The Smart Phone Rebellion

Rebel without a cause.

That’s what some people think I am. That I have a need to rebel against anything and everything, just for the heck of it. And so goes the story with smart phones.

That’s not exactly true.

Which part, you might ask?

Well, all of it.

I mean, I am a rebel, yes, but I don’t think anyone rebels without a cause. There’s always a reason. We just may not do a good job of articulating it, nor feel the need to do so. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a reason. You just need to dig deep enough.

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, my rebellion doesn’t actually apply to smart phones. I rebel against things I don’t like. I have nothing against smart phones. If anything, I think they’re quite fabulous.

Okay, all those of you shouting LIAR!!! – calm down. Let me explain.

It’s like crème brulee [you know, that fancy French dessert with a million accents on the words]. Well, I had never tasted one. And that was fine. But then one day, in my final year of undergrad, I made the mistake of going along with a friend to a fancy wine and cheese party where I knew no one, and had little else to do other than try out their fancy desserts. And that was when I tried it. And Oh. My. God. It was the best thing I had ever tasted.

From that day on, I developed a craving for crème brulee that I could not suppress for several months to come.

You get what I’m saying?

Okay, so maybe crème brulee isn’t the best analogy for a smart phone. Let me try again. No food this time.

Facebook. Now that’s a simpler and more relatable example for many, I’m assuming.

Let me say this straight up: I’m addicted to Facebook. And I’m well aware of that addiction. With most of my friends living in a physical proximity that makes it difficult to meet on a daily basis [or a yearly basis, for that matter], Facebook to me is the easiest way to stay in touch with people. [Of course, along with the world of virtual communication comes the world of virtual narcissism, but that’s a discussion for another post].

The point is, I joined Facebook in my early undergrad days, when the novelty excited me. Today, I’m hooked on to it, and I can’t unhook myself. Often, I find myself spending more time on my laptop than talking to people, and that’s scary.

And that’s exactly why I don’t want to get a smart phone.

Think about it. Probably 80% of my family and friends live in different cities and countries from me. And if I spent most of time whatsapping them or bbming them or vibering them [is that a word???], I’d have little time left for the people who are physically present in my life. And I know it’s a matter of choice in the end, but I’ve seen from my experience of Facebook what happens to my will power and choice when I’m put in front of social media.

So you see the problem? If I ever do get a smart phone, I know I will get addicted to it faster than Facebook and crème brulee [okay, maybe the last one is a stretch]. And once I do, I can completely see myself joining the hordes of people sitting across each other and texting away on their phones the whole time.

Somehow, I’m just not ready to go there yet, because I know there’s no coming back from that point.

To summarize, I’m not rebelling against smart phones because I think they’re bad. I’m running away from them with everything I’ve got, because I think they’re bloody brilliant. And it's not easy. Imagine me running away from a platter full of creme brulee, only a million times better. It’s a battle of will powers. And it’s a lost battle, I know that. One day, soon enough, my will power is going to break down, and I am going to give in to the dark side of the force.

But until then, I’m going to keep running.