The Power Of The Phone

Around three weeks ago I discovered that dropping your phone down the toilet is not a laughing matter - well, if its yours. My brand new super skinny, super flattering Topshop jeans were so skinny and flattering that I forgot my phone was tucked into my back pocket and so when I pulled my jeans down, my phone fell down too. Although I threw it into a bag of rice straight away (I was running round like a maniac for about thirty seconds), it broke and I lost all of my pictures, videos, contacts and pretty much anything else that defines you as a person. Until it had broke, I had no idea how much of my life and memories were on my phone - and it sort of scared me. How could such a little, breakable piece of technology have so much responsibility in my life? I trust this little device to store all of my pictures and videos for me, to deliver me messages and emails on time, to remind me of birthdays and holidays and to keep all of my numbers and contacts in one safe place - things I wouldn't even trust my own mum to do. So how did we all come to trust these little devices and grant them so much power in our lives? And if they break, where do we go from there?

[Image sourced from Google: Banksy's Mobile Lovers]

Don't get me wrong, I love and need my phone as much as the next person. My Uni timetable is even on there (yes that's right, I don't even know where my lectures are without a phone) and, being a blogger, social media and news apps are important. But how did we get to the point where our lives literally revolve around pieces of technology? Why is it so unheard of to pick up a pen and write down someones number in an address book, or to take a picture on a film camera and then own the physical pictures? I worry that when I come to have my own children, writing won't even be a thing anymore. Will they read, and get to experience that gorgeous new-book smell, or will they be greeted with screens and more technology? Will they write and send postcards when they go away, or will they just upload pictures to Facebook? Will their confidence and self love be based purely on how many likes they get on social media? The world is moving and advancing so quickly, it's hard to keep up. Losing my phone and all of it's contents has opened my eyes to just how dependent we are on technology - and the worrying fact that if that technology breaks, we have nothing.

This month I'm going to try so much harder to pick up a pen and write things down, to read and enjoy physical books, to walk around and take pictures and memories with my eyes and mind - because that's much better than staring at a screen, right?