Me and the “smart phone”

 It has now been 2 1/2 years since I got my first smart phone.
Prior to that I did have a cell phone but I only had a cell phone that was for calls & limited texts only for the last 12 years!
I went kicking and screaming into getting a smart phone and now I don’t know how I lived without it! Sadly I am serious!

I mean not only can I call and text, but I can check emails, the weather, get directions and the recipe for that awesome cake I need! I even have robot Suri who lives in my phone and who has a dude’s voice because I mean I had a phone that talked to me why not make the voice male if I am female?!

And no, I have no idea how I changed the voice!

I have a few apps but I am too OCD to have all those icons on that little screen and I don’t need to keep looking at my dang phone!
My first phone was gifted to me by a close friend because I desperately needed a phone as I was very financially challenged.

One week into it I broke it.

I had no idea how costly they were and my first response when told the cost, was why in the hell would you buy me a $600 phone or get me a $600 phone even if it is insured?

And for the love of all that is holy tell me how much it costs even if we are not “technically” paying for it! I am klutzy but do try to be extra careful with costly items! (Vehicles, nice clothes, appliances, etc.).

I ended up buying it one of those otter box case devices for it so that I could at least drop it without the screen shattering.

I have smaller heart attacks now every time it gets bumped, or god forbid, accidentally dropped.

I should have known.

There are times I feel like I am a slave to my phone.

I know I do not use it to the full extent of what it can do but then, I don’t think I really want to!

The fact that I could, if I desired, to download MS Word and Excel freaks me out.

I want more screen to do that kind of stuff on! My eyes don’t see so good!

It’s bad enough that I can not only type to text message, but also to respond to emails.

The screen of my iPhone isn’t large enough to really type paragraphs.

No I won’t upgrade to those small notepad size “phones”. It is not for me. I can only imagine how much that costs and again, size, me and klutz factor… Not good!

I have recently, like in the past 2 months, realized how handy that talk to text button is. I have also learned Suri and I need a communication class so he doesn’t make up new words to replace the words he obviously can’t understand! I speak just fine with maybe a tish of a southern drawl.

I have found fun apps but don’t have anywhere near as many as most of my friends do.

I also got an iPad several years ago for Christmas.

Did you know you can link those two devices?!

They have a fluffy cloud that stores all of your info too, but there are glitches in that!

I don’t want my boy watching movies on my phone for instance.

That is iPad only.

I do a decent job of keeping them separate since he basically commandeered the iPad! It has more games on it but the majority of those he actually learns things, but don’t tell him that!

It isn’t the Jetsons yet but we are pretty darn close.

I about freaked out when I did face time for the first time with my parents after my son was born. So very cool!

I do actually do a lot of research on my phone. I love the ease of it.

It is smarter than me!

But, you see, I have a confession.

I love my computer, and yes it’s a PC.

I know they have issues, I have dealt with them since the early 90’s but it’s like an old car I know how to repair.

I have a lap top that is so much easier for me to write on.

Plus I can see the screen on a larger detail!

I love typing.

I grew up in the age of typewriters – yes the electric ones that were not computerized!

I have also used an old school typewriter.

Maybe I am a geek but I love putting my fingers on the keys and writing!

Just as I still love putting pen to paper.

I will admit that the “smart phone” has made my life easier.

I will also admit I don’t totally trust it!

I will say that the ratio of wanting to throw it out the window due to malfunction is much less than it was with the old school phones!

I still regularly think of tossing it.

I wish life wasn’t so complicated because we literally have the world at our fingertips.

We forget to slow down, and sometimes we have to even schedule “down time.”

That’s pretty sad.

So while I do love my smarter-than-me phone and I am very, very grateful for it, I miss the old school world.

The ones where you wrote letters, called on the land line phone and if you didn’t get someone, had to call back.

The world where you had to drive around to find places or if you’re feeling adventurous and use a real honest to God map with latitude and longitude.

You went to the library to research information.

Video games were Atari and Nintendo. Yes I am that old and I wasn’t a gamer.

But life is about changes and how we adapt to the world around us.

We now have smart watches, smart homes and all kinds of smart gadgets.

For now I am sticking to the phone, iPad and computer.

I may go dig the old Wii out of the attic for the boy and me to play on rainy days when we are done drawing or crafting and I am sick of movies.

He will have plenty of technology growing up.

He already has way more than I did at his age!

So I try to slow it down when he’s with me.

Watching a movie, mostly on TV but sometimes the iPad, is my worst offense.

And we recently got Netflix!

I do have to keep up with technology so that I can keep up with him.

Like I will need one more pass word to remember!

The boy can already figure out stuff faster on the smart phones and iPads than most adults.

It’s scary but exciting in the big brother/aliens kind of way.

I can do it.

But I can still turn it off whenever I chose.

I am glad we’ve moved “forward” but sometimes we need to take the time to remember the “now.”

How smart is That?!

Stay fabulous my graceless peeps!

P.S. I am listening to the waves crash into shore… we made it to the beach!!!!

 

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