The smartphones we have today are very close to the Tricorder in ‘Star Trek’. They can record data in many high definition formats, scan everything from documents to barcodes and have GPS. They can also be connected to the World Wide Web, can stream both HTML 5 and Flash video which lets you watch movies and are Bluetooth-enabled. Let us not forget we are still talking about a phone!
Smartphones keep us connected to one another all the time with universal messengers and social networks like Twitter and Facebook. From day to night, I am connected to at least three social networks and four instant messengers.
I can go on, but I think I have freaked you out enough. But is it okay to be so connected?
If you ask my mum, she would definitely give these phones a thumbs down! According to her, my smartphone is not just a phone; it’s a part of my body! Maybe she is right because I do have the phone just 5 inches away from my face most of the time and it seems like there is an invisible cord connecting them!
So has my smartphone done me any good? Well I believe my hand and brain coordination has improved a lot, thanks to the tiny keys, but I also feel it has drifted me away from the world. My obsession with my phone started to scare me as well. Now it’s more about striving to not break it (only dropped it thrice with no dents!) whereas my ex-phones did not see out more than a year without something broken.
This era of technology and our dependence on it really makes me wonder where we are headed. Should we gear up to fight robots? Or be prepared to turn into Avatars?
In a world where technology is the propeller of communication, all the addicts (you know who you are) should learn to create a balance between their ‘normal’ and ‘digital’ world. I tried, and it worked for me. What’s the real catch? No more nagging from my mum!
