This post is not so much about new adulthood or post-grad life, but it is about being human and negotiating independence in this particular time... The Age of the Third Screen? Is that a thing?
Anyway, I hope it's thought-provoking!
Many of you know that I don't buy or use Apple products, if ever I can help it. I had an iPod Mini, back when those were a thing... And while I remember that brief fling ending in frustration I can't remember why, exactly, at the age of 17 I was so disillusioned. I did still use iTunes (on my Dell laptop) until sometime in the middle of college, when I swore off the brand altogether - and I do remember what spurred me then.
It was the moment Windows Media Player stopped playing the preferred iTunes file type.
In that moment of acute first-world frustration, I realized that Apple was very intentionally selling not a series of products but a lifestyle - a type of person. And I didn't want to buy into something that by design excluded everyone who didn't buy a certain item (or, worse, couldn't afford it).
Of course, it is an absolutely brilliant business model. The dream for any brand. And these days, when the vast majority of people have a personal device, every tech brand is selling a personality, when you get down to it. There's the artsy designer type; the non-conformist; the geek; the loyalist. And Google - Big Brother - The Cloud - is my personal poison. They all have their drawbacks, and are good for different types of things and different uses.
It can also be a very social decision, which device and operating system you use. It is much more convenient to have the same family of devices as your family, the people in your inner circle. (My sister and I bump phones to share photos or contacts; J's family Facetimes. That's going to cause some issues in our marriage, I can already tell!
...kidding. Hopefully...)
But back to the issue. One of the most foolproof ways to get under my skin, to really raise my blood pressure, is to tell me that your iPhone is better than my Verizon Android phone, or any other device I could possibly choose. Drink the Kool-Aid! Go on! I won't mind! (I'm getting worked up just thinking about it.)
But, last fall, I took it too far. I was having brunch with a bunch of friends I hadn't seen in awhile (a few of them Apple users) and we got to talking about those group texts, which only work on certain devices (i.e. not flip phones and certain Android devices, like the one I had at the time). One of my friends joked to me, "OR you could just get an iPhone!" not knowing she had entered delicate territory. I made a sharp reply, basically insulting everyone at the table, which turned into a momentary awkward silence before someone brought up another topic.
Talk about drinking the Kool-Aid. It's funny, isn't it, how in pure hatred of a thing we end up epitomizing the very object of our hatred? I always marvel how people fighting passionately for two opposing sides tend to sound so much the same. (More on that another time...)
Since then I've tried to tone it down. I still won't buy Apple products, but (aside from this post) I'm quieter about it. I'll do my best to steer the conversation somewhere else if you bring it up, and trust me: if you value my good humor, it's better not to touch it. To each our own.
This past weekend, I spent 24 hours with a couple of my college besties. I noticed, about half an hour after I got there, that their phones were just not a part of the gathering. They were not a presence.
And what a shock it was for me to realize just how different that is from my norm. It was hard for me not to think about my phone, or to move it with me from room to room. As the odd one out, I realized how dysfunctional it is for my phone to play such a dominant role in my life, in my relationships and my group gatherings.
Maybe what I should be worried about isn't what phone I'm using, but whether I'm using it at all.
Anyway, I hope it's thought-provoking!
Many of you know that I don't buy or use Apple products, if ever I can help it. I had an iPod Mini, back when those were a thing... And while I remember that brief fling ending in frustration I can't remember why, exactly, at the age of 17 I was so disillusioned. I did still use iTunes (on my Dell laptop) until sometime in the middle of college, when I swore off the brand altogether - and I do remember what spurred me then.
It was the moment Windows Media Player stopped playing the preferred iTunes file type.
In that moment of acute first-world frustration, I realized that Apple was very intentionally selling not a series of products but a lifestyle - a type of person. And I didn't want to buy into something that by design excluded everyone who didn't buy a certain item (or, worse, couldn't afford it).
Of course, it is an absolutely brilliant business model. The dream for any brand. And these days, when the vast majority of people have a personal device, every tech brand is selling a personality, when you get down to it. There's the artsy designer type; the non-conformist; the geek; the loyalist. And Google - Big Brother - The Cloud - is my personal poison. They all have their drawbacks, and are good for different types of things and different uses.
It can also be a very social decision, which device and operating system you use. It is much more convenient to have the same family of devices as your family, the people in your inner circle. (My sister and I bump phones to share photos or contacts; J's family Facetimes. That's going to cause some issues in our marriage, I can already tell!
...kidding. Hopefully...)
But back to the issue. One of the most foolproof ways to get under my skin, to really raise my blood pressure, is to tell me that your iPhone is better than my Verizon Android phone, or any other device I could possibly choose. Drink the Kool-Aid! Go on! I won't mind! (I'm getting worked up just thinking about it.)
But, last fall, I took it too far. I was having brunch with a bunch of friends I hadn't seen in awhile (a few of them Apple users) and we got to talking about those group texts, which only work on certain devices (i.e. not flip phones and certain Android devices, like the one I had at the time). One of my friends joked to me, "OR you could just get an iPhone!" not knowing she had entered delicate territory. I made a sharp reply, basically insulting everyone at the table, which turned into a momentary awkward silence before someone brought up another topic.
Talk about drinking the Kool-Aid. It's funny, isn't it, how in pure hatred of a thing we end up epitomizing the very object of our hatred? I always marvel how people fighting passionately for two opposing sides tend to sound so much the same. (More on that another time...)
Since then I've tried to tone it down. I still won't buy Apple products, but (aside from this post) I'm quieter about it. I'll do my best to steer the conversation somewhere else if you bring it up, and trust me: if you value my good humor, it's better not to touch it. To each our own.
This past weekend, I spent 24 hours with a couple of my college besties. I noticed, about half an hour after I got there, that their phones were just not a part of the gathering. They were not a presence.
And what a shock it was for me to realize just how different that is from my norm. It was hard for me not to think about my phone, or to move it with me from room to room. As the odd one out, I realized how dysfunctional it is for my phone to play such a dominant role in my life, in my relationships and my group gatherings.
Maybe what I should be worried about isn't what phone I'm using, but whether I'm using it at all.
posted from Bloggeroid
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