I have to say, I'm nowhere near that bad; in fact when I lost my phone a few weeks ago, I really didn't care. Hardly anyone phones me on it, I have one app (Shazam, which I never use) and no music (I-Tunes account messed up).
I have also stopped videotaping quite as much as I used to; I mean, where does it end up? In my case it either stays in my phone or gets transferred to my computer, never to be seen by anyone other than me. The videos are all of the kids and guess what? They never ask to watch them. Anyone else ever wonder if there's any point to all this "recording of history"?
And what's with the "selfie" trend? Do people really want to see your face every time you take a bite of something delicious or meet a friend for coffee. I definitely don't do selfless - I'd bore everyone to death in less then 48 hours. Hey FB friends - this is me on the walk to school, this is me when I got back, this is me thinking about working out.... See what I mean? And just how does one take a selfie without highlighting all the bad bits? I suddenly develop three extra chins and age about 30 years in every one I've ever attempted. (They go straight to the trash thingy, by the way.)
Anyway, just something to ponder..... It's Monday after all.
I couldn't agree more.
ReplyDeleteThese things are like drugs, and we justify their cost and existence by always checking them. We become slaves. It makes me sad when I see people always looking at their phones when they are with other people!
(I just got rid of mine so I'm feeling a bit self-righteous)
:-)
My husband's a bit too attached to his phone. I have to tell him off for using it at the meal table or other inappropriate places. I want to take the thing, throw it on the floor and jump up and down on it until it's smashed into tiny pieces.
ReplyDeleteI have an old flip-open phone which I love because it fits neatly in my pocket and the screen's on the inside so it doesn't get scratched. I have the laptop or my Kindle for internet - I don't need to be constantly online.
Even my 16 year old son thinks that while the mobile phone was a great invention, the smart phone was a dreadful step backwards for humankind.
It's like those people that record a pop concert on their phone instead of just enjoying being there (this happened in front of me when I saw George Michael, Elton John, Robbie Williams to name a few). Mad!!
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to enforce the new commandment: "Thou shalt not bring media to the table" at tea time in our house - and I'm talking about my husband!
It can be really annoying!
ReplyDeleteI don't ever use my camera on the mobile but then my phone is a bit prehistoric by most standards, I think.
Maggie x
Nuts in May
While I do love my phone and would have been a bit manic if I'd lost mine for as long as you did - I'm old fashioned in that if you are in the company of other people, you focus on them. If you are in the midst of a fabulous event (concert, party, whatever) you focus on that and the phone stays put away.
ReplyDeleteIt's basic manners. Something which seems to be lacking in most people today.
That video was so, sadly true; I can't count the number of times my wife and I have been out to dinner watching people at the other tables ignoring each other and peering at their phone screens (or worse, talking on their phones to other people).
ReplyDeleteI have a phone, but it does not have a camera, or video recorder or an iTunes link or anything--it just makes calls. What a great innovation; I wonder why someone didn't think of that before ;)
Before I moved to Seoul, I used my phone for things like calling my son to ask him to pick up his brother from soccer practice, or coordinating dinner with my husband when he was flying in late from a meeting. I often forgot to charge it, and kept it on 'silent' for days at a time (no one called me on it.) In Korea, however, I have no home phone (few people do - everything is mobile here) so my mobile is now the only way people can reach me. Here in Korea, texting is also used as a primary means of communication: you get reminder texts when you have dr. or dentist appointments and some schools actually have an automated service that texts parents once their children have arrived at school. In addition, I keep my calendar on my phone, and I have an app to help me navigate the subway, another app that tells me when the next bus will be arriving (very nice in winter when temps are subzero.) When you ride the train or go to the movies, you order your ticket online and show your proof of purchase (which has been mailed to you) to the conductor or ticket taker. I could go on (actually I already have) but my point is: when I was a suburban mom in the USA, I didn't really need my phone, and here I use it all the time. I don't take many videos, but I do snap a lot of photos (no selfies) of things that catch my attention as I'm going about my life. I still think it's a shame if people ignore each other in real life in favor of a piece of technology, but as Gigi says, a lot of that comes down to basic manners or lack thereof.
ReplyDeleteThat video is brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI always used to have a rubbish phone so texting and calling was about all it could do. I've now got a smartphone and decided not to install twitter or facebook or any apps at all - so it works exactly the same as my old phone! Sound idiotic but I was worried I would become addicted to using it. I love my iPad and love to browse FB and twitter at home. On holiday I like to use a normal camera and mostly wait until I get home before I share. But I can see how all those scenarios in the video are possible.
Re: videos of children that no one ever watches again... They will be very valuable to one (or more) of those children some day. I feel very lucky that, 40 years ago, a neighbor took home movies of his children that happened to include myself and my siblings. His children have generously shared copies of these movies (now on DVD) with me and they are truly treasured.
ReplyDelete