The Smart Phone

I think I’m one of the last persons on earth to still own a regular, no-frills cell phone. I got an iPhone two years ago, but since I had no reception on the 50^th floor where I lived, using it was exceedingly frustrating. I took it back the next day and got my regular, “dumb phone” back. 

One month from now, I will have fulfilled the two-year enslavement contract and I’m ready for my smart phone now. During the past two years, I’ve encountered more and more situations when a smart phone would come in handy.  Ordering Thai food online to be delivered while riding home on the bus has a coolness factor that I can’t even begin to fathom. 

However, I truly hope I don’t turn into one of these people who leap onto their smart phones every chance they get. I’ve seen folks yank ‘em out while standing in line at the grocery store, while walking across the street, and during concerts.

Of course, everyone on the bus or train endlessly smart-phones away.

But at what cost? Have we lost the ability to daydream; to truly experience “down time” anymore? 

I have a sinking feeling that the human capacity to engage in profound, reflective thought will be a thing of the past. Had Descartes an iPhone, I doubt that his brilliant “I think, therefore, I am” would have ever been realized.  

Has the age of smart phones dumbed us down?

I know one thing. Whipping out a smart phone at church during the first scripture reading is surely a recipe for eternal damnation.

I’m almost sure of it.