Tuesday, November 10, 2009

iTry, iLike, iScared



Last week's cover of The New Yorker haunts me.

I am trying out an iTouch before I upgrade to an iPhone. I got one free with the purchase of my MacBook Pro (brilliant marketing scheme to get university students hooked on apple). I have been holding off because the ATT cell coverage is only 2/3 as good as Verizon (I know because my husband has ATT and I have Verizon and I am always the one who can get a signal when he can't). I realized that even with only WiFi access to the internet, I have become an addict!

Having a notebook computer was bad enough, enabling me to ignore everyone at airports and dull meetings. But now I can lose myself in my own little world in even more places. The social norms vary all over the place--in Europe it's perfectly acceptable to check your mobile device while at lunch. In fact, almost everyone has one right next to their water glass. Here, we are still trying to figure out what's acceptable and what's rude.

I am setting some boundaries for myself. I want to be totally present in my day to day interactions. And please shoot me if I ever scroll down a screen while taking my kids trick-or-treating!!

1 comment:

  1. You are so right about this. I am always lost in my iPhone and in danger of never actually speaking with someone. That's a great idea to set limits. My friends often check their iPhone as well during coffee, etc. Maybe it's just me!

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