As an interactive marketer, I feel like I spend hours upon hours pondering apps and other interactive items that could add value to skiers and riders on the mountain. However, a recent New York Times article, “Your Brain on Computers – Attached to Technology and Paying a Price” prompted me to wonder if perhaps the mountains are a place that shouldn’t enable our always connected addiction to technology? To clarify, does is it in some way devalue the outdoor mountain experience of skiing and snowboarding if a resort is encouraging guests to pull out their mobile device and in the words of the article, “our ability to focus is being undermined by bursts of information.” Or, as one of the people in the article says of her husband, “‘It seems like he can no longer be fully in the moment.”
The closing paragraphs of the story further the point:
Mr. Nass at Stanford thinks the ultimate risk of heavy technology use is that it diminishes empathy by limiting how much people engage with one another, even in the same room.
“The way we become more human is by paying attention to each other,” he said. “It shows how much you care.”
That empathy, Mr. Nass said, is essential to the human condition. “We are at an inflection point,” he said. “A significant fraction of people’s experiences are now fragmented.”
Obviously, a ski resort can’t shut down the cell services that provide data and voice services, but does it do itself a disservice by unintentionally providing a negative (an incentive to use technology) in an otherwise oasis away from technology. What do you think?
To wit, I just saw another story on this same topic on CNN titled, “Is the internet making us quick but shallow?” this is certainly an interesting topic to ponder.
Photo credit: Flickr user Jean & Nathalie via CC Attribution 2.0 Generic
Tags: application · new york times · ski resort · technology6 Comments
The family and I went to Ben & Jerry's the other day (yes, it was delicious). Not wanting my "technology" to interfere with my family time, I resisted checking in via Foursquare. As the kids were distracted in finished their cones, I took out my iPhone to check in. And after I checked in, I found out I could have gotten 3 scoops of ice cream for $3 by showing my Foursquare check in. I don't know if this makes me more or less empathetic, but 3 scoops for $3 at Ben & Jerry's is a great deal, and technology would have helped me save a few bucks.
I guess the question is: are we using technology to distract ourselves from what we're doing, or are we using it to further engage in what we're doing? If you're on the mountain and you're using your iPhone to check the football scores, you're certainly distracting yourself from the moment. But if you're checking out trail conditions, you're using technology to help create a better on-mountain experience. It comes down to relevancy and usefulness, along with *why* people head to the mountains. Personally, I go snowboarding to escape my other "real life" responsibilities, so any app that helps me escape is useful, even if it means I can check my work email on the mountain between runs.
But when I'm making turns, the iPhone stays in my pocket. If you can't enjoy that experience by itself, just stay off the mountain.
Great example Stephen! It certainly illustrates what I think is the conundrum of the connectedness issue. Because, If we're already doing something, such as enjoying ice cream with our family, aren't we already 'engaged' in that activity and do we really benefit 'disconnecting' with reality to 'connect' virtually? On the flip side, if you didn't even know the Ben & Jerry's shop was in the area until you checked with perhaps Urban Spoon, you would never have had that bonding experience with your family, then there's a large chunk of usefulness. I'm really not sure what the balance is, but in any case I'm with you, when I'm making turns, my phone stays in my pocket!
As a maker of interactive technology who's very focused on mobile and location services, especially to ski resorts, I'm kinda shooting myself in the foot here, but I have to agree with you Eric, even if only for the romantic notion. When I'm snowboarding the iPhone is in my pocket but I rarely use it. You can't with gloves on for a starter and it's just a drag… I want to ride not Foursquare about it, but then having a phone/camera in my pocket to take a snapshot of the powder turn I just did is pretty cool. Basically it's those bastards who invented technology are to blame, they have ruined us forever.
Will tweet you from the hill this downunder winter Eric… doh!
@harallambi I think you''re right, and that this is probably "just a romantic notion" at this point, but I would argue that we do need to consider these impacts on our guests as we develop ways to provide experiences for them on the slopes.
I think the phone is useful for meeting up with friends on the mountain. As a local, I get there when I get there and my friends will text me when they get there (usually hours later) to see if I am on the mountain… we don't even make plans ahead of time. Unless it's a ski buddy, I don't answer the phone on the mountain or even look at it. Oh, and on a good powder day, I have to take a picture or two.
Kristin, my question is then, do you Facebook or tweet out those photos? I've been known to do that.