Technology

September 29, 2013

The continuing debate about mobile phone use in cars: how mobile phone companies can reduce the risk

Watching 60 Minutes Australia tonight and they had the tragic story about a young girl who crashed her car and passed away after she answered a call from her Mother while driving. At the end of the story, it was mentioned that technology is being developed for installation in cars themselves that will prevent the use of mobile phones while driving.

I am all for restricting the use of mobile phones in cars unless it is through a hands free device. However I think we should be cautious on trying to further regulate what is, in the end, bad habits of drivers. While technology in cars that prevent the use of mobile phones sounds like a good idea, it would be expensive to implement and rollout would be likely limited to new cars.

A much more promising option is the development of software solutions within the phones themselves. Sensors in newer phones are now able to automatically detect when you are driving. Based on these sensors, it would be possible for software to prevent incoming and outgoing calls being made unless it detects a handsfree device is connected. In addition, you could also set the phone to automatically send a reply SMS when it receives a text, notifying the other person that you are currently driving and will respond to their SMS when appropriate.

However, despite the possibility of these advancements helping to reduce the risk, the biggest lesson in hearing a tragic story of a young life taken is one of behaviour. Technology does not force us to be dependent on it, we choose to be so. Through my work and personal life I surround myself with technology; but my phone will stay in my pocket while I'm driving.

We need to train ourselves not to take that risk and not expect technology, or someone else, to make that choice for us.

May 4, 2013

Using technology during social gatherings: Good or bad?

Some of my workmates were talking about phone etiquette the other day and how technology is, in their eyes, having a negative effect on social gatherings. They lament seeing people looking at their phones during a social outing, one workmate and his friends have resorted to putting their phones in a pile during dinner, with the first one to pick up their device paying for the bill.

Personally I have to say I don't understand the issue. I'm quite capable of using my phone and holding a conversation with people at the same time, and I feel my friends are the same way.

For example, this weekend I caught up with my best friends for dinner. There was one laptop, one tablet and people using their phone at one stage or another. However, despite these "distractions" we continued to converse in the same way we have for over a decade.

But maybe I've got it wrong. Maybe it's about people finding others using their phones in social gatherings rude. I think if this is the case we need to get over the opinion that people are only paying attention to you when they are making eye contact or not doing anything else.

I often mention that we shouldn't be trying to apply normal social conventions to online activities, maybe we also need to rethink the entire notion of body language as well.

I feel like the the next generation (my son) is going to consider this behaviour normal, whether you know the people or they are strangers, and won't consider the practice as a sign of disrespect as it currently is portrayed.

It may even be a lot sooner than that. Think about how dramatically social norms have changed since Facebook was first available to the open public in 2006. With the dawn of wearable computing upon the general public (Google Glass, smart watches etc), I believe the we are about to have these values challenged sooner rather than later.

I'm personally intrigued about how people react when technology is getting more ingrained into everyday life. I fear the privacy backlash by over-zealous politicians and interest groups with the intention of forcing technology to conform with existing social norms instead of letting new social techniques naturally develop around it.

This piece was originally written on Google+