The Lost and Found

                I began this study with a curiosity of the growing interest in mobile media. It seemed that everywhere eyes were locked to mobile device screens. So much so, that even in this age, a person could go unnoticed. I would be thinking, the world is all around you! Nowadays, it’s visibly apparent to anyone that has the ability of sight just how indispensable mobile accessibility has become.

punchsolutions.com

                With a global population of well over 7 billion people and nearly 7,000 million of those engaged in mobile activities, it’s easy to get lost in the numbers. Granted, it’s irrelevant if all anyone wanted was to be a phone call away from a loved one. But those days have quickly passed. A phone discussion is the last amenity of a cellphone today. Who has time for that today? Mobile devices have become more than just a tool to get lost in. They have come to the point of defining a person’s very existence.

Digitalcitizenshipdr.com

                Something I have learned from this study is that it is all connected. A person isn't lost within their device; they are lost apart from it. You are known by your digital presence. A reluctance to connect, to contribute to the social endeavors of Facebook and Twitter, to be endorsed by the professions of LinkedIn, or to have your words amplified in blogs around the globe, insures that you will go unnoticed. You will be obscure from any mind that matters, whether it be professional or social. It’s not that you aren't worth knowing, it’s that you won’t be found.

                If there is any hope of being regarded as a professional writer, I too need to be heard. So I now understand the unbroken stares upon the screens. I understand the constant obsession, whether for publicity or simply for companionship. An actual conversation has become an unexpected prize. But I appreciate when the eyes lift and the voice asks, “You on the twitter?” And I say yes.

U.S. and World Population Clock. United States Census Bureau, 2014. Web. 12 April 2014.

Global mobile statistics 2014 Part A: Mobile subscribers; handset market share; mobile operators. Mobi Thinking, 2014. Web. 12 April 2014.