Having a cell phone is no longer a luxury- it’s an expectation. Growing up, most kids my age were around adults who carried cell phones (probably in janky cell phone holders connected to their belts). By the time we reached middle school, everyone had one. Although, of course, they were pretty basic phones- flip phone with a camera. All that changed in 2007 when the first iPhone came out. It seemed all of my friends had one, except for me. I still had an outdated Verizon phone.
The iPhone in particular has many pros, alongside minimal cons. Having the Internet at your fingertips is empowering. The closest thing we have to God is the Internet, meaning the Internet knows all, can do all, sees all, and is just waiting for us to engage it. Having these tools at our disposal can also be to our disadvantage. Yes, tweeting on the go or Facebook stalking while waiting for a date is all good and fun, but it also means there will probably be an increase in mindless social media use. For example, if you aren’t comfortable with just waiting for somebody without something to keep you busy, you might just tweet for Facebook about something that’s on your mind without really thinking about the consequences. Somebody may tweet “Ugh, rough day at work. My boss, __________, is such a dick. I can’t wait till I quit after this week from hell.” Now, if somebody from their work saw this and reported it to the dick-like boss, the tweeter would most likely get fired before they got the chance to quit. Although this isn’t so realistic, it could potentially happen.
Not only will having the Internet at your disposal make social media websites more accessible, but I think being able to be reached at all times is wonderful. I feel like the world is safer now that virtually everybody has a cell phone in their purse or pocket. If I were to get mugged I feel semi-confident that maybe somebody would call the police, or maybe get a picture. Probably not, but I like to tell myself little lies about life to make it more comfortable for me. Plus, what if your boss needed you for something? What if he, like, wanted to give you a project at like 9pm and if you did it well, you would get promoted? I think having your phone on you would be super beneficial.
One time I went to see Weezer (ew, big mistake) at the Xcel with my friend. I think I was 15 and she was 16. I was grounded so I didn’t have my phone. The concert was pretty packed, and we were literally front row.
I got extremely hot and everyone behind me kept pushing but there was NO room. It was literally the gate, my friend, and me. There was nowhere to go. Anyways, I kind of just jumped the gate, and tried to get my friend’s attention, but she didn’t see me. I figured we would both leave the front and then watch the rest of the show from the middle. That didn’t really work out. I just went to the top of the venue and bought Sprite and Mike & Ikes. After the show I tried desperately to find my friend, except there was like 13,000 other people running around. Needless to say, we were both freaking out. Then my mother called my friend…..big mistake number three. I got grounded AGAIN for a month for not being responsible. If only I had my phone with me, I would’ve been just fine!
Sources:
I have no concrete source…I just used my common sense. But I’m, like, pretty sure everything is accurate.
