Want a job? Get rid of your smartphone!
By Isaac Kim
Rather than upgrading, some choose to downgrade their phones.
New information technologies (IT) attract most people in their 20s. Yet, phones such as feature phones prior to this era’s hype of smartphones still maintain decent sales.
Those in their mid-to-late 20s preparing for job interviews and exams seek out these older models to focus on the work before them, rather than distracting themselves with games and social media.
People with smartphones are often distracted with capabilities such as surfing portal sites and online news and instant messengers.
Kim Ga-yeon, 25, is preparing for her Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam. She disposed of her Galaxy S3 smartphone two months ago because she “couldn’t focus on studying.”
“I spent 10 hours studying, but three to four hours were wasted on Kakaotalk or Facebook,” she said. “After switching my phone to a feature phone, I could focus better.”
To redirect their attention on work and studies, many young adults in their mid-to-late twenties are purchasing feature phones. Thus, even while focused on smartphone marketing, phone brands such as Samsung and LG continue to see a steady rate of sales in their older 2G phone models.
For college students with smartphones, professors had much to say on the matter.
Prof. Ma Kwang-su of Yonsei University wrote in his syllabus, “Students who do not bring their textbook to class, but instead use a smartphone to take notes will fail my class.”
“Reports and papers had much more quality before the smartphone era,” he said. “I’m worried students spend more time posting comments and tweeting than doing their research or studying.”
However, young adults ingrained in the current IT boom find smartphones a necessity in modern life.
“I would feel isolated and disconnected without my smartphone because I wouldn’t know what’s happening in the world,” said Lee Kyung-min, an intern at NHN. “I check my smartphone almost every second – I can’t help it.”
“Important information would be delayed,” said Choi Na-woon, a freshman at Hongik University. “It would be hard to communicate with friends without smartphones.”