Dependent on Being Independent

After stumbling back to the bar in a drunken stupor, I realized that I'd returned empty-handed. Where was my iPhone? I pushed through the congregated masses and side-shuffled into the sparse areas of the bar to make my way back to the restroom. No iPhone in sight. No iPhone in sight!

I've been without my iPhone for approximately twenty hours now. What's my life to become now, without my electronic personal assistant?

People lived perfectly fine without cell phones. People lived perfectly fine without iPhones. Surely I can make it another day while I wait for a replacement, right?

It's silly thinking about how dependent we've become on tiny pieces of technology. The concept and intention behind developing high tech gadgets seems counterintuitive. We use them to make us more independent and efficient, thereby allowing us to better manage our time and make room for much needed R&R. However, our growing efficacy in time management only leads to cramming more activities into our day. I thought high tech gadgets were designed to make life easier.

Our culture breeds longing for overstimulation and instant gratification. Must we preoccupy ourselves every moment of the day? People can't put their phones down for one second. We iPhone users are the absolute worst. I'll sit at dinner with my friends, most of whom have iPhones. We exchange with each other some wonderful conversation, while we each click at our iPhones, of course. And what about those of us who do not own iPhones? They are mocked and berated, those poor iPhone-less fools. It's good that they don't know what they're missing.

I went to the AT&T store today to decipher my options. I'd ordered a replacement online but dreaded the thought of waiting for its arrival, leaving me iPhone-less for two days. "You already ordered the phone online, and it'll be here in two days," the salesperson replied. "It's too late to cancel the order, so if you want to buy a phone today, you'll have to pay the full $599 and just return the shipped phone as soon as it comes in the mail." Jesus Mary Joseph. No iPhone for two whole days? "You can survive without your iPhone for two days, Ma'am. You will be ok!"

Am I up for the challenge of being iPhone-less for a couple of days? I remember a time without iPhones. My first cell phone was Nokia bulky enough to have given someone cauliflower ear had he or she used the phone too long. It came with three features--phone capability, text messaging, and Snake. My parents paid $30 a month for 30 minutes of service. Nonetheless, though it wasn't exactly the monument of technology of its time, it was way better than Zack Morris' massive walkie talkie.

Mourning the loss of a good friend,
Shopgirl.