Black Berried

It’s so funny how the recent crush of the BlackBerry almost brought users’ lives to a halt. The usual smiles on their faces while they look down and chat away where ever they are was replaced by pissed off and frustrated looking beings who have lost their skills on the social scene. Most BlackBerry users could be identified by the way they gave iPhone or other functional phone users up and down eyeball massages speaking jealousy and if you listened in between those stares you could almost hear them begging for an opportunity to check up on their contacts. I for one am guilty of all the above and more as i felt completely lost and out of touch because all of a sudden I could not check my emails, chat to my friends on BBM or check and update my Face Book or Twitter status. I almost considered getting another phone just to have these services on my fingertips and to feel in control once again.

 It really made me think how technology has crept up from right under our noses and taken over our lives without us even realising how it impacts our day to day lives with the people next to us or right in front of us. We have become so technologified that we have forgotten simple courtesies that our parents instilled in us of looking at people when they are talking and actually listening instead of the common mmhhhhh you hear in some conversations (because someone is chatting on their phone).  I have found how some people often discuss serious issues over the phone as it is easier than doing it face to face which for me is a little bizarre. The first thing we do as we open our eyes and are out of lala land is check their phones and that is the last thing we do before we sleep. Conversating face to face has all of a sudden taken a back seat, “so last year” as others would like to call it and the fact that you can chat with anyone whether they have a BlackBerry or not using Whatsapp is just worsening the situation.

Looking back I really do miss just spending time catching up with friends and family without the constant disruption of the “PING” or a vibrating phone during lunch. I just wish I could sue my service provider for contributing to me getting “Blackberry finger” because I feel that  if my phone is not in my hands , my hands start to twitch literally.

I know that we need to move with the times and I appreciate the fact that communication is now at our finger tips. I just wish just for one day we would have a phone free day, take a step back so that we can relearn the art on interacting in the here and now.