Wake-up call

If you scan the daily news headlines every day like I do, I'm sure you've seen the little story about the iPhone alarm glitch. Apparently, Apple software encountered some kind of programming error and alarms set for January 1st and 2nd of the new year failed to go off.

Of course there was an uproar. People are posting and blogging and tweeting and fleeting and meeting and greeting and schmeety-tee-feeting about how their alarms didn't go off and they overslept and ohhhh my gosh their lives are ruined.

But as I peruse this little news story, I cannot help but think to myself: iPhone owners, get a clock.

This little "fiasco" just goes to show that the dependency of humankind on technological devices is growing at a rapidly alarming (sorry) rate. I mean, I, too use my cellular phone as an alarm clock. But you know what else I use? An alarm clock. One that plugs into the wall. And works no matter what day of what year it is. I mean, I'm not talking one of those archaic things with hands that actually ticks; it has little blue numbers that digitally display themselves and--ooooh get this--it's atomic. Yeah, remember when that was cool? You didn't even have to set the clock--it did everything itself!

Now people get anxious when they leave the house without their cell phone and then get miffed when its alarm fails to go off. Well, yes, the odds of a programming error occurring are much greater when your entire life is centered around a computerized device.

Don't get me wrong--I'm not trying to criticize people who use smart phones. But don't get upset when some error occurs and your life is thrown off a little bit. I remember when I broke my cell phone in college and had to wait a week for a replacement. At first I was terrified about having to go without a method of constant digital communication, but then after a few hours without my cell phone, I realized that the feeling I was experiencing wasn't anxiety--it was freedom. No more pressure to immediately respond to text messages, to always answer my ringing phone, to always make sure the ring tone is silent during class, to always know exactly what time it is.

The point is, if one day we experience some kind of strange solar flare and all of our cell phones are rendered useless...

we'll still be okay. And I don't think people realize that.

Maybe it's just me. I mean after all, I listen to vinyl records and read paper books and write notes with ink on paper. Up until a month ago, I still had dial-up Internet for crying out loud (yes, it still exists). But I see people who are obsessed with checking their social networking sites every few minutes from their phone, who spend hours looking at profiles on facebook, who play soccer in front of a television, and I think to myself, Just go talk to that person--even if it's on the phone--, or just go outside and play a real sport in the real outdoors!

I just feel as though people are becoming increasingly dependent on technology. It's true, in many cases, that it makes our lives easier and more efficient. But maybe once in a while, we should take a break from technology, even if it's just to reassure ourselves that we can survive without it.