Does anyone else feel a little bit tech-spoiled? Now that I have a 3.5G phone (Nokia E71 and loving it) and an unlimited data plan, I’ve noticed that whenever I have to wait for something – anything – regardless of how long it may take – from less than 1 minute to 10 minutes, I automatically sit down, whip out my phone and fire up Opera Mini. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. I’m unbelievably happy to have the internet at my fingertips anywhere and almost everywhere, subject to the infrastructure of my service provider.
Nevertheless, it leaves me wondering as to exactly how spoiled I am and how impatient I’ve become. Where previously I would have been happy waiting for my take-away by staring off into space and contemplating life, the universe and immortality, I now find that if I have nothing in my hands to tap away at or read, I become restless to a point bordering on an anxiety attack. My heart rate speeds up and I start to sweat a little. What do I do? Why are they taking so long? Oh, maybe because only 2 minutes have passed. Is it ready yet? Then the anxiety picks up. What if someone is calling me? What if my car breaks down on my way home? What do I do? Best start planning for an emergency. I never get to actually finish planning my ‘emergency plan’ because at this point I’m usually interrupted by a slightly bemused waiter giving me my food. And then there’s the added anxiety of coming across something that you feel it’s absolutely pertinent to your well-being that you inform the whole world about it via Twitter and not having the means to do so. The second I get home I rush to my phone to check any missed calls or messages (and feel slightly offended when there aren’t any), and thus ends another saga of the forgotten mobile phone.
The problem herein, I think, lies in the fact that we place such high expectations on mobile phones. They’re everything to us – from being our personal secretaries to our cameras to our computers. And the number of applications for the damned things are increasing exponentially by the day. Earlier this year, a Malaysian man reported that he located his stolen car within hours of it being stolen with the help of his mobile service provider’s tracking system. Earlier this week, the BBC reported that the Peruvian navy is using mobile phones to report diseases to a central database to track and prevent outbreaks. Recently, a Japanese university announced that they were giving iPhones to students as a means of taking attendance. I kid you not.
How is it that the damned devices have become so pervasive? How did it ever come to this point when leaving your phone at home is grounds to immediately turn the car around or suffer an anxiety attack? What will the future hold for us if mobile phones keep being so efficient in entertaining us every spare second causing us to become impatient and anxious for every second when we have nothing to keep our attention? I fear that someday, we will live in a world that is inaccessible to the immobile-phoned, where a mobile phone has pervaded every aspect of our lives and given birth to a generation of the impatient and bratty – The Mobile Brats.
The Phone never shoulda merged with the PDA this soon! The touchscreen just makes thing worse. We're not ready for such technology at this point. I don't care who started. If they had kept off the cellar networks it'd be less to worry about.
Thankfully neaither Apple or Microsoft started the smart-phone industry.
June 4, 2009 @ 22:32
I totally agree that there's nothing wrong with carrying 2 devices. I'd never use my phone as my mp3 player (sorry, iPhone) or as my camera (sorry, Nokia N series). Only in emergencies. And I hate touch screens for the life of me :| I'm pretty tiny so I have tiny fingers and even then I hit the wrong buttons on a touch screen :|
June 5, 2009 @ 01:39
Luckily I'm not that addicted to my mobile phone, I just don't need all the nifty features. The thing you can do while waiting is simply breathing in and out slowly, a bit like yoga :)
June 5, 2009 @ 00:54
You mean, actually sit there? And do nothing? While waiting? That's so crazy it might work!
June 5, 2009 @ 01:32
Haha, yes. Simply breathing in and out is a great way to relax yourself :)
June 5, 2009 @ 02:54
Great post. I've noticed this too, though not in myself (I don't have that pervasive internet access that you have yet; I compensate by drumming with my fingers in any surface, to my girlfriend's utter annoyance) but in my boss and several other people in my surroundings.
The name you gave it is very funny. If you buy the domain “mobilebrats.com” and you don't mind my daring to ask, I'd like an email redirection :-) Oh, and another one for my boss, who may be a mobile brat too but is a cool guy anyway.
June 5, 2009 @ 02:32
I am most definitely a mobile brat. At this point I think I would shrivel up and go in to convulsions if someone pried my iPhone from my hand.
Otherwise, excellent post. It is funny how people have become so dependent upon these devices. It's almost as if we can no longer live our lives by simply living. We must always stay connected. No wonder our brains are on information overload!
June 5, 2009 @ 07:05
I think you may just be hyperactive. Having an iPhone has not hindered me from staring off into space. I actually prefer having a lengthy amount of time ahead of me before I take it out of my pocket. An Internet-enabled device is just another tool, like the car, that can make certain things more convenient. If you hit your thumb with a hammer, you dont blame the hammer.
June 5, 2009 @ 07:14
What if mobile phones cause brain cancer? This has not been ruled out. You are all a bunch of gullible guinea pigs!! Good luck. I hope it's not true.
June 6, 2009 @ 19:33
I think even if it were proven, people would likely still use mobile phones for the same reason that people smoke and drink and speed and do all kinds of things that are bad for them.
June 10, 2009 @ 18:58
Granted, but I think more people would take the proper precautions to mitigate the risks, e.g. using a headset, and not keeping the phone next to your crotch.
June 19, 2009 @ 16:02
..and i only remember my own phone number
..all the rest: err… phonebook?
August 21, 2009 @ 13:14
..and i only remember my own phone number
..all the rest: err… phonebook?
August 21, 2009 @ 13:14