My samsung galaxy s2 decided to throw a tantrum and give up on me completely a couple of months ago. An easily repairable issue with the micro USB port gave me an invaluable opportunity to measure the level of dependency I had on the ailing piece of sophisticated machinery. I decided to let it slide and take it slow on the repairing process. Here I present some introspective observations.
1. Apathy: The trade off was spectacularly bearable. Specifically they are:
What I did not necessarily miss: The midnight pings from the assorted range of peer pressure induced messenger apps. Surprise! I do not miss being in constant contact with the posse and I could now successfully refrain from sending out the cursory "have you had dinner" every night. Not to sound ungrateful, but I am pretty sure my virtual friends are perfectly capable of three square meals a day without me asking about it. There is also the impulse (also peer pressure induced) to let the world know about the beautifully laid out breakfast which is so much better inside my tummy than on plates peppering the instagram feed. And also the frequent notifications that a person in my virtual circles has found a new place to get drunk and meet the ladies (this might be slightly attributed to envy.)
What I might be missing, but have found alternatives: The beautifully laid out playground of time killer apps and the addictive simplicity fronting the convoluted machinery. I play games on my laptop now, rathering than crushing candies and participating in the violent post modern cultural norm of chucking angry looking birds at pigs. Now I happily kill dragons with my choicest daedric weapons (note: Skyrim reference for the uninitiated and uninterested) dressed like a proper medieval hero.
What I do miss: My music player! The carefully picked and perfected playlists of my auditory indulgences. That perfect playlist for the morning walk to the office. That perfect poop time playlist, without which the plumbing goes on a self imposed break. That perfect nap time playlist without which sleep is a grumpy girlfriend. That perfect playlist... goes on for quite a couple of blog posts. Woe is me in this regard.
2. Profound perspective on the world: Well for one, I started realising there is a less solipsistic approach to the world. There are people who needed help on the roadside, there are blind people who are in need of a guide through the puzzles presented by the road traffic. Well who am I kidding, there are those well endowed creations of providence (cute girls!). And the trees are brilliantly greener, and that driver who would have had to do a 'Fast and Furious', previously, to avoid hitting me is happily driving away and not at all glaring or yelling at me. All of this appeared in a gush of successive epiphanies. The world is more beautiful though our eyes directly than through the filter of a secondary screen.
3. Conversations: I started indulging in the subjectively prolific exercise of actually talking to people. It is like a MMORPG in itself. The careful real time navigation of choices presented through ones vocabulary, the application of which results in the opening up of more possibilities. It is quite more interesting when this is real time rather than with the time frame relaxation afforded through an electronic medium, no cheat codes in life my friend.
4. Indulgences: Indulgences now differed in terms of the medium and form of acceptance. The laptop screen afforded the luxury of the occasional movie, which are quite nicer than the tedious virtual conversations, thoroughly more entertaining! But for the clincher of the title, the icing on the cake: I started reading again! Whoooo, thorough intellectual and literary orgasm! No amount of extensions to that proclamation would justify the satisfaction.
5. Re-establishing connection with the self: Contemplations and thought trains started bringing in more intellectual goods and sweet realisations. Quite satisfying this, I must tell you my friend, the feeling of actually having fruitful thoughts and musings rather than those induced by somebody on whatsapp telling me that they are going to watch How to Train Your Dragon 2.
All in all, I might still get my phone repaired. But I am pretty sure it is only because a new portable music player of relatable quality is exponentially more expensive than fixing the perfectly good one that my super awesome mega feature filled phone offers.
1. Apathy: The trade off was spectacularly bearable. Specifically they are:
What I did not necessarily miss: The midnight pings from the assorted range of peer pressure induced messenger apps. Surprise! I do not miss being in constant contact with the posse and I could now successfully refrain from sending out the cursory "have you had dinner" every night. Not to sound ungrateful, but I am pretty sure my virtual friends are perfectly capable of three square meals a day without me asking about it. There is also the impulse (also peer pressure induced) to let the world know about the beautifully laid out breakfast which is so much better inside my tummy than on plates peppering the instagram feed. And also the frequent notifications that a person in my virtual circles has found a new place to get drunk and meet the ladies (this might be slightly attributed to envy.)
What I might be missing, but have found alternatives: The beautifully laid out playground of time killer apps and the addictive simplicity fronting the convoluted machinery. I play games on my laptop now, rathering than crushing candies and participating in the violent post modern cultural norm of chucking angry looking birds at pigs. Now I happily kill dragons with my choicest daedric weapons (note: Skyrim reference for the uninitiated and uninterested) dressed like a proper medieval hero.
What I do miss: My music player! The carefully picked and perfected playlists of my auditory indulgences. That perfect playlist for the morning walk to the office. That perfect poop time playlist, without which the plumbing goes on a self imposed break. That perfect nap time playlist without which sleep is a grumpy girlfriend. That perfect playlist... goes on for quite a couple of blog posts. Woe is me in this regard.
2. Profound perspective on the world: Well for one, I started realising there is a less solipsistic approach to the world. There are people who needed help on the roadside, there are blind people who are in need of a guide through the puzzles presented by the road traffic. Well who am I kidding, there are those well endowed creations of providence (cute girls!). And the trees are brilliantly greener, and that driver who would have had to do a 'Fast and Furious', previously, to avoid hitting me is happily driving away and not at all glaring or yelling at me. All of this appeared in a gush of successive epiphanies. The world is more beautiful though our eyes directly than through the filter of a secondary screen.
3. Conversations: I started indulging in the subjectively prolific exercise of actually talking to people. It is like a MMORPG in itself. The careful real time navigation of choices presented through ones vocabulary, the application of which results in the opening up of more possibilities. It is quite more interesting when this is real time rather than with the time frame relaxation afforded through an electronic medium, no cheat codes in life my friend.
4. Indulgences: Indulgences now differed in terms of the medium and form of acceptance. The laptop screen afforded the luxury of the occasional movie, which are quite nicer than the tedious virtual conversations, thoroughly more entertaining! But for the clincher of the title, the icing on the cake: I started reading again! Whoooo, thorough intellectual and literary orgasm! No amount of extensions to that proclamation would justify the satisfaction.
5. Re-establishing connection with the self: Contemplations and thought trains started bringing in more intellectual goods and sweet realisations. Quite satisfying this, I must tell you my friend, the feeling of actually having fruitful thoughts and musings rather than those induced by somebody on whatsapp telling me that they are going to watch How to Train Your Dragon 2.
All in all, I might still get my phone repaired. But I am pretty sure it is only because a new portable music player of relatable quality is exponentially more expensive than fixing the perfectly good one that my super awesome mega feature filled phone offers.
