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![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/2c7a2bb16472913328de7ef87d00fef3f04dee76\/0_218_6531_3919\/master\/6531.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=0d5c5487a1cee95bdeb37afb0b7e4e5c\" "\\"The")
Is technology really to blame for bad behaviour, or is something else afoot?\nPeople who walk along the street with their heads down, staring at their phones, are enemies of society. They are narcissistic babies who have unilaterally derogated from the social contract that says you should look where you\u2019re going to make sure you don\u2019t bump into people. They implicitly believe that others should do that cognitive work for them while they shuffle along scrolling for porn or doom. If, however, a normal person bumps into them they will be enraged at the unpleasant reminder that other human beings exist outside their solipsistic bubble. Meanwhile, they are walking so slowly that everyone behind them, too, is inconvenienced; they are prime contributors to urban congestion and alienation and the general breakdown of the fabric of society.
\nAll that is true enough, but The Extinction of Experience has a lot of\u00a0other complaints about modern technology. Young folk these days can\u2019t do joined-up handwriting, and taking lecture notes on laptops is worse for their understanding. People photograph their food in restaurants and themselves in tourist hotspots. People don\u2019t stare into space while waiting any more. We are losing the knack for analogue, face-to-face communication. Continue reading…Technology | The Guardian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Is technology really to blame for bad behaviour, or is something else afoot? People who walk along the street with their heads down, staring at their phones, are enemies of society. They are narcissistic babies who have unilaterally derogated from the social contract that says you should look where you\u2019re going to make sure you …<\/p>\n