I recently bought a smart phone. This was after months of debating with my mom and dad. My renewal contract was coming up, and that's usually when you get some great deals on phones. I've always taken the deals they throw out for 99 cents or some ridiculously low price like that. But this time I was set on getting a good, up to date, awesome phone.
I debated for a long time about the whole Apple phenomenon. When I say phenomenon, I mean almost every single person I know owns an Apple phone. I didn't want to be like everyone else, but at the same time I knew the reason they were so popular was because they were good phones. I researched like the nerd I am and came to the conclusion that, while Apple is a monopoly and that makes it powerful and top notch, they don't have everything.
For one, all of Apple's programs are limited to only Apple software, whereas Androids and other phones are open to Google software and all sorts of other things. I also figured out some of the newer phones have a better camera and better screen than Apple.
So I got the Galaxy S II. I Love it. No complaints. I can do all sorts of things I have never been able to even dream of doing on my old phone, such as write texts by saying them, look up things at the touch of a button, Tweet things during class that I was supposed to Tweet before class...
I use my smart phone to check my e-mail and surf the Web and update Facebook. I text under the desk in class because I no longer have buttons that make clicking noises and give me away, and I can play games with friends. I am constantly in communication with people. I feel all powerful, and it has only been a week.
I live with three other roommates, and I am the only one who has a smart phone. This has made me realize two things. One, I am on it way too much. Two, I am obnoxious about the power I have with it. "What is the weather going to be tomorrow?" On it. Five seconds later I have the answer. "What time is the concert tonight?" I press a button, and we are good to go. It can even save my life if I get lost on the back roads of Farmville.
One of my roommates said something to me today that made me think. She said, "You check your weather on your phone, but if you want to know, just go outside." Ask yourself this question: how often do you walk outside to check the weather?
It came to a sad but true conclusion. I don't ever go outside to check the weather, and really when you think about it, isn't that the best way? It's strange to think that before smart phones this problem was arising with laptops and social network sites like Twitter and Facebook. The debate was that people were too addicted and lived their lives from the seat of their computer. And now we've gone and made it 10 times worse. I can be on Facebook all day long. It lives in my pocket, in the palm of my hand.
The other day I was driving and took a wrong turn and got hopelessly lost. I didn't panic, and I didn't keep driving down that road. I pulled over, looked up directions on my smart phone, turned around and made it back to town within 20 minutes. Sitting here right now, I wonder what I missed down that road. That sounds silly, but maybe I missed a miniature adventure or stumbling across something I never would have had I not gotten lost.
Smart phones tell you which restaurants are good to eat at and which ones to avoid. They tell you which star constellations are over your head, and they tell you where you are on a map. So if they tell you all that, I wonder what is going to happen to the unknown? Our world is shrinking into a tiny handheld device that dictates our decisions.
This morning, I looked up the weather, and it said it was going to be a high of 89. I wore shorts instead of jeans. I should have gone outside and checked because when I walked out of my house, I wished I had brought a sweater. I don't mind having all that information at my fingertips, but I worry what it's going to do to my world. I don't want to live my life through an electronic device. I want to check the weather by walking outside.
*** This editorial is an opinion stated by the writer and does not represent the views of The Rotunda or Longwood University.
