Last night, I entered a brave new world-the world of smart phones. You may be wondering how I have avoided this trend for so long. One part of me was a little afraid of losing freedom and a certain sense of "hippiedom." The other part of me was just too damn lazy to go to the store and get an upgrade. But, last night when Best Buy sponsored a free-phone-with-contract deal, I was there.
After listening to my fiance debate and/or quiz the Best Buy clerk helping us, throwing out buzz words like "MotoBlur" and "Gingerbread," I signed on the dotted line and took my new phone home. A few minutes later I was adding contacts and e-mail and Facebook accounts to my phone. Then I was making direct dial shortcuts and playing with widgets. Today, I even downloaded my first app (NPR News, for those curious). I also took pictures that got geo-tagged, updated a Facebook status, and did some online shopping.
I'm not quite sure that I won't feel like a sell-out, but it hasn't been that bad so far. My phone is still in the opposite room that I'm in, it's not clipped to my belt, and I haven't had separation anxiety from not using it for the past few minutes. Maybe my reluctance to get a new phone has been pure stubbornness, a trait that I freely admit I possess. Or maybe I've always liked to be just a little different. Either way, I'm going to embrace my new smart phone, customize it as much as possible, and occasionally leave it at home to piss people off. I will not give into the believe that having a smart phone makes me a different person (for better or worse).
For all concerned, I do plan on continuing to go to art fairs, farmers' markets, and any other hippie things I can think of. Maybe the world will balance out after all. . .
