Welcome to Modern Life!

Well, here we are again with another Single-Post Project post. It wasn't all that long ago that I wrote about the modern world and there are plenty of other topics I could tackle, but at the moment, this topic just stood out.

I think part of the attraction is the fact that the modern lifestyle has so much to offer. I can meet and connect with people all over the world. I can talk to them in real time or we can message back and forth. We can connect via video or audio or text in a way that would have been called Science Fiction twenty years ago. However, it's all real, and we have it right here in our own little handheld devices as well.

I just got thinking how so much of what we currently have looks like something out of Star Trek. (I watched a few shows about it.) You know, Star Trek's communicators are like low-tech cell phone, and things like that. So what about those tricorders that could do body scans and all sorts of other strange things. I'm really just wondering if there's a tricorder app out there. (OK, I looked it up and if you have an Android phone, you can download a tricorder app.)

So, yes, we are doing all sorts of new and exciting things thanks to our ever improving technology, but does it really make our lives any better? There was a time that I was addicted to Facebook. Then I started connecting with random people on Tumblr and that's where I spend most of my time. I'm not sure where I'll end up next.

I had a similar situation with my cell phone. I've had a cell phone for a long time and when it was time to replace my phone earlier this year, I decided that rather than try to find a suitable replacement for my old LG Chocolate, I would invest in one of those new-fangled smart phones. I wasn't excited about it, and I didn't really expect it to change the way I used my phone, but now I'm complaining that my phone isn't smart enough.

Technology is changing at a rapid pace and who knows what the future might hold. I doubt I'll ever see a flying car, but I'm sure that what we do find in the future will amaze us. I look forward to seeing what is in our future even if I'm worried that we may not really be ready for it.

Why is my smart phone so dumb?

When it comes to mobile phones, all the advertisements are focused on smart phones. It basically boils down to a variation of the school yard argument. The only difference is that instead of "My dad's stronger than yours," it has become, "My phone's smarter than yours." I love technology, and while I'm definitely behind the curve when it comes to the latest and greatest, I thought I knew enough to find a phone that would be able to handle all my needs.

I did forget one specific aspect of my personality though. I'm a very curious person. I like to explore what different devices are capable of doing. Once I have something new, I like to try out all of its features and components. Fortunately, I've gotten past the point of taking things apart to see how they work. That never turned out to be a good choice on my part.

When my contract with Verizon came to a close this summer, I started looking at the phones I could get for free with my new 2-year committment. I wasn't sure what I would be doing in the Fall. I'd just graduated and wasn't having any luck finding a job. I'm still making due as a substitute teacher. I didn't think I could afford to get a phone with too many bells and whistles, but I was curious about the newer phones.

The biggest problem was the data packages. The last thing I needed was a lot of extra expense for a data package I might not even use. After all, if you're around a wireless signal you probably won't even be using the data package. I eventually decided on the LG Chocolate Touch. This had a lot to do with the fact that I've been using the LG Chocolate phone in all of its incarnations.

 I love most of the features on the phone. It works great for calling and texting, and the touch screen works fairly well. My favorite part is how easy it is to load music. In the past, I always had to take music from my iTunes and move it over to Windows Media Player before I could put it on the phone. I also had some issues with Media Player not wanting to stay open. Now it's just a simple matter of copying and pasting the files from one folder to another.

That's not what I'm here to talk about though. I think my smart phone is not as smart as some of the other phones. It can certainly handle all of the basic phone functions, but I have some serious issues trying to use the internet on the poor thing. I have to go through about eight steps to get to Facebook, and once I'm there I can't follow any links. The screen just goes white and pretends to load. I can't get anything from YouTube, and half the time I go to click on something the screen changes and I go to the wrong place.

I'm afraid my phone isn't smart enough to be classified with all the other smart phones. Maybe I can get a tutor for the poor thing or some other method to help it get a little smarter.