Thursday, September 24, 2009

Smartphones

Everyone seems to have a smartphone these days. And don’t get me wrong they are fantastically useful- I have one. When my wireless carrier offered me an upgrade over the summer, I jumped all over it. Do I need to be this connected? Of course not. Sure, text, email, calenders, internet all in the palm of my hand is great, but not a necessity. Instant connectivity to anyone, anywhere, all the time.


And this is where the problem lies. People go from having a phone, to having a “crackberry”. Constantly checking for a message, web browsing at a bar when your waiting for someone, even texting someone while you’re on a date. These are all subconscious actions we do without even thinking about it. Texting while driving, “forgetting” to put it in airline mode on the plane, not shutting it off for meetings/interviews/dates. Rude actions most of us find annoying in others, and yet all things most of us (myself included) are at least partially guilty on. Nothing screams “I am unapproachable” like a blackberry, except for a Bluetooth headset (more on that later). As a culture, we are getting pulled apart by the single thing doing the most to bring us together.


I’m not proud of doing most of these things, and I have to make a concerted effort to keep this from happening again. Texting while driving is more dangerous than drunk driving according to multiple recent studies. Anyone not living under a rock has probably at least heard of the video circulating YouTube of the girl in the text while driving accident. Nothing is that important that you have to text while driving.


I said I would make a comment on the Bluetooth headsets. You never know if someone is talking to you, or to the person on the phone. They have their place: when you need your hands free for something else. Talk on it all you want, but when you are not using it, please take it off and put it away until you need it again. I once heard a joke regarding Bluetooth- We used to think of people standing on the corner talking to themselves as crazy, now we refer to them as executives.


Till next time...

1 comment:

  1. I have a voyager but I don't pay to have internet on my phone. I text and 'tweet' waay too much I'm aware...but I've started giving myself breaks where I just turn it off and enjoy my day truly 'hands free'. ; ]

    ReplyDelete