Seinfeld and smart phones.

What do Seinfeld and smart phones have in common? Read on. I am not going to give you the punch line without first delivering the punch.

I am addicted to watching old Seinfeld reruns. You can watch multiple old shows on several channels. He is becoming ubiquitous to afternoon television. In fact, if you wish, you can watch Seinfeld for several hours at a time-continuously. I am starting to study the show formats-re-occurring themes.  Here is one theme that if you watch, you will notice, it is repeated in every show. e.g. Jerry, George and Elaine or Kramer will be having a group conversation about a subject.  

e.g. Elaine brought up the subject of a funeral. George then made a comment about baseball. Jerry made a comment about a horse. Now each of these issues are related at a very high level, but just like real life, each participant is responding to the issue as it relates to their own personal thoughts. There is actually no genuine conversation occurring, just a mixture of comments and rhetorical questions from Jerry, George or Elaine, often simultaneously. They are having a group discussion, but each person is in their own world. Connected by a physical presence, but disconnected from each other and inside their own personal thoughts.

And therein resides the smartphone analogy. Look at a group with their phones out. All texting, surfing, answering email and talking about a subject at the same time. No genuine conversations. The phone puts each of us in our own world, but still connected safely to those around us by the physical presence of our own group.

So what do Seinfeld and smart phones have in common? They both capture for each of us the need for independence of our own thoughts with the need for a co-occurring desire for safety in a tribe. Seinfeld recognized this double need in his shows by the independent dialogue of the actors in a group "discussion", almost like an opera where multiple singers sing at the same time.

Think about it. We love to be together, but we still wish to remain independent. Subtly insightful.