I don't have an iphone. Or an ipad.
We do have an ipod, but only because our nephew didn't need it anymore and Brent wanted it for running. I have yet to add songs to it or really figure it out. I did play that little 'move-the-wooden-blocks' game on it though, so that has to count for something?! And Brent did buy me an itunes gift card for Christmas, so I'll figure it out soon enough.
We also have a macbook. And I LOVE my macbook.
However, I am so torn with the iphone revolution that is happening/ has happened. Yes, I think it has happened.
Here are my thoughts:
I'm sure the phones are great. I'm sure it is UH-mazing to be able to get on the web, to take great pictures from a phone wherever you go. I'm sure it is nice to have constant GPS. I even think that it is probably fairly fantastic to carry your music with you too.
However, I do not like what iphones have done to our society. I know that some of the things have been good. Some people can "face-time" their friends and family that live hundreds of miles, states, or countries away. That is a beautiful thing that technology has done for us. But, and I think this is a pretty big but, I think they have destroyed personal communication, intentionality with one another, and how we interact in society around us.
Come on, admit it, even if you ARE an iphone advocate there has probably been a time that you have been out in public and thought, if even for a fleeting moment, "What ever happened to people looking at each other as they walked by? What ever happened to actually talking to the cashier who is checking you out instead of messing with your iphone? What ever happened driving like a normal person because you aren't on your phone all the time?!"
I see my students, so much a part of this iphone generation, and most do not know how to just sit, to just be, to just remain with their thoughts. They are so plugged in all of the time, so "connected", that they have essentially become disconnected to the things around them.
I noticed this in college. Between my freshman year to my senior year texting became an actual thing people did. ipods became a necessity. And the iphone was invented. And you may think I'm being a bit dramatic…but I experienced a shift in how people on campus interacted with one another [facebook was also invented during this time, but I'll save that rant for another post entirely :)]. My freshman year when walking to class I could, at any moment, be stopped on the sidewalk and spoken to. Actually engaged in conversation. People looked each other in the eye. When we sat down in class, we talked to the person sitting next to us because most of us had left our cell phone in our dorm rooms. We didn't need it at all times, and some people didn't even have a cell phone. When we would go to the cafeteria to eat together, we did just that-- we ate TOGETHER. We didn't just eat near one another, plugging away at our phones. By my senior year much of this had changed. Walking to class was a solitary event because everyone was plugged in in one way or another. When you got to class you didn't strike up conversation with the strange person next you, instead you whipped out your phone to avoid eye contact.
I don't know. I think it is silly to try to stand against the tidal wave of technology. I really do. But there is a part of me that hates the iphone. I hate what it has done to society. I hate that I've had many moments with friends in which I am sitting staring at the wall while they are on their iphone. I hate that it has connected us to the internet at all times, everywhere we go. I hate that it has brought us further and further away from nature. I hate that it has brought us further and further away from each other.
But… I kind of want one. But I'm scared. I'm scared I'll become "that iphone person." I'm scared I'll become a part of everything I've been so adamantly against.
What are you thoughts about iphones? Do you have one? If not, why not? If you do, how do you "make peace" with what it has done to our society? How do you NOT become "that iphone person"?
3 comments:
You choose not to be that iphone person. Scott and I both have them; super handy, awesome for traveling, and when you have kids who are not with you 24-7, a huge peace of mind that you can be contacted about said kids at any given moment if something is wrong.
But it does not replace conversation at the dinner table; conversations with my husband; devotions and snuggle-time with my kids; it's on vibrate and in my pocket when I'm at coffee with a friend and totally turned off at other times. I try to be considerate when at the grocery store and if I'm checking out somewhere, I'm not on the phone. I think that's rude.
I am running around nearly all day, every day, so it is handy for me to be able to check email and put out fires for the committees/events I'm involved with and then when I'm home, just turn it off and enjoy being home. But I'm also old and don't buy hundreds of apps or use it to listen to music on (other than in my car instead of the radio). :)And I much prefer calling a friend instead of texting them.
I very much agree with you on this!
I have considered getting an iPhone, or even just any smart phone for the last couple years, now that it seems I am in the minority, having what I [affectionately] call my 'dumb-phone'. The phone I have now is waterproof, shock-proof, dust-proof, and otherwise indestructible. It's actually a very good cell phone for someone like me. I dropped it off a roof that I was shingling last summer. It landed on the concrete. Someone picked it up, threw it back and the person was still on the line. But I digress..
Call me old fashioned, but I would rather everyone NOT have phones 24/7. However, I usually can't bring myself to be the only one 'cellularly unavailable' just to prove a point. Does that make me hypocritical?
I like when people put down their phones and participate in life.
I also realize I will have no effect on the media revolution that has/is yet to come.
I hear the Wright brothers were laughed at and people of that age were against humans in the air. But look at us now.
Ironically, I was reading a magazine a couple of weeks ago while I was aboard Southwest 258 from Orlando to KC that described the future of 'Siri', the artificial intelligence that comes with iPhones today. It was quite scary what could potentially happen. Using the features all together, such as GPS, and adding in history of searches, even appointments, Siri will likely be able to recognize what store you just walked into and reccommend what to purchase, based on your own preferences or even call a cab at 7:46am, without your asking, because it is raining and you don't walk to work in the rain. Scary.
I sometimes like to be in places that don't have reception, I don't think I could stand having my every thought known by Apple.
Whenever I use or just intend to play with someone's iPhone, I usually do the cool swipe-to-unlock, then sit and stare because I am overwhelmed with the possibilities of what the machine can do. Usually I never even click on anything before I give it back, feeling slightly less-intelligent.
I am content with my dumb phone. For now.
We don't have an iAnything. Eric doesn't even want a cell phone, so we just have a Tracfone we use only for travel/emergencies. I'm fine with that.
I prefer paper books to a Kindle, and we still have our old-school 5 disc CD changer for music!
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