No Photos Allowed! read signs throughout St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.
Curious, I asked why. A curator explained: “The tour guides got frustrated because people were too busy taking pictures and not paying attention.”
Essentially, they were tired of competing with smartphones!
The draconian restriction worked. The church was scattered with enrapt tourists intently listening to the guides.
Named the iPhone Effect, psychologists have discovered that the mere presence of a smartphone (even if not being used) inhibits conversation.
Why? Because the smartphone divides our attention between the proximate and the possible. The person in front of us and the world of people potentially calling, texting, tweeting, and posting.
When our smartphone is on the table or in our hands, the other person knows they are competing for our attention, and this distract-ability diminishes the quality of our interaction.
- The conversation remains shallow, careening instead of flowing.
- Consequently, people restrict their responses.
- And this decreases our empathy.
Ironically, being constantly connected is interfering with our connections.
Because leading intentionally depends on these connections, our rapt attention and empathy are essential. And so our challenge: to deliberately disconnect.
Maybe we need to post our own sign occasionally: No Smartphones Allowed.