While perusing the web and reading the Postsecret blog, I came across this:
Then I got to thinking about how the new iPhone phenomenon thoroughly depresses me, not because I don’t have one but because everyone seems to want one. But why?
We’ve accumulated laptops, cell phones, personal DVD players, mp3 players and a million other technological gadgets, and now we’re told we should own one that combines everything and costs hundreds of dollars. But why?
I still have a dinosaur of a phone, and don’t get me wrong, I’ll be more than happy when it’s time for an upgrade. For now though, I’m glad it’s just a piece of metal with a cover because I abuse it to no end. My cell has been through torturous times (everyday clumsiness, water submersions, plummets, drops, throws). It’s covered in scratches and dents, which I attempt to conceal in a collage of random stickers. Perhaps this emphasizes something about my personality (immaturity?). In the larger scheme of life though, what does it really matter what my cell phone looks like?
I wasn’t going to follow the whole iPod trend either until someone else bought me one. I listen to it occasionally, but given its hefty price, I don’t put it to use as much as I should. Even though it was a gift, I still feel guilty about it.
And who uses a personal DVD player anyway? Loners? Okay, maybe that’s a bit harsh. And I have to admit, there’s one on my laptop, but it’s boring to watch movies with myself. I can’t answer my own ridiculous questions in a thought-provoking indie or laugh with myself in a comedy or hold my own hand in a romance, so what’s the point?
My iBook G4, however, is my life and the best investment I could have ever made. Someone spilled apple juice on my keyboard one time, and I almost died. If it ever melts in a house fire or gets crunched by a semi-truck, I will shed an ocean of tears. How do you back up all the files anyway? I neeeeeeeed to do that.
So the point is… I don’t have one… an iPhone that is, and I’m completely satisfied in life without owning the new, up-and-coming thingamajig. (By the way, Microsoft Word actually suggests the words thingamajig and thingamabob as synonyms for gadget. Pretty nifty, eh?)
As that postcard confession says, no matter what your phone looks like, you’re still going to have the same people calling you (or not calling you). If you’re going to waste that much money, you might as well just buy some new friends.
