussion. I think this has been a long time coming, people were going to hit their tolerance limit of being ignored for a little square. Social Media began with the purpose of sharing and enhancing connections, as someone with many friends and family miles away I still cherish it for this purpose. But how has it advanced to the point where people are more concerned if the person next to them is liking their photo than the fact this person is sitting next to them. Built with the purpose of building connections, are our social media apps beginning to hinder just that? 

Take me out to the... ESPN app

Social media is changing the game, literally. Over the past few years how I view sports has changed based on my phone apps. The obvious was the downloading the ESPN app, I could save my favorite teams and be alerted about stats, start of games, and score updates if I can’t watch live. It made it easier to be a loyal fan when I was on the go or away from my T.V. Next was the integration of social media, and it’s not just friends posting about games. Teams all have their own Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram pages to keep their fans up to date. Additionally, Twitter now has the right to live streaming Thursday night football. With constant score updates and now online live streaming ability, sports fans are not nearly as reliant on live television as they once were.

I realized how much the way I view sports changed during the World Series (Go Cubbies). Mid-Game 7 I had to leave for a class group meeting, so I switched over to my ESPN app to keep up with scores. As the game tied back up I moved over to twitter for more in-detailed, real time updates. Through google I watched a real time pitch count, and when I couldn’t stand it any longer I turned on a live stream. Social media still came into play after the bottom of the 10^th, I opened Facebook to watch a live feed of the crowd outside Wrigley Field. I saw personal videos of generations of fans celebrating the win, and in days to come even caught glimpses of the Cubs homecoming parade. With this added convenience of being able to keep you favorite teams right in your pocket, I wonder the threat this causes for Television. One of T.V’s remaining draws is the viewing of live events, but if this is moving online and to mobile I am finding less need for my remote control.