Yay \u2013 I\u2019ve joined the flock! I signed up for my very first cellphone plan yesterday! Yes, it was April Fools\u2019 Day, purely a coincidence, but to my mind at least, entirely appropriate.<\/p>\n
Ever since they became ubiquitous, I\u2019ve looked upon cellphones with disdain, much as I look upon nose rings or fingers-full of rings. No prejudice here; I merely regard them as unnecessary and a potential cause of injury. (I wear no jewellery whatsoever, partly for those very reasons.)<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, they share another characteristic, and it\u2019s to do with stereotypical assumptions.<\/p>\n
A certain cross-section of people assumes that those who adorn themselves with aforementioned \u201cjewellery\u201d operate at an inferior level in life. Also lurking in the background may be a suspicion that such people are threatening or intimidating in some way. I don\u2019t argue for or against this hypothesis; I merely state it as an observation.<\/p>\n
Likewise, a certain cross-section of people assumes that drivers of broken-down cars or single-vehicle accidents have a cellphone, so they don\u2019t stop to see if there\u2019s anything they can do to assist. Also lurking in the background may be a suspicion that a broken-down vehicle is bait to facilitate a roadside robbery.<\/p>\n
As my date of birth fades further in to the distant past, I realize that perhaps I need to be more aware of my personal security and wellbeing. My car\u2019s also getting a little long in the radiator grille, and I grow increasingly concerned that one day it will demand some TLC in the middle of nowhere, and that paranoid passers-by will look at me like I\u2019ve got nose rings and other facial piercings and not stop. Or maybe they\u2019ll assume that I\u2019ve got a cellphone and not stop to offer assistance.<\/p>\n
This matter came to a head as I was planning a solo drive from Okotoks to Vancouver. There\u2019s some pretty long stretches of mountain road on that trip, and without the security of a cellphone, a breakdown or tire blowout could mean a very long walk. Add to that the unpredictability of mountain weather, and the need to join the flock didn\u2019t seem to be so ridiculous.<\/p>\n
But I won\u2019t be mingling with the cool sheep in the flock. I\u2019ll be one of the sheep on the periphery.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve acquired a used iPhone 4s (the 4s was introduced five years ago) and have signed up for a pay-as-you-go plan. Using it will be more expensive than if I\u2019d signed up for just about any other plan, but I don\u2019t anticipate using it except for emergencies\u2014I don\u2019t want to become a slave to a cellphone.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll see how that<\/em> works out! Will I keep to my intention, or will I find that it\u2019s convenient to make that one call that isn\u2019t strictly necessary but will save me a few minutes? And of course, once I\u2019ve made one<\/em> call and discovered that my life has not<\/em> been forever changed, what is there to stop me from making that second one, and the third one and\u2026 And before I know it, I\u2019m racking up big bills and scrambling to sign up for unlimited calls and texts and 5GB data plans, and yes, becoming a slave to my cellphone and realizing that my life has been forever changed.<\/p>\n I wonder if that\u2019s what teenagers having unprotected sex is like? They do it once and breathe a huge sigh of relief when it becomes clear there\u2019s no baby on the way. So they promise not to succumb to temptation like that again, but they do, and maybe they get away with it again. But we know how this scenario can end. They yield to temptation one too many times and before they know it, they\u2019re slaves to both ends of a miniature version of themselves.<\/p>\n Although I\u2019m no teenager and this article isn\u2019t about unprotected sex, it amuses me to continue the analogy. There\u2019s no contra-cellphone pill, and although prophylactics on cellphones might well prevent making unplanned phone calls, explaining to certain of my more catholic friends why my phone is wearing a condom really doesn\u2019t appeal to me\u2014I think it would be a little awkward for all concerned.<\/p>\n But I do need to be led from temptation. In view of the time-stealing potential of my \u201cnew\u201d cellphone, I purposely went for the pay-as-you-go plan because the charges when I do use it are greater per-call or per-MB than with a \u201cnormal\u201d plan. Being a tightwad, this will make me very conscious of the cost of use, and in theory at least, I won\u2019t be tempted to fall into the \u201cplay with the toy\u201d trap.<\/p>\n Once again, let\u2019s see how that works out for me! Maybe I\u2019ll write an update in six months\u2019 time.<\/p>\n For the elimination of doubt (I do like that phrase!), I am not a technophobe. I\u2019m writing this piece in my office\u2014a tiny room that contains four computers with a KVM switch linking them to twin 24 inch monitors, a keyboard and mouse. Also in here are a USB headset, a thermal transfer DVD label printer, network switches and routers, and of course an iphone. I also own an array of professional video and audio equipment (stored elsewhere). I did the research and purchasing myself for all my computing, video and audio equipment.<\/p>\n I am<\/em> however a telephonophobe<\/a>. A very mild telephonophobe if the symptoms are to be believed, but a telephonophobe nevertheless. I\u2019d rather not make or answer phone calls. Even picking up the phone to Mrs. H or the Hatchlings requires conscious effort. With that attitude to telephony, it\u2019s little wonder that I\u2019ve avoided acquiring a cellphone for so long.<\/p>\n Being a telephonophobe isn\u2019t that far removed from a shepherd being an ovinophobe (if that\u2019s the right word!) I\u2019d love to be able to make phone calls as unconcernedly as I make coffee. But while I can still communicate face-to-face or via email, there\u2019s little incentive for me fix the phobia.<\/p>\n People use their phones to make calls, send texts, check email, surf the net, check calendars, take pictures, and do a bazillion other things. However, I can\u2019t get used to the fact that people spend so much time on their phones doing these things because they can<\/em> do these things on one device.<\/p>\n Those bazillion other things include things such as checking Facebook and Twitter feeds, checking other social networks like Linkedin, playing games, and reading numerous forums connected with their interests. These are less necessary tasks than making calls, sending and reading texts and emails and so on, yet they\u2019re all performed on the same device.<\/p>\n When you use the same device for business and for pleasure, it requires conscious effort to separate the two forms of activity, and some people are sucked in to performing discretionary tasks with the same gusto as the necessary ones.<\/p>\n To use a personal example, I spend more time than I can afford reading news websites: I read them on the same computer that I write on. I justify the situation by thinking that the better an appreciation I have of what\u2019s going on in the world, the better-informed I will be, which in turn will make me a more interesting, diverse writer. The result; the frittering away of time\u2014time I can\u2019t really spare (as well as an overestimation of my potential as a writer!).<\/p>\n The iphone 4s will replace my iPod Touch (also fourth generation). The iPod Touch is basically an iPhone without the phone, which I use for all sorts of things, from email to a remote for the Apple TV, from a calendar to a QR Code reader, from a notepad to a timer and alarm clock, and from a web browser to a virtual BIC lighter at concerts.<\/p>\n As a phone, it will get used if I need to call 911 or the motoring association. If I\u2019m on the road and I\u2019m going to be delayed, I\u2019ll call Mrs. H to let her know. If making a call will save me a lot of hassle or a drive or something, I might use it. I don\u2019t intend to use it to call home to tell Mrs. H. that the cottage cheese is on special at Sobeys and does she want me to buy two or three. I don\u2019t intend to use it to call my kids to let them know I\u2019m ten minutes away from their place and then give them a running commentary on the rest of the drive. And I\u2019ll never<\/em> become a text demon\u2014with thumbs the size of mine it\u2019s just not an option.<\/p>\n I guess it was inevitable that I\u2019d get a cellphone sooner or later. I wanted it to be later or never, but changing dynamics have made good samaritans an endangered species on the roads. So I\u2019ve made the smallest commitment I can to being a cellphone owner.<\/p>\n There are more cell phones in the world than toilets, according to statistics published by the people behind International Toilet Day. Although our house has four toilets, until yesterday it only had one cellphone. Now that\u2019s changed, and I\u2019ve become part of that statistic.<\/p>\n How do I feel about it? B-a-a-a-a-a-d!<\/p>\n Do you know any cellphone holdouts? Were you an early- or late adopter? What tales of cellphone addiction do you have? Please share by leaving a comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yay \u2013 I\u2019ve joined the flock! I signed up for my very first cellphone plan yesterday! Yes, it was April Fools\u2019 Day, purely a coincidence, but to my mind at least, entirely appropriate. Ever since they became ubiquitous, I\u2019ve looked upon cellphones with disdain, much as I look upon nose rings or fingers-full of rings. No prejudice here; I merely… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[181],"tags":[36,66,67,68,69],"class_list":["post-276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fake","tag-addictions","tag-cellphones","tag-luddites","tag-technophobes","tag-telephonophobes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/reggothard.com\/kelvin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/reggothard.com\/kelvin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/reggothard.com\/kelvin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reggothard.com\/kelvin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reggothard.com\/kelvin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=276"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/reggothard.com\/kelvin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1603,"href":"http:\/\/reggothard.com\/kelvin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276\/revisions\/1603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/reggothard.com\/kelvin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reggothard.com\/kelvin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reggothard.com\/kelvin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Use Protection!<\/h1>\n
I’m Not a Technophobe<\/h1>\n
Time Stealers<\/h1>\n
What Did I Need the Phone For Again?<\/h1>\n
Summary<\/h1>\n
Your Turn<\/h1>\n