Just when we thought meeting the love of your life meant actually meeting someone and getting attached to their peculiarities, not meticulously studying their LinkedInverse or Facegram stories, the 21st-century chimed in. Front and center of the modern craziness: the smartphone.
From that irksome morning alarm to the "goodnight, I love you" kiss (audibly smooching our palms), one thing remains constant: the excessive, farcical, and often obnoxious smartphone use. So, we must confront the pink elephant in the room while trying not to bump into the light pole checking another Kitty-stuck-in-tree video, requesting you, "Is my smartphone usage unhealthy?"
The Absurdity of Constant Phone Checking: Cerebral Workout or Helpless Obsession?
There is this curiously infectious disease that has taken the world by storm. Its symptoms: a downward bent neck and a vacant gaze glued to a palm-sized high-definition cloth of absorptive diversion. Not Tom Hanks in 'Cast Away', no! It's just another fellow human ignoring the real world, sunk deep into the abstract abyss of touch-and-swipe. This, my friend, is the acute condition of smartphone addiction.
They say the need to survive shapes evolution, but one had to wonder: Do our thumbs really need those calluses from constant pinching and scrolling? Clearly, Homo Sapiens 2.0 responders will be marked by swifter thumbs, bleary eyes, and a knack of walking with their heads bowed, glowing by the phone light.
Master the art, they said, so we did! Now, we all seem to be remarkably adept at participating in the giant antakshari of WhatsApp forwards, scrolling so vigorously as though picking ripe apples from a torrential stream of information, only to toss them away into the bin of Gifs, Stickers, and Memes. Alas! By the time we look up from our phones, the apples in our backyard are rotten, metaphorically and otherwise.
From Morning Alarm to Goodnight Kiss: Toying with Artificial Love
Smartphones: the first thing we wake up to and the last sight before we hit the dreamland. In the era where fossil fuel reserves are declining, surely our affection for smartphones can be used as an unlimited source of renewable energy!
While the beautiful morning sun beckons us with a gentle blush, we, the noble tech-zealots, decide to embrace the blinding white light of our smartphone's screen. Amidst the excitement of the virtual morning jamboree, the real chirping birds outside - well let's hope, they are on Twitter.
Remember when nighttime tales were a thing? They have been substituted by screens showing cat videos and never-ending feeds. As we drain the battery away to nothingness, we are blissfully ignorant of draining our precious time and replaced 'Beauty and the Beast' with 'Browsing and the Best WiFi'.
And a goodnight kiss! No more sweet voices whispering into our ears, but the alarm scheduled on our calendar app, "Goodnight dear, you have a meeting tomorrow at 8 AM."
So, next time you find yourself alone in a room with your beloved smartphone, take a moment, look around, and ask, "Is this a comedy of smartphone addiction or just scripted, digital serfdom?"
Look Ma, No Hands... But All Thumbs
As we dive deeper into this digital abyss, toilet trips have evolved into mini "tech breaks". And let's face it, the technology industry has literally got you by the short-hairs. Trust me, Siri hails not just from Silicon Valley, but also from Porcelain Palace. But keep this under wraps, or we might soon have digital rights activists campaigning for Siri's right to fresh air and freedom from toilet humor.
The Ultimate Date Destroyer
No romantic dinner is complete without the sweet serenade of your partner’s fingertips dancing, not on your hand, mind you, but on their gorilla glass touch-screen. Tinder's left swipes are fought off by Instagram’s right scrolls. So, the next time you’re on a date, and you hear, "Mind if we invite Siri?” don’t be surprised. Welcome to the third-wheel club, my friend. Perhaps it's time to rekindle our long-lost love for love letters and pigeons, eh?
A Tendency to Wander, Digitally
The smartphone frees the mind to wander deeper into the internet, without any tangible destination or purpose. Ironically, the same charge can’t be levelled against our bodies. They remain static, stuck in a seated position, refusing to accompany the mind. If our thumbs could speak, they’d probably beg for a tropical vacation in the Maui, free from the constant scrolling, typing, and swiping.
The Irony of Social Distancing
We have our faces buried in apps, scrolling for an eternity, yet we keep complaining about the lack of time. Minutes metamorphose into hours, yet we persist, swallowing one digital pill after another. Suddenly, social distancing doesn’t seem like a safety measure but more of a pre-existing condition, exacerbated by the technological pandemic. What an ironic twist!
Endnote: A Smartphone Rehab, anyone?
Let's face it, our lives revolve around an object that didn’t even exist a few decades ago. But hey, no judgments, who are we without a dash of hypocrisy thrown into the mix? To smartphone or not to smartphone, that is the question. Maybe it's time to switch to 'airplane mode' more frequently or perhaps get hold of a good-old ‘brick’ phone, in a desperate bid to wrestle back control (Alright, dial it back, it was just a joke!). Before we realize it, we might need smartphone rehab centres.
Until then, keep swiping a carefree road to nowhere. And yes, don't forget to check your notifications – your Plants vs. Zombies needs watering and your virtual cat demands petting.