Me and Technology: revision

In previous posts I have talked about technology and how it affects my life, in both good and bad ways. I have mentioned many items that I used on a daily basis to make my life simpler in small ways and not so small ways. For example I have mentioned my laptop, with which I am typing this essay. I told you all how I use it for school and entertainment on a daily basis. Another piece of technology I talked about was my fiancé’s Itouch, which is a touch screen iPod, which is capable of just about anything you could imagine. I used it in my math class a few times to help me with my calculations. I would also use it when I was bored to entertain myself. But there was one piece of technology that rose above the others and that was my cell phone. That is what I want to talk about. I want to explain to what extent I use this device and how important a role it really does play.

My cell hasn’t always been a constant companion. My parents waited till I was in eighth grade to get my older brother sister and I a phone and when I got it I was so excited. The minute I got it I set cute wallpaper up and put a banner saying “Jessica’s phone”. I couldn’t wait till school the next day when I could pull out my phone and let everybody see it. The whole next school day my step sister and I prank called each other trying to get each other in trouble with the teacher. We giggled through all our classes. Now when I got the phone the first thing my step mom told me was to make sure I didn’t lose it or I would be in a lot of trouble so I swore to myself I wouldn’t let it out of my site. But, of course being me, the fateful day came when I would lose it, only it came a week after I got it. I went to the restroom at school one day and took the phone out of my pocket and set it on the back of a toilet so it wouldn’t fall out. Big mistake! I left it. And what do you know; it wasn’t there when I went back to find it when I realized it was gone. I was horrified, in that short week I had it, my phone had already started to slowly integrate itself in to my daily life. This was one of many phoned to come.

After I told my parents I lost my phone I didn’t get a one again until my step sister got a new one and I got her hand-me-down. I didn’t care though, I had a phone again and I was happy. This is when my phone really started to become important. I began to use my phone to not just call family but to keep in touch with new friends I was making in high school. And as time went on my brain’s phone number log began to dissipate. The numbers I had stored for so long were gone away, they simply disappeared. I no longer relied on my memory to remember phone numbers. Now they were a button way. To this day I still use my phone for contact information. I almost never take it upon myself to remember phone numbers unless they are important numbers I would need in an emergency. Actually, the phone I have right now even has a special setting that allows me to mark four phone numbers as emergency contacts so in case something happened to me and somebody needed to contact them they would know who to call. The contact list in my phone is defiantly something that has affected my life, in a very good way. Without it I most defiantly would be in trouble.

Another feature of my phones that I have become quite attached to is the ability to take photos and videos anytime anywhere. The cameras I have had on my phones haven’t always been the best of the best but they are still good quality. I use the camera on my phone for many things. To name one, I use the camera on my phone to take pictures of my cat Earnhardt. Silly as it sounds that is one of my favorite things to take pictures of. I like to take pictures of how big he is getting and send the picture to my brothers. Another reason I like this feature is because I am able to have a number of photos of my fiancé on there that I am able to see anytime I want. It’s really neat to have a portable photo album to look at anytime. Sometimes when I see nice scenes in the sky I like to take pictures of that too. Basically anything I see that I like I will pull out my phone and snap a quick picture. I realize this isn’t a necessity but it’s defiantly a perk I have gotten used to.

One of my favorite features of having a phone would have to be the text messaging capability. I have not always had this feature but in the past year I that I have had it I have felt quite spoiled. The fact that if I cannot get a hold of somebody through a call and I can still relay what I wanted to say is so neat. I must say I text much more often then I call people. Texting is just so convenient. Say for example I am in class and I receive a text message from my little brother asking where the spare house key is hidden. I certainly don’t want to get up in the middle of class and call him. Instead I can silently send him a message back to help him out all without disrupting the class or my professor. A reason I really enjoy text messaging is because it enables me to keep in close contact with relatives I do not live near. For instance, my cousin, with whom I am very close, just moved to Winton with her husband and two young children. Through text messaging I can still keep updated on her and her children. The way we keep updated the most is through picture and video messages. It’s so fun to see her little three year old saying hi and waving to me, and to get videos of what her infant son is learning to do. Another reason I like to text is because it is just so much simpler than calling somebody. When you call somebody there can be awkward silences sometimes and texting is a very easy way to avoid that. Also it is much quicker. When you call somebody sometimes they like to talk and talk and never shut up, not to be mean, but again texting is an easy solution. You simply text what you want to say and leave it at that. I may over use texting sometimes but I love it.

Now maybe after reading all I have written so far you may be under the impression that I am just another cell phone obsessed youngster, but I will have to beg to differ. I feel that I am not obsessed with my phone but that I am able to use it for so many things it just becomes a part of my life. I use my phone as an alarm clock everyday for instance. That’s one good example of something I would use everyday even if it was not a feature on my phone. It just so happen that it is a feature so I use it for that instead of investing my money in a product I don’t need. Something else I would need to buy if I didn’t have my phone would be a calculator. My phone is not only a basic calculator but a scientific one as well able to perform powers and negative equations. Those two tools together can probably cost up to fifty dollars, but I have it already installed on my phone. How cool is that?

The biggest reason, above all else, that I feel my phone is the most important piece of technology is how safe I feel when I have it. I am not the biggest girl around so when I am alone somewhere I feel very susceptible to people if they wanted to hurt me. By having my phone on me I feel as though I have some sort of protection. If anything were to happen could easily call for help. Without it I may be stuck on the side of the road one night with a broke down car and no way to get help, and I feel that would be just too dangerous. I like to be able to contact my family in case of emergencies and I just don’t feel that would be easy with my phone. For me it is not just a matter of being stylish with the latest phone but being safe.

2 comments October 27, 2009