10. I don't want to be a slave to email/texting. It took me a while to stop religiously and obsessively checking email on my laptop. Big time-waster. I don't need to increase the temptation by putting email/internet in my pocket.
9. Politeness fail. I see people constantly glued to their phones. Head down, eyes squinted and glazed, both thumbs scrolling... completely distracted. No thanks. How about saying. "Hi" and staying engaged in the conversation the whole time?
8. "I can Google anything, anytime." Great, now we think we're experts on everything (not even close). I like putting my senses to work and exploring the world to get some answers. Might not get an answer in .0023 seconds, but my brain = superior search engine. Try asking a human expert and traveling more - works pretty well and you'll remember it better.
7. Battery fail. If used to its full capability, most smart phones don't last very long (maybe 1 day). Good luck traveling or trying to enjoy nature. My "stupid phone" battery lasts like 3 days no problem. "Stupid phones" FTW.
6. Read/note fail. When reading books, most notably the Bible, via smart phone, you're just limited. You can only view a couple of verses at a time, it's difficult to gain a greater scope of the passage and you can't read and take notes on your phone at the same time. Somebody please figure out a better way. Thanks.
5. Patience fail. In the world of BBM, IM, texting - people expect instant replies. If not? Instant memory loss and instant flare ups. Instant gratification much?
4. ADD fail. With hundreds and thousands of applications available for use on smart phones, people are way too distracted. We're fickle and forgetful as is and are terrible multi-taskers. Currently, smart phones don't help us get more focused, just more distracted.
3. Memory fail. When was the last time you memorized anything? Birthday, phone number, email address... I used to have everything memorized. Now my brain is mush and I need to rely on things like Facebook, GoogleCalendar to remind me. No WiFi access + Battery fail + Power outage = memory blackout.
2. Awareness fail. Ear phones plugged into ears, hoodie over head, eyes averted, thumbs on smart phone screen = isolated hermit. Lots happening in life, but we miss out behind our technology/social media walls. Not to mention, pesky unaware pedestrians who almost get hit by car drivers who are texting. Sigh.
1. All your eggs in one basket. If you lose your smart phone, you are screwed. For example: Banks and credit companies are trying to make it so that you can pay for things with a swipe of your smart phone. If you steal someone's smart phone, you'd have access to... everything. No thanks. Go ahead and take my cellphone, identity thieves, you won't get squat... Sucker!
All joking aside, I don't really have anything against smart phones and "technology". They're fast, can do tons of things "regular" cell phones can't, and can make life easier and more efficient. And they're awesome in helping people stay connected.
In most cases, it's not the technology itself that is the "issue" - it's undisciplined, inconsiderate people that give technology a bad rap. Myself included. We the people have the responsibility and choice of how we use our resources.
"Look at this stuff, isn't it neat?" - Ariel
Yup.
Fast forward a year from now... and I'll be a smart phone slave too. Sigh.
Oh the irony... end blog post.
