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Mar 21 2013 39 Comments

Tokyo and the silent smartphone world

Tokyo, and the completely silent, insular world of modern communication.

Japanese smart phone use and the silence it creates

Categorized: Photography

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bernat Nacente (naixent) says

    3/21/2013 at 8:40 am

    Wonderful shot. It really capture the feeling. Got a retweet 😉

    Reply
    • Lee says

      3/21/2013 at 10:47 am

      Cheers!

      Reply
  2. Sam says

    3/21/2013 at 9:31 am

    Oh god, we’re becoming slaves to these machines. Great shot!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      3/21/2013 at 10:50 am

      Thanks. We certainly are. Myself very much included. As useful as they, they do suck up so much time, both in public and private.

      Reply
  3. Squidpuppy says

    3/21/2013 at 11:37 am

    Couldn’t have got better were it staged; very nice. Also shows human nature’s preferred mean distance between texters LOL I imagine it goes on at infinitum to the left and right… BTW, what camera(s) do you use?

    Reply
    • Lee says

      3/21/2013 at 2:03 pm

      Thanks! Yes, could have done with a wider lens…

      The vast majority of time (this photo included) I use a Leica M-E. Now and again a Nikon D300.

      Reply
      • Squidpuppy says

        3/23/2013 at 2:38 am

        Leica M-E? Jealous!

        Reply
        • Lee says

          3/23/2013 at 10:59 am

          It’s a lovely thing for sure. One I’m always eager to get out and about with as much as possible. Traded in my M8 to get it. Along with a few Nikon lenses I was sad to see go. But even despite the latter, it was more than worth it.

          Reply
  4. Hans ter Horst says

    3/21/2013 at 3:47 pm

    This is excellent, the spacing between them is so telling! I always love the way people are ether asleep or on their phones in public transport in Tokyo 🙂

    Reply
    • Lee says

      3/21/2013 at 4:32 pm

      Cheers!

      Yeah, I think it’s a lot more telling than the phone use. In their own little worlds both mentally and physically.

      Reply
  5. Dan says

    3/21/2013 at 5:36 pm

    Why do so many people seem to think that the so called human preferred mean distance is a negative trait? Would you rather have people shanding shoulder to shouler even when there is a lot a space.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      3/21/2013 at 6:00 pm

      That’s a fair point, and actually having some space is definitely a positive in a city like Tokyo. That said, it arguably does suggest a complete lack of interest/interaction with the world about us. Something that’s decidedly less positive.

      Reply
  6. Vamp898 says

    3/21/2013 at 6:16 pm

    4 of 7 people are wearing masks…

    Reply
    • KeitaiGoddess says

      3/21/2013 at 6:42 pm

      Spring haz sprung,
      The pollen count is high,
      The Sakura bloom
      And the sneezers sigh.

      Reply
      • Lee says

        3/21/2013 at 7:00 pm

        Yes, very nicely put. An awful lot of sneezers too. A real shame that such a beautiful time of year makes so many feel so miserable.

        Reply
  7. Kim Benbow says

    3/21/2013 at 8:05 pm

    Can I use this on my facebook page please? – great photo!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      3/21/2013 at 8:42 pm

      Yeah, no problem, so long as full credit is given.

      Reply
  8. winnie says

    3/21/2013 at 9:04 pm

    Cool!! Fabulous Shot!!
    I love this picture. 🙂 All of them have different pose.
    The old man on the right (behind the pink shirt guy) is outstanding too!
    He must be thinking, “oh dear! everyone is using smart phone! Why!Then he sighed sadly…..

    Reply
    • Lee says

      3/21/2013 at 11:32 pm

      Thanks. But you never know, perhaps the old man had a smartphone too!

      Reply
  9. Willy says

    3/21/2013 at 9:16 pm

    Now that really is a sign of the times.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      3/21/2013 at 11:34 pm

      It certainly is. And for better or worse, it’s hard to see it changing.

      Reply
  10. GenjiG says

    3/21/2013 at 9:49 pm

    Amazing shot Lee!

    It is often the samen here in the Netherlands. I sometimes feel awkward reaching for my phone while in a situation like this. We are more and more (not) connection…

    I do love my iPhone 5 though ^^

    Reply
    • GenjiG says

      3/21/2013 at 9:49 pm

      connecting…

      Reply
      • Lee says

        3/21/2013 at 11:36 pm

        Thank you!

        I’m exactly the same. It’s easy to capture and comment on moments like this, but in reality I’m really no different…

        Reply
  11. john says

    3/21/2013 at 10:31 pm

    ‘A clinical arrangement’ as J.C.C might say.
    20 comments so it must be a keeper!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      3/21/2013 at 11:39 pm

      It certainly seems that way.

      Who is J.C.C?

      Reply
      • john says

        3/22/2013 at 12:38 am

        John Cooper Clarke, the famous haiku poet of Salford UK :o)

        Reply
        • Lee says

          3/22/2013 at 9:53 am

          Ah, ok. Cheers! I really should have picked up on that.

          Reply
  12. Freddie says

    3/22/2013 at 7:31 am

    Fantastic photo, albeit a reminder of our “masked clone” society…

    Reply
    • Lee says

      3/22/2013 at 9:54 am

      Thank you.

      Reply
  13. Hokudai/Cast says

    3/24/2013 at 5:06 pm

    A decade ago they would be staring out into space with bored looks on their faces. Which is better: texting, gaming, surfing the net, and watching music videos or looking bored and not interacting with anyone? Great shot.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      3/25/2013 at 12:13 am

      Cheers.

      Yes, that’s very true. And anyway, before the smartphone it was mobile games. Before them the Walkman. Although arguably neither of them were so all-absorbing, or so widespread.

      Reply
  14. ferdi says

    5/21/2013 at 10:32 am

    nobody knows tsunami coming over because gadget

    Reply
  15. Edenbeast says

    1/27/2015 at 10:01 pm

    Excellent shot, BTW, every time I share on Facebook I get a twitter thumbnail instead a the photo!!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      1/28/2015 at 5:45 pm

      Cheers!

      And thanks a lot for the heads up. Think I’ve fixed it now.

      Reply
      • Edenbeast says

        1/28/2015 at 9:07 pm

        I tried it again, problem still exists. Link below is a screen cap of how it appears on my FB timeline

        [URL=http://img151.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=445201234_tb_122_72lo.jpg][IMG]http://img151.imagevenue.com/loc72/th_445201234_tb_122_72lo.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

        Reply
        • Lee says

          1/28/2015 at 9:15 pm

          Thanks again. Just made another change. Seems to be working now, I think…

          Reply
          • Edenbeast says

            1/28/2015 at 11:22 pm

            Thanks for fixing it, but unfortunately it’s not working for other photos I’m trying to share!

            Reply
            • Lee says

              1/28/2015 at 11:25 pm

              No, I know. Need Facebook to clear the cache on older posts — too many to go through manually…

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