Seduced by the iPhone

I don't hate cell phones, blackberrys, palm pilots, bluetooth or any of that stuff. I'm just disgusted with how people become enslaved to it. Bring back the second hand smoke, I say. It's much preferable to the zombies running around glued to their inane digital chattering devices.

I hate that I can no longer be anywhere without some asshole's ringtone going off. I hate idiots who speak into their phones in something akin to a bellow so that everyone around them has to listen to them prattle about nothing for ten minutes. I hate soccer moms holding up traffic because they can't steer their SUVs while yakking on the damn cell phone. I hate riding my bike on a stretch of nature trail and seeing someone stomping along, ignoring the outdoors and staring at a cell phone and texting. I hate people that play with their phones and call people without having anything to say whenever they find themselves at an airport or alone with nothing to do. I think people are already afraid to be silent and do nothing because they might reflect on their lives and not like what they see. Cell phones make it easier for people to avoid themselves by keeping 'busy'.

I love technology, but I hope I am someone that uses technology and does not let it use me. I actually turn my cell phone off and leave it off for days - even weeks - at a time. When I went on vacation and my boss asked for my number in case he had to contact me, I said 'NO!' I do not twitter, because I do not give a crap what anyone is doing every minute of the day. It's all I can do to keep myself interested in what I'm doing every minute of the day! So, in short, I am not interested in being 'connected', and my efforts remain unconnected have done nothing to hamper my relationships with friends and family or to hurt my career.

So now that I've outlined my gripes about the misuse of technology, let me make it clear that I am not a Luddite. I love the iPhone!!!!! I have two friends who have one, and I want one. Mind you, based on the above commentary, it's clear that I do not need one. This is sheer Veruca Salt styled consumer acquisitiveness. I want an iPhone! I want it now!

I love how the Internet, GPS, cell phone, .mp3 player, photo album, (to an extent) your computer, and who knows what else can all be held in your hand in one device. I love how you can use your finger to move stuff around. I love the look of it, the ease of it, and the convenience of it. In short, I am being seduced by the iPhone. Of course, I may yet realize that I do not need this toy and that buying it is a waste of money, but I think this is unlikely. Once I glom onto a bit of technology, I go all the way immediately. For example, within a few weeks of getting my iPod I got the speaker to go with it, trashed my stereo, almost never bought another physical CD, and fervently championed that people should be free to burn or share or steal music because it's a form of free advertising for the artist.

Who knows what will become of me if I heed the siren song of the iPhone. Probably nothing, now that I think of it. For no matter how entranced I become with the iPhone (or anything else), the spell will undoubtedly be broken when the latest Black Eyed Peas ringtone goes off to announce that my second cousin's aunt just fed her cat!