If there is one bad thing that the use of cellphones has brought to the fore in the age of social media it is that of selfishness. Four of the major avenues in which this disgusting human trait is practised ad nauseam are on Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook.

If there is one bad thing that the use of cellphones has brought to the fore in the age of social media it is that of selfishness. Four of the major avenues in which this disgusting human trait is practised ad nauseam are on Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook.

Cellphone users spend a great deal of time on ego trips, self-praise, narcissistic embellishments, intellectual masturbation, self-pity, and nauseating repetitiveness involving fashion statements, photographic poses, and, of course, self-righteous pronouncements, including vilifications and character assassination of anyone who dares to oppose them in any way. Even this writer has been guilty of some of these “cell-fish sins”.

And, notwithstanding the Cybercrimes Act, many acts of libel, slander, and other cruel representations (usually in pictures or videos), for the most part, occur without much recourse for the offended parties. Then there is the frequent “tracing” match between supporters of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP). Indeed, some of the nastiest, calumnious, and disgusting utterances and illustrations are posted with seeming glee and malice aforethought against political opponents and their respective parties.

But perhaps the most pernicious and disgusting of all these practices is when mobile phone users converge on an accident or murder scene and gleefully take pictures/videos of the victims, including children and pregnant women, then place these on social media. A number of fly-by-night, so-called news outlets online usually gobble up these pictures and highlight them in a most unprofessional and uncaring manner. So much for a free press without responsibility.

Another annoying and dangerous practice is motorists who use their cellphones while driving. Imagine driving on the north coast highway and you are in the fast lane only to end up behind a motor car moving at a snail’s pace with no hazard lights on to suggest there is a problem. You move slowly around it and lo, and behold, the driver is seen without a care in the world on his/her cellphone deep in conversation. One good reason for road rage?

It is alleged that the average Jamaican has at least two cellphones, which means that we spend a great deal of time talking, playing Candy Crush and other games, texting, sexting, and calling to beg credit or a “smalls”. Needless to say, a great deal of man hours are lost, which must seriously affect the nation’s productivity level.

In the meantime, owners of cellphones are constantly at risk of being robbed of their instruments and may even face death if they refuse to hand over same to the marauding miscreants out there who seek to make a thriving business out of reselling them.

American writer Paul Mountjoy said in one of his articles, entitled ‘Cellphones promote serious social, psychological issues’: “What started out as a means of adult communication has become a teen status symbol and a new age addiction, and it is not a drug: It’s a cell phone… Studies reported by the Journal of Behavioural Sciences show that a young adult sends an average of 109.5 text messages daily, and check their cellphones an average of 60 times a day… A large survey showed 28 per cent of cellphone users use their device to contact partners, 28 per cent contact close friends, 26 per cent contact family, and only 11 per cent use the phone for business.”

He continued saying that a New York City-based psychiatrist, Dr Jeremy Spiegel, found that “[C]ellphone socialisation is skeletal and interferes or replaces interfacing with people on a much-needed social level. The device is creating what some experts call the Narcissist Generation — those who truly believe they are so important and popular with their thoughts they make themselves available to whomever needs them… The cell and text addiction feeds the misplaced sense of self-importance and is now exacerbated by Twitter, making the young sycophantic and susceptible to non-gainful unintelligent chatter. This meaningless chatter is time-consuming and can displace activities of greater personal value.”

And as actor/comedian Bob Newhart once said, “It’s getting harder to differentiate between schizophrenics and people talking on the cellphone. It brings me up short to walk by somebody who appears to be talking to themselves.” In fact, it is a common occurrence for some people to pretend to be talking on their cellphones in public as a form of profiling.

Needless to say, social media has become a major platform to spew conspiracy theories and create all kinds of misinformation (giving false or inaccurate information) or disinformation (information which is intended to mislead). And in this age of the novel coronavirus pandemic, this has become the preferred pastime of many a mischief-maker seeking notoriety or who deliberately wants to create mayhem and confusion.

When former US President Donald J Trump used Twitter to misinform as well as disinform Americans about the results of the 2020 presidential election, the world stood in subsequent awe and shock when his aggrieved and misled supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021. His reference also to the novel coronavirus as the “China virus” has led to a dramatic rise in hate crimes against people of Asian origin in that country.

This is not to say that there are not many benefits to be derived from social media. Its current use, for example, during the pandemic to facilitate working and communication from home; the widespread use by students who can no longer do face-to-face classes; as well as the implementation of webinars and various virtual interactions be it in entertainment, social events, meetings, etc, have been undoubtedly blessings in disguise.

But, unfortunately, the use of the cellphone has helped to facilitate various criminal activities, including scamming, blackmail, and identity theft. In this vein, our law enforcement agents have their work cut out for them as they must keep on the cutting edge of technology in order to counter the ingenuity and craftiness of this new breed of criminal who has emerged since the prevailing presence of social media, which is itself akin to a pandemic.

However, in the long run, what is perhaps most deleterious to the existence of mankind is the pervasive “cell-fishness” that has overtaken the society in which the “me first” mentality now holds sway.

Lloyd B Smith has been involved full-time in Jamaican media for the past 44 years. He has also served as a Member of Parliament and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. He hails from western Jamaica, where he is popularly known as the Governor. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or lbsmith4@gmail.com .