I’ll never forget the first time I bought an iPod. I was standing in a department store, feeling guilty for spending so much money on one device. Images of all the starving children in Africa who will continue to starve because of Western consumerism flashed through my mind like a flip-book.
Any doubt that we were meant for each other, however, vanished in the first moment that we touched. I held it’s slender black frame, surprised by how small it looked in my hand.
My iPod.
I thought about the leather case of CD’s I had back at home, filled to the brim, amazed that they would all fit on this simple, sleek device. It didn’t take long for me to call it quits with my walkman, mix tapes and other lesser devices, and form a bond with Apple that would only flourish through time, or so I thought.
Razr Dreamz
I never really wanted a cell phone to begin with. I called them electronic leashes. I hated the idea that people could get a hold of me at all times.
However, the time came for me to go to college, and my parents wouldn’t let me go without a cell phone. So I bought what was trendy at the time, a Motorola Razr, and learned how to live my life chained to every person that I knew.
I went from phone to phone with little change. I started to hear about phones that played music. “Phones that played music?” I laughed to myself. What, would I pause my music when someone called me?? Why would I need that? I had my iPod and whatever phone came free on my phone plan, and I was content.
Then phones became cameras, I scoffed at how ridiculous it was. The next phone I bought included a camera.
I became a serial monogamist with my phones. Going from phone to phone, brand to brand, new catchy feature to new catchy feature carelessly.
That is until I met the iPhone 4.
After spending years wondering what the purpose of a smartphone was, here I was purchasing one for myself. To be completely honest, I was nervous. How was this going to change my life, and would it change it for the better??
Did I spend more time on my phone?
Absolutely.
I no longer get lost thanks to google maps (well not SUPER lost). If I’m looking for a restaurant, it’s only a google search away. I can book movie tickets, air travel, and even do banking all from my phone, or “mobile device” as they’re now called.
I buried the relic that was my iPod and my topical other random phone at the time, and for better or worse, in sickness and in health, till death do we part, the iPhone 4 changed how I do life forever and I’ve never gone back.
Innovation for Innovation’s Sake
I’ve gone through many models of the iPhone over the years: the 4s was true and sturdy. As was the 5c I purchased after her…that is until I tripped during a run and completely smashed it on the pavement.
I went in to my mobile provider looking for the cheapest option, and found that it was going to be the 6s.
I groaned inwardly because of how large the screen was.
Progress for progress’s sake, is what I thought to myself; especially in those moments when I found myself scooting my hand up and down my phone trying to reach all the different parts of the screen. #firstworldproblems
However, after being able to take better photos, enjoy videos with my friends, and finding that it DID indeed still fit in my pocket, I came to appreciate and understand why the screen was larger.
It became more than progress for the sake of progress, but progress for my sake as well.
How the iPhone 7 is Ruining My Life
After over a ten year relationship with Apple products, I thought I was finally over being surprised by how repulsed I could be by new Apple technology.
And then the iPhone 7 entered my world.
Sure, there’s a longer battery life. Sure, it’s water resistant; I can now safely drop it in the toilet. Hip Hip Hoorah.
No headphone jack though?!
How am I supposed to play music in my car without using an auxiliary cable? Or highjack the playlist at a party by subtly throwing my iPhone on?? Literally everything will need this new technology in order for it to function.
Ok, so there’s a “lighting bolt adapter” to connect old headphones. Woohoo. Another bit I need to carry around. What if I have to charge my phone and I listen to music at the same time, Apple??
Don’t even get me started on those airpods, which I have literally already lost. #biggerfirstworldproblemsthanbefore
I could feel a distance growing between myself and my Apple products.
Was this truly the end?
I looked down at my iPhone 6s, thinking that this could be the last time I was ever with an Apple device.
However, in that moment of deep, personal reflection, I remembered every time throughout our relationship when I feared change and progress. I always catastrophied and thought it was the end, yet here I stand. Still living and still in love with my iPhone.
I gripped my iPhone with new strength.
Every advancement that Apple has made has initially made me uncomfortable, and I even scoffed at the idea of many of their “advancements.” However, it has never taken me long to accept it as the new norm and even prefer the new way of experiencing technology.
Is my relationship with Apple products a healthy one? Or even more to the point, is our relationship with technology a healthy one?
That’s something that only time and perspective will be able to tell us.
For now, I’m happy I’ve chosen Apple and I’m excited to see what waits for us around the next corner of innovation.
