This Photographer Removes Phones From His Pictures To Show How Addicted We Truly Are

Eric Pickersgill is a photographer who, in order to portray how significant our disconnect with the world has become, released a series of photos of people in every day life with all of their electronic devices removed.

According to the Pew Research Center, 65% of Americans use social networking sites. In 2005, that number was 7%. Pickersgill thinks that has much to do with our physical disconnect. This project was inspired by an observation he made at a local coffee shop:

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Family sitting next to me at Illium café in Troy, NY is so disconnected from one another. Not much talking. Father and two daughters have their own phones out. Mom doesn’t have one or chooses to leave it put away. She stares out the window, sad and alone in the company of her closest family. Dad looks up every so often to announce some obscure piece of info he found online. Twice he goes on about a large fish that was caught. No one replies. I am saddened by the use of technology for interaction in exchange for not interacting. This has never happened before and I doubt we have scratched the surface of the social impact of this new experience. Mom has her phone out now.