One of my net-chums, Dantallion, recently pontificated on the fact that people are waiting outside in 90 degree plus weather for DAYS in advance for the release of the iPhone (click on his name to read his profound ponderings on this subject).
Now don't get me wrong, it is a nifty little gadget. You can do a lot with it-- listen to music, check your email, surf the web, etc. etc. Heck I wouldn't be surprised if in a year or two a blade attachment were made available for you to be able to mow your lawn with it as well (those of you who have lawns).
But what gets me, at the core of it all, is... IT'S A CELL PHONE!! Why do we need cell phones that can also play music, surf the internet, check email, vote for their favorite singer on American Idol and send text messages (among a myriad of other options)?
Have we reached a point of self-absorbtion where the thought of playing with a high tech toy is preferable to actually reaching out and getting to know other people?
And the service provider for the iPhone is AT&T whose slogan at one point was "Reach out and touch someone." Kind of ironic that they're providing a service that allows people to make themselves far more accessible to total strangers around the world than to the people they come in contact with on a daily basis. The phone is a social tool that is supposed to promote social interaction, but with all these added features that keep getting added to cell phones, these phones are becoming devices that increasingly and alarmingly promote rather anti-social behavior.
The iPhone and other phones like it are social masturbation toys-- plain and simple. And while masturbation may be fun and feel really good sometimes it's not substitute for the real thing. So what are we doing to ourselves in the process? In the grand scheme of things, is it really worth it to close ourselves off from the rest of the world to become totally engrossed in a high priced portable toy?
And Steve Jobs, don't move, I'll go get you a tissue!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
You make a great point - it is just another in a series of "convenience" technologies that by their very nature allow us to become less social with each other. All of it is to prepare us for the ultimate in anti-social technologies soon to be available from Apple (online stores only, of course): iBubble.
I'm personally holding out to buy one until they add the blender attachment.
perhaps it falls under the category of multi-taskerbating?
a blender attachment is a great idea.
personally, i'm with you. i don't get it, don't want one....can live without the bells and whistles. i detest talking on the phone most days.....and why do i want to be tracked down at any time of day?
you know what? i think it feeds the fear people have of experiencing silence........
One more thing to make walking down the street more difficult. I already have to bob and weave through the throng of text messagers.
It's definitely been a media blitz and I can see why people are tired of it. It is "just" a phone. But I bought Apple stock back in November, so I can't say I've been unhappy with the company too much lately.
I totally understand what you're saying.
I also see the appeal--beyond the shallow, "I'm the first to get it" mentality.
When I travel, I carry my iPod (to drown out screaming children on airplanes), my cell phone (to keep up with my business and personal lives), and my computer (largely to check e-mail). If I can get an above average functionality in all three in a pocket-sized package, I'm all over it.
You just won't catch me waiting in line for it. I'll wait a few months ... maybe ....
-- david
I think it's an amazing product. I too could really use something like that. But, it's so darn expensive. I've dropped my cell phone...if I dropped my iPhone, I just might cry.
I'm with the phoenix - it's so expensive for one small gadget. So far I've lost/destroyed two cell phones and they were both expensive to replace.
My friend got one and it is sooo cool. I'm sure it has some bugs, but I couldn't find any.
Post a Comment