My New Phone

I've never been the type of person who has to be the first one to get the latest gadget. It seems to me that when things first come out they are over-priced and still have problems which need to be worked out. I was one of the last ones in my group of friends to get a cell phone. I can still remember the days when people used to swear they'd never get one - that they were a waste of money, a deterrent to good communication and a sign of the end of civilized society. Well, few of those people have lived up to that vow. It's practically become a necessity now if you want to be a fully functioning member of society.

So, after a series of phones over the years, each one a slight upgrade from the last, I decided to splurge and get one of Google's G1 phones. Remembering my frustration in learning how to use my first cell phone, I kept it in the box for about two weeks before finally retiring my old Motorola and cranking up this intimidating piece of technological sorcery.

Since I'm a Mac fanatic, I had originally wanted an iPhone, but my cell service had a deal on the G1 that I couldn't pass up. It was Macintosh which first got me to view the computer as something more than a futuristic mental torture device. The intuitive ease of use with an Apple made work feel fun instead of boring.

So my fear was that the G1 was going to be an instrument designed by some left brained techno genius who assumes the rest of the world also thinks in computer coding language all day long. To my surprise, the phone turned out to be amazingly easy to learn. There was no 10,000 page manual with mind-numbing tutorials. Just a simple little booklet pointing out all the fun features that can be used.

Now with an instrument I can fit in my pocket I am able to make phone calls, send messages and IM, surf the internet, watch YouTube, download and play music, access maps to just about everywhere, check my email, tell time, scan bar codes to compare prices, shoot videos, do photography, record audio, get up to the minute news updates, check the temperature and weather, check the lunar calendar and much more. There's a list of available apps that I couldn't even find time to go through and most all of them are free. Hell, I'm starting to wonder if it can floss my teeth and cook me dinner too.

Today as I was exploring this phone I began to wonder what my fear and loathing about cell phones and technology in general was all about. I don't see people communicating less because of new technology, I see them communicating more. Information is accessible to anyone with an internet connection. What was so good about the days when we were kept in the dark and ignorant? Those were the days when only the largest of corporations could afford to send their messages to the masses. Now anyone who can type or talk can do it. Sure, much of what is being put out onto the internet may be considered junk by most. But who is qualified to judge that? Would we rather go back to a handful of wealthy media outlets deciding what is true or qualifies as good enough to have a voice? There may seem to be an overwhelming amount of information coming at us, but the human species is resilient and strong. We're becoming more educated and we will adapt to change.

Change is frightening, but it is also exciting. Without change we will stagnate or go backward. It's understandable that many people long for a simpler time when one didn't have to deal with all this confusing technology. But do we really want to go back to those days or are we just idealizing them? Does anyone really want to go back to living in a world where diseases, bigotry, stifling social customs, child sweat shops, and dictatorships were the norm? Certainly technology has its own dangers. I wouldn't want to live in the world portrayed in The Matrix either. But there have always been naysayers with every development. When the printing press first came out there were people who really believed it would be the downfall of civilization. That seems ridiculous to us now, but I have a feeling that one day they are going to look back at us and think how silly we are spending so much time and energy trying to avoid progress. One can complain till their last breath about the evils of all this technology, but it's not going to stop it. All that will be accomplished is the one doing the complaining is going to be left behind and find themselves in an ever-shrinking world.

A few years ago I never would have dreamt I'd be writing these words. Some days I even wished I were Amish. A horse carriage and a hammer I could understand, but the intricacies of trouble shooting computers seemed an impossible task. I grew up watching the original Star Trek and thinking how cool it would be to have one of those flip-top communicators. But my feeling was that it would be several hundred years before we saw such things in common use. Well, that time is here now. These new innovations are neither good or bad in themselves. They are simply tools which can be used for any purpose we choose. Instead of fearing them, why not take advantage of them and build a better world? We needn't feel at the mercy of these wonders. Instead, we need to take control and use them accomplish whatever it is we desire. My life has only gotten better by all this and far from being frightening, it seems to become easier each year to learn all these new innovations. I'd be interested in hearing other thoughts on this subject so please feel free to comment.