Stimulate with caffeine, conversation ...

[bixaorellana]

... not computers.

Or at least put the digital stimulation aside for part of each day.

This article points out that: people use phones and other electronic devices to get work done — and as a reliable antidote to boredom.

The technology makes the tiniest windows of time entertaining, and potentially productive. But scientists point to an unanticipated side effect: when people keep their brains busy with digital input, they are forfeiting downtime that could allow them to better learn and remember information, or come up with new ideas.

I found it interesting and telling that this article was published the same day, telling how coffee bars are nudging their customers away from using them as mini-offices:
Instead of idling at a chair, customers at these establishments stand or perch on a stool to down a cappuccino or an iced coffee at the counter. By doing away with the comfy seats, roomy tables and working outlets that many customers now seem to believe are included in the price of a macchiato, the new coffee bars challenge the archetypal American cafe.

Coffee-bar owners say that while space and rent can be considerations, they’re installing counters because they create a lively environment where it’s easy to have a quick, convivial exchange.

I haven't lived where the coffee shop has become a place to use your laptop, but can see how that would pinch off casual greetings and potential interaction among strangers. It would seem, though, that if cafe owners were sincere about creating a convivial atmosphere, they'd try to keep at least some of the tables and simply do away with the wi-fi connection.

[Deleted]

No, the wifi has become obligatory in cafés. If people don't have it, they won't go. Actually, in France not many people carry around a laptop or a netbook in such places, but their i-phone is all they need.

But I don't think I have seen such things overdone in Paris, whereas I can't really say the same about NYC or Singapore.

[bixaorellana]

Out of curiosity, would you say that people in Paris -- young people in particular -- are more likely to go around in groups than the same age group in the US?

Part of the reason I'm asking is that I see so many young adults (many of them old enough to know better) here where I live compulsively fooling with their phones even on dates. Is this wide-spread?

[Deleted]

Yes, it is a pandemic. They can't even go up or down the stairs in the metro without texting at the same time.

[betsie]

It's the same in Holland, I can't imagine what people have to say all the time on their mobile phones. I think the whole nation is suffering from an anxiety neurosis and has to keep telling people where they are or asking others where they are.

We have silent railway carriages now in Holland, at least one on every train. Phoning and talking are not allowed in them, but nobody takes any notice of this. Formerly people used to shout, "I'm on the train!" Now they shout, "I'm in the silent carriage of the train, so I mustn't talk too long."

I get so pissed off with this that I don't use the silent carriages any more.

[bixaorellana]

A few years ago I was in the States and encountered people talking on those phones that you can't see. They do look like crazy people walking down the street talking to themselves, particularly as they all seemed to do it so loudly.

It's an amazing display of self-absorption. Leaning over a rack in a clothing store, the woman next to me suddenly bellowed in my ear, "Oh, I love this long-sleeved blue one!" I jumped, then realized it was yet another person "connected" wherever she went.

Deliberately going into a designated silent carriage and self-importantly yelling into a phone there should get a person banned from the train entirely.