It’s 6 am and a working Monday! You stretch your arm out to reach for your smart phone. As you lay on your bed in between sleep and being vaguely awake, the super sharp 6 inch screen lights up your dark room and just a split second before you partially lift your right eye lid, your phone vibrates in a zig zag motion to indicate a dozen notifications from Whatsapp, Clash of Clans , Facebook and Instagram. You are just half way through and darn it’s 620am, time do your thing before you head out to the office.
Through out of the day, you will be accessing a few apps every now and then, namely Waze, Uber, your favourite shopping app, Whatsapp, Paypal, Bloomberg and Facebook. It is almost impossible to keep yourself away from these apps, however if you succeed to do so, I would not congratulate you, instead I would advise you to switch to a USD 15 phone and revert back to sms and phone calling.
Ladies & gentlemen, boys & girls, welcome to the 21st century! And you are highly recommended to do things the 21st century way!
Smart phone growth throughout the globe has been phenomenal, I recall just about 17 years ago, when I was probably a handful Malaysian’s who owned a the Palm V PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) and boy I used to get the gawks, whilst in university, some lecturers even thought I was playing games.
- Palm V PDA
5 years later when I got the Sony Clie PEG – UX50, the gawks even became more prominent and with my patchy beard, which did not help in promoting the clean image i hoped for ,many of my friends thought I was probably busy detonating a bomb.
- Sony Clie PEG- UX 50
On a more serious note, in the time and age we live today, being isolated from our smartphones is almost impossible; because we have grown to be dependent on the services and benefits it offers. The smartphone does offer some pretty good benefits albeit some of the criticism observed.
For starters, it gives us - convenience in communicating and expressing thoughts, a platform to shop, it's a mini entertainment jukebox and 24-7-365 news portal keeping us informed on global news. Getting acquainted with information has never been easier!
Just like how some thought in the past on the television; the “devil’s box”, the smartphone is probably getting the criticism just like how the television did some 25 years ago. Like most other things, we must use this tool in moderation.
Those of us who remember Lindsay Lohan’s statement released post her troubled moments- “ Live every day to the fullest – in moderation”, is perhaps the best advice offered till date by this celebrity and i think you should follow it too.
If you find yourself doing more than 3 of the 7 below, it’s probably time you reconnect with earth the good old fashioned way:
- You only connect through your phone
- Your idea of connecting and communicating is limited to social media
- You text throughout dinner
- Socialising is defined as exchanging thoughts and emotions face to face, if you find yourself exchanging tweets whilst having dinner with friends and family, perhaps it’s time you dined alone as you are not doing yourself any favours
- You miss important conversations
- Whilst you are doing that thing on your phone, and you find yourself unable to pay attention to the conversations on earth because you are simply busy touching your 6 inch, you begin to lose the human connection
- Normal conversations are a challenge
- If one is guilty as point 1,2 and 3, you would soon realize over time that having a normal conversation does not feel normal anymore. Conversations become awkward and seeing real facial expressions is not as cool as the pixelated version. Scarily you even begin to find Adam Sandler's Pixels the most realistic movie you ever watched!
- You need your phone
- There was a time where the mobile phone just stayed with you when you were out of your home,so that your loved ones could contact you with ease. However if you find yourself having withdrawal symptoms,the moment you leave your phone for a charge, well you can safely say that you are a smart phone addict
- You become detached
- When you become immersed in the virtual world , you would soon realize that you prefer to remain in the virtual world, none of your real relationships matter anymore in fact everything else is quickly becoming a bore
- People keep repeating themselves
- How often do you find your family and friends repeat themselves that you were on your phone? Whilst it sounds annoying to you but just imagine how they feel being ignored? At this stage, the only thing that matters is your near 6 inch smartphone
Whether you are a casual smartphone user or an addict, the ultimate decision is yours to make. But if you find the need to protect your smartphone, i have got a recommendation; do check out the Trendy County Automated Store at a transport hub near you for the latest collection of high quality phone covers and powerbanks to keep your smartphone in spanking good shape. Whilst at it, do give yourself a treat by checking out the coloured contact lenses and very cool shades by trying the 3D-Try on feature for a totally virtual experience.
- Virtual 3D try on @ Trendy County Automated Store
- Virtual 3D try on @ Trendy County Automated Store
