A couple of years back, when I was a college student, cell phones were fast on their way to becoming “smart”, while also being largely a thing reserved for adults. At that time the majority among us sported the basic models while there was a choice few that belonged to the uber cool club of ‘fancy phone’ owners. There were times, when like kids, most of us ‘have-nots’ chanced a lustful glance at those flashy toys – the shiny and sleek bodies, the new fangled flip covers, in built cameras, razor thin breadth- all seemed very attractive, yet rather unnecessary and wasteful.
Fast-forward a couple of years- today every other 10yr old is seen carrying the latest models with the least regard for it. Somehow in these few short years, the features which were once looked upon as unnecessary and wasteful have become a part of our existence today; even our social status is often judged by the phones we carry and a contravention of this odd social convention, is looked upon as offensive by many . I say this because I have been carrying a feature phone for years now and there is barely anyone left from my social circle who has not asked me to upgrade to a “smarter” version. The constant questioning of my intention to continue my allegiance to a feature phone makes me wonder what is so smart about the so-called Smartphones?
The lists of pros which have been pointed out to me seem endless – GPS, Internet access, and all the features that makes your office work easy and so on. When I look at the theory, these phones do seem to be quite useful especially for work purposes, and the GPS seems to be a God given in many situations. But when I look around at the scenes from real life, theory falls short of practice.
Take a cursory glance around any public place and you’ll find most of those present staring at the ever expanding screens of their phones. You don’t even have to look at strangers; just observe yourself and your friends- when out together how many times do you yourself and/or your friends use your phones and for what purpose? If you are like most of us, you probably use it to check your social media profiles, provide check in information, whatsapp a friend, share photographs of the food you have ordered- in short, doing any number of things other than what is right in front of you and what you had set out to do i.e. Engaging with the friends you are hanging out.
The same goes for when you are spending time with your family or even trying to get hold of those extremely rare personal times with yourself. No matter what you do or where you are, the temptation of taking a quick look at your virtual life is ever present; one beep from your phone and your attention is disrupted immediately. Even the much touted work life oriented benefits have their downside as they make you accessible anywhere, anytime and consequently encroach upon your personal life fairly easily.
Then there are a number of other far graver disadvantages associated with owning such gadgets, especially when the owners are underage children. From the stray cases of theft related violence, danger of real time check-in information published on social media sites, to the unhealthy obsession with selfies and the incessant bids for ‘likes’ (which Psychologists are chalking up to a kind of psychological disorder) the repercussions can be many and dangerous.
Thus the smartphones clearly have their own set of pros and cons which make me ask whether we are smart enough to use these Smartphones?
The phones have an endless array of useful features that can indeed make our lives much easier but only when used intelligently.
Today due to the inexhaustible number of features available in phones, making calls or texts (the primary purpose of a phone) has slipped down the priority list, as the general public has many other uses for it. The reason behind owning a cell phone- to reduce the gap created by physical distance is actually backfiring and while connecting us with those far away, alienating us from those right in front us. The temptation to ignore the constant urge to check our mails, facebook notifications etc. are often too much for us and in a sense instead of owning a smartphone, we become owned by one. Thus, till we learn to control ourselves and use the phones more intelligently, it seems the smartphones are a bit too smart for us.
