Are Smart Phones and Social networking a blessing or a curse?

Like anything it depends on how you use them.

 

You make a lot of broad assertions based on your personal observations. This one stuck out for me:

Smart Phones have their advantages, but also their drawbacks as I have noticed that many do not like to talk anymore but think that texting is all there is so the lost art of communication is on the decline.

Texting is an unobtrusive way to communicate without the need of conducting a lengthy phone conversation. Plus you can carry on conversations with many people (nearly) simultaneously. For example, during the Super Bowl I was having text conversations with three friends discussing the game. There is no way that a four-way phone conversation would have worked. Furthermore, phone conversations are not an "art of communication" any more than texting.

Finally, texting did not start with the smart phone craze.

I would say that Facebook, Twitter, blogs, texting, etc. has led to much more communication between people than phone conversations ever did. There are people I've known over the years that I would never attempt to have a lengthy phone conversation with but a sequence of emails or texts every couple of weeks keeps us in touch.

 

Are Smart Phones and Social networking a blessing or a curse?

Depends if you lose friends arguing whether Iphones are better than others.

 

I believe....

....that everything we have developed in this world has a good and bad side to it.

Splitting the atom was a blessing and a curse.

So to answer your question, social media, and the technology we call and refer to as cyber space, is blessing and a tool of the devil at the same time.

I love how cyber space has made a huge world a small, accessible place. In fact, cyber space and the technology to access it is a true miracle. Unfortunately, it can be used for some bad things [bullying others, porn and addictions, extra-marital affairs, hate speech, etc.].

However, when used in a positive way, it allows us to meet people and make friends from places around this world that we would never have dreamed of doing just 20 years ago. I love having people on my friend list from everywhere around this shrinking world.

What man made for our good and for advancement of good, the devil will always find a way to get his foot in the door. We just have to take the good with the bad, and emphasize the good.

And that is the rest of the story, according to me. I approve of this message, even though I know there will be those who may not. :laugh:

 

Me too.

We are talking about innert objects (electronic devices) and flawed human beings. Anything we have can be used for good or for evil.

Just think about the invention we know of as a knife. A knife can be used for many different things.

Good uses:
Cutting food
Whittling
Defending one's self or family
Building useful things
Butchering an animal
Cleaning a fish
Escape from entanglement
Emergency surgery

Bad uses:
Murder
Robbery
Child abuse
Assault
Masochism
Vandalism
Intimidation
Idolatry

So again we see that it is not about the tool, but the heart of the one using it. :smilewinkgrin:

 

My daughter has ADD. She's never had a cell phone, a FB or Twitter account, and doesn't know how to text. Shoot, she doesn't even have email yet. Dude, if you're going to make crazy statements about what causes ADD, try to back it up with some evidence.

 

I suspect that psychologists cause ADD. :laugh:

 

Both are tools.
As such we can either use them to our advantage or... not.
I remember my sister's fil. For years the family badgered him to get a phone and finally he gave in.
When we were there one day the phone began to ring.
My sister said pop aren't you going to answer that?
Pop looked at it and says, why I put that in for MY use not anyone elses.

You don't HAVE to use Fb. You don't have to have a cell phone. Get one and set the ringer to silent so you have it in an emergency of you want to. As to Fb, you can unfollow anyone who bothers you. Then you can just look on their page to see if they said something you need.

If you are sick and tired, it is because you allow them to be a bother and not a help to you.

 

neither, they are just tools to use, and it depends upon if one uses them for good or for evil!