Inspired by http://andiferguson.blogspot.com/My girlfriend got a new iPhone a few weeks ago. Like my girlfriend it's fancy and fun. You can find satellite pictures of my parents house in about 15 seconds, surf the web, look at youtube videos, and even call people with it. It plays music and can simultaneously tell you the time in Karachi and Des Moines. However, my girlfriend can cook a mean eggplant casserole in less than 30 minutes, waasssup iPhone!?!
Yesterday her car was burgled. Yikes! Her work laptop, back-up drives and iPhone were all stolen. Aside from the feelings of invasion, powerlessness and fear I think she came through unscathed. Resilient.
This is all wonderfully logged at http://andiferguson.blogspot.com/
As her blog hints to, some of us have an "addiction to being on the grid". Uh, yes. Constantly checking to see if I've missed a call. Making sure I sent that last text message to the right person. I even hallucinate and feel my phone buzz in my pocket, usually while driving, then lift my butt up, straighten my legs, dig into my pants pocket, to make sure that I did not miss that call that did not come through......
Am I an addict? On occasion, during the last few weeks I have accidentally left my phone at home. I'm not much of a morning person, so I can easily run out last-minute and forget to grab it off of the charger. As I speed away I usually do a 'once-over' to check to see if it's all there. You know, I have to be honest, I didn't really freak out about it. Now, I don't have an iPhone. I have an older Nokia flip-phone. It doesn't even close all the way. It is so ugly and beat up that it has "don't waste your time stealing me" all over it. But, still it has all my digits-in-it, and work numbers etc.
I've heard people say "I just need some rest...I just want to get away from it all for a minute!"
Turn off your damn phone. You'll get the message later. And do you really need the Bluetooth? (to be continued)
And this has made me think: "Are we better off now because of our hyper-connectivity?"
Sure we can read blogs, find old friends, research causes, support ideas, but has this made us smarter? More caring and considerate? More empathetic? Wait!! Are these really the things that are important? Am I using my own rubric to evaluate life? Maybe advancement (?) is measured in how many friends you have reconnected with via the Internet, or how many blogs you support. I dunno....
Are we really connected? Has the value of communication depreciated and cheapened? Or is it more accessible, more democratic?
It has just made me think.
My girlfriend's iPhone is fancy. But I enjoy talking to her vs. texting.
2 comments:
You are sounding like a neo-Luddite (not sure about the spelling there.)
Perhaps it's a blessing to be unplugged by other people's designs. I certainly enjoyed having no power for those few days during the hurricane in Cincinnati.
Long live the Luddites! We're gonna smash all the bluetooths!
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