Studying human behaviour: lessons from George of the Jungle

I am amazed that more people don’t have injuries like broken noses or twisted ankles by walking into a light standard or tripping off a curve while looking at their mobile phone.

It is stunning to see how many people are clueless about their surroundings and the potential danger that might arise from their lack of awareness. There are others that are oblivious to where they are. For example, mothers and fathers that are on their phone, walking with their kids on the way to school and not talking to their kids. Folks at the off leash dog park with their attention on their phone, not on their dog, and not even a good morning when you pass them.

Am I being overly critical? Likely…

The point of this observation is that we have suddenly all become “doctors on call.” This is the phrase that our family uses when we see average folks whip out their mobile in the middle of a mall, parking lot, or busy street.

Seriously, what can be so important on your Facebook feed or Instagram account that you become a menace to others with your lack of awareness of your surroundings? While not directly affecting me in most situations, I still see far too many drivers with their eyes down on their phone while driving – even on the highway!!!

People, it can wait!!!

There are implications for business, and especially marketers, to understand this behaviour. For instance:

• How can your digital ad grab someone’s attention when attention spans are so fleeting on mobile phones?
• How many people are using ad blockers?
• How fast is the use of ad blockers increasing? (Sidebar: if my class responses are any indication, ad blocker use is much higher than reported)
• How many serious injuries will it take before people become human again?

Sorry everyone, you are not that important, and I really don’t care that you whip out your phone halfway across the street to seem important look at a post and then stumble on the curb on the other side.

So, what to do as a marketer?

Get off your phone and study people using theirs while wandering around. Try and talk to them to find out what they are doing. In other words, get off your phone/computer and study real people. The actions of real people created the data you are looking at.

Become human marketers, not digital marketers.

Or you might be like George of the Jungle and end up hitting that tree…Ouch!