So I recently gave in. This past birthday, I finally got my first smartphone.
A lot of you are probably laughing at me. “First smartphone? These things have been around for years!”
Yeah, I know, I know. I was one of those people that just didn’t want to give in to the newest surge of technology.
Why, you ask? Well, there’s one reason why the transition from dumb phone to smartphone has been such a struggle for me.
Sounds like I’m being rude to my old phone, but you have no idea how much of a piece of junk that thing was.
I’ve just noticed a recent trend of people being taken over by their phones. By this I mean… well, you probably already know what I mean.
What was that person doing as you walked by him in the quad? What were half of that group of girls looking at when you saw them in class? What was your best friend doing when you asked him about his day? What are even our parents doing now when we come home for breaks?
The answer is that they’re “playing” on their cell phones. Yet is “playing” the correct word for it?
I think it is. A lot of the time, people aren’t texting like they were for the past how many years. They’re checking Facebook and Twitter. They’re playing Words with Friends. They’re looking up a new song to listen to. Or they’re just checking the weather or their e-mail.
The way technology is going now, there really isn’t any sure way to know what the person is doing on their phone unless you ask or look.
I for one certainly wouldn’t look or even ask. For the most part we all just let it go and accept it as normal. Now just because my opinion is negative so far doesn’t mean it’s negative the entire way through.
I love my smartphone. There really is an overabundance of options that make other devices just seem obsolete and inconvenient.
Why would I carry around an iPod when I have a media player and enough space on my phone to put some songs I like? Why would I shell out for a GPS when I have one that works just as well as a stand-alone and probably updates more? Who needs a Gameboy when you have tons of free games and applications to choose from?
As I said before, with the way new technology is surging and filling our lives, I wouldn’t be surprise with how many other seemingly awesome forms of technology slowly become obsolete.
Despite the fact I could sit and “play” on my phone all day, I have to fight the urge to do it.
As much as I would like to zone out in certain conversations and play Tetris, it’s one of those things I told myself I wouldn’t do when I got a smart phone: don’t sit on it all the time.
Although I have fallen prey to my own desire for all-the-time sensory overload a few times, for the most part I believe I’m doing well.
Lord only knows what happen when the newest addition is made for smartphones.
My resolve may be shaken, which it likely will be, but I’m hoping it stays planted.
