Welcome back to Reading the Research, where I trawl
the Internet to find noteworthy research on autism and related subjects,
then discuss it in brief with bits from my own life, research, and
observations.
Today's article calls into question the current thinking about why people are so attached to their smartphones. The stereotype is that it's "those darned kids," but in all honesty, I've seen plenty of older folks, including my dad, tote their own smartphones everywhere and get distracted by them on a regular basis. This isn't a generational thing, it's a human thing. Younger people are just more likely to have learned the ins and outs of their phones, and thus are able to maximize their usefulness.
This attachment and frequent use of smartphones is considered antisocial, because people sometimes pick up their phones for seemingly trivial reasons, mid-conversation (in person), mid-dinner at a restaurant, or even mid-work. Most research has underlined that assumption: using your phone is antisocial. Therefore with the rise of cell phones, humankind is becoming less social.
This article challenges that assumption with a simple observation: the most addictive smartphone apps and functions allow you to connect with other people. Think about that. Does it sound anti-social to you?
These researchers didn't think so. Rather, they suggest that smartphone addiction is, instead, a hyper-social response. Humanity is wired to be social, even those of us with social difficulties. While sufficient trauma or even sufficient disability can counter that wiring, most people do have what psychology calls the Connectedness Motive. Or in non jargon-y terms: the drive to connect with and be connected to other people. That's why small talk is a thing: the weather isn't really that interesting of a subject (to most people), but by talking to a stranger about a thing you both have in common, you feel connected to that person.
Autistic people tend to favor a second motive, called the Mastery Motive, over the Connectedness Motive. The Mastery Motive, roughly, is the desire to improve and become competent at a subject. Special Interests/Hobbies are a way of expressing this motive, and it's something we do pretty well, overall. But even if an autistic person doesn't have a Special Interest/Hobby tendency, like myself, the motive still applies. I value the truth, accuracy, and precision highly. I tend to get my facts straight before posting something on social media. If I don't know the answer to something, I tend to look it up, or refer to someone I believe is more knowledgeable on the subject.
But all that said, before Facebook kicked me out, I did still catch myself refreshing my Facebook feed over and over in hopes that something would happen. It's been assumed in the past that autistic people weren't social, or didn't have the Connectedness Motive at all. I can safely say that is not the case. And I would also extend this article's range of effect beyond smartphones, to computers as well.
A common complaint of parents with autistic kids is that they spend all their time at the computer, being antisocial and just playing computer games. While that absolutely can be a problem (sitting at the computer rarely gets you exercise), I'd urge those parents to take a closer look at the computer games their kids play, and the activities surrounding those games. Is the computer game a multiplayer game, so the kid is playing with other people? Is it an MMO, where all the players of that game play together in the same world and bump elbows regularly? Are there guilds/clans/some other type of "social group" feature? Then maybe your kid isn't being antisocial, maybe they've just developed friends in safer, kinder environment than school or work.
Even if the game isn't multiplayer, or doesn't have social features, there are still fan sites and fan communities your child might be a part of, with everyone discussing the game, making art, or even inventing new content for that game. Just because this kind of social interaction doesn't look like anything familiar to you, doesn't make it not social interaction.
Today's article calls into question the current thinking about why people are so attached to their smartphones. The stereotype is that it's "those darned kids," but in all honesty, I've seen plenty of older folks, including my dad, tote their own smartphones everywhere and get distracted by them on a regular basis. This isn't a generational thing, it's a human thing. Younger people are just more likely to have learned the ins and outs of their phones, and thus are able to maximize their usefulness.
This attachment and frequent use of smartphones is considered antisocial, because people sometimes pick up their phones for seemingly trivial reasons, mid-conversation (in person), mid-dinner at a restaurant, or even mid-work. Most research has underlined that assumption: using your phone is antisocial. Therefore with the rise of cell phones, humankind is becoming less social.
This article challenges that assumption with a simple observation: the most addictive smartphone apps and functions allow you to connect with other people. Think about that. Does it sound anti-social to you?
These researchers didn't think so. Rather, they suggest that smartphone addiction is, instead, a hyper-social response. Humanity is wired to be social, even those of us with social difficulties. While sufficient trauma or even sufficient disability can counter that wiring, most people do have what psychology calls the Connectedness Motive. Or in non jargon-y terms: the drive to connect with and be connected to other people. That's why small talk is a thing: the weather isn't really that interesting of a subject (to most people), but by talking to a stranger about a thing you both have in common, you feel connected to that person.
Autistic people tend to favor a second motive, called the Mastery Motive, over the Connectedness Motive. The Mastery Motive, roughly, is the desire to improve and become competent at a subject. Special Interests/Hobbies are a way of expressing this motive, and it's something we do pretty well, overall. But even if an autistic person doesn't have a Special Interest/Hobby tendency, like myself, the motive still applies. I value the truth, accuracy, and precision highly. I tend to get my facts straight before posting something on social media. If I don't know the answer to something, I tend to look it up, or refer to someone I believe is more knowledgeable on the subject.
But all that said, before Facebook kicked me out, I did still catch myself refreshing my Facebook feed over and over in hopes that something would happen. It's been assumed in the past that autistic people weren't social, or didn't have the Connectedness Motive at all. I can safely say that is not the case. And I would also extend this article's range of effect beyond smartphones, to computers as well.
A common complaint of parents with autistic kids is that they spend all their time at the computer, being antisocial and just playing computer games. While that absolutely can be a problem (sitting at the computer rarely gets you exercise), I'd urge those parents to take a closer look at the computer games their kids play, and the activities surrounding those games. Is the computer game a multiplayer game, so the kid is playing with other people? Is it an MMO, where all the players of that game play together in the same world and bump elbows regularly? Are there guilds/clans/some other type of "social group" feature? Then maybe your kid isn't being antisocial, maybe they've just developed friends in safer, kinder environment than school or work.
Even if the game isn't multiplayer, or doesn't have social features, there are still fan sites and fan communities your child might be a part of, with everyone discussing the game, making art, or even inventing new content for that game. Just because this kind of social interaction doesn't look like anything familiar to you, doesn't make it not social interaction.
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