Cell Phones As Tools

I truly love technological advances. What's not to love about the ability to use new, more effective tools to organize and streamline our lives or to make certain tasks easier to accomplish? 

Even home entertainment is far better today with affordable, large screen, high-definition televisions, impressive surround sound and digital streaming media. It is always great to move forward and to improve our lives through technological advances.

Cell phones are a part of these important technological advances. We all probably agree that today's cell phones provide us with some amazing and effective tools and, for these very reasons, I've owned a personal cellphone for more than 15 years and I'll continue to own a cell phone.

I've used cell phones manufactured by Motorola, Nokia, Blackberry, LG, ZTE and now Samsung. There is no doubt that my current Samsung Galaxy cell phone is the best phone and mobile tool I've ever used and I really love how well it works as an effective tool, but... it is just that... a tool that I use only as necessary to complement my life.

Today's cell phones are absolutely amazing tools for providing instant access to tools necessary for such things as emergencies, for getting around new locations, for coordinating family calendars and even managing travel plans while traveling.

The sole reason I bought a cell phone about fifteen years ago was for emergencies... not chatting, not texting, not for social media. I had already been using cell phones for work for about a decade at that point so I was already quite familiar with the advantages of cell phones. 

When I first bought my own cell phone fifteen years ago, I had just developed a life-threatening illness called Systemic Mastocytosis which causes anaphylaxis suddenly and for no known reason (among many other debilitating issues). I needed instant access to emergency services no matter where I was located, at any time, so carrying a cell phone was the most logical answer. This purpose remains even today. For emergency use, I certainly believe every adult should carry one with them at all times.

Another use for cell phones is for instant access to GPS and maps. Having this type of instant access packed into a tiny electronic device with audio and a graphic display to easily obtain directions to any location on the face of the Earth is an amazing tool. Instead of a trunk full of maps, I now have all of this invaluable information, organized and easily accessed, in a cell phone which is actually smaller than the size of my own hand. Outstanding!

Years ago, one of the primary sources of constant frustration and family arguments was a lack of communication about family events, appointments and even work commitments. Someone was always forgetting to tell everyone else in the family about one of these commitments and then frustration would inevitably boil over into heated arguments on an almost daily basis. Looking back, unfortunately, unnecessary conflict was the way of life for many families back then (which, even more unfortunately, seems to have been replaced by selfishness, disrespect and rudeness today). Being able to easily and effectively coordinate everyone's calendars is a grossly understated tool for every couple and every family. Since adding cell phones to our lives many years ago, we have coordinated calendars in our own family and it truly is a blessing of first-world convenience. 

For those who travel often and even for those who travel relatively infrequently, having a cell phone to coordinate and manage travel plans is an incredible tool. Sheila and I do a lot of weekends out of town and our cell phones have proven invaluable tools for last minute changes or for quick access to online travel information about places, restaurants, events or anything else. For this reason, I would not want to go anywhere without a cell phone now.

Unfortunately, this is pretty much where the advantages of cellphones end and the drawbacks of cellphones in our society seem to rule. 

In my opinion, "texting" is the scourge of effective communication and intelligence and thus is only a tool of cowards hiding behind a virtual wall. I do admit, however, that texting can be an effective tool for certain quiet environments and situations. For all else, a quick phone call is more effective and, more often than not, much faster than trying to piece together and make sense of cryptic, poorly expressed text messages. 

I absolutely love the art of photography and I am active in photography and videography including the related social aspects of each but using a cell phone for capturing photos or video is like using your fist to drive a nail into lumber... or like using your fingers as a wrench. You must use the right tool for the job and a cellphone is not the right tool for photography nor videography. I will always use a camera for my photography and I cannot think of a single situation where I would prefer to use my cell phone. I'll use the right tools for the job, thank you...and that is my photography gear.

Photo courtesy of Samsung        

To be fair, I should point out that Samsung came close to providing an ideal camera/smartphone hybrid in their Galaxy S4 Zoom. Generally speaking, though, cellphones are not the right tool for photography or videography. That being said, I'd consider using that Galaxy S4 Zoom in some situations though! (And, Samsung has newer hybrid models as well.)

Having your head buried in your cell phone all day long or sewn to your hand every few minutes because you cannot detach yourself from social media (including the hundreds of pointless texts from friends each day) is a colossal waste of time, energy and life. Social media is a wonderful tool for keeping in touch with family and friends spread out throughout the world but it should never demand most of our time nor rule our daily lives. Check your social media accounts once a day and then go out and live life. Personally, I do not have any desire to access social media on my cell phone. Life is too short so I'd prefer to be participating in the world around me.

The general public now has their heads buried in their cell phones... walking around in public like zombie lemmings... driving like complete morons and making drunk drivers look like a mild nuisance by comparison. Far too often, people with cell phones are a public nuisance and a serious safety hazard. Get your heads out of your cellphones, put them away out of view and join the world around you.

The general public today is constantly texting and subsequently showing their true intelligence levels. By showing example after example of their unique writing skills, they clearly show their intelligence level in their ineffectual and ineffective attempts at communication as well as through their elementary grammatical errors and even more atrocious spelling. A significant portion of our society today seems to be addicted to having their heads buried in their cellphones, literally twiddling their thumbs, avoiding life around them and the life they actually could live. Quite simply, I do not understand this trend.

Unlike most people today who are totally absorbed in the virtual world of their cell phones, when I was finally old enough to head off on my own and do all the things I always dreamed of doing, I did just that! I truly wanted to do things, to accomplish things, to live the most active life I could while I could. I didn't wander from my parents' home like a zombie lemming, head down, and immersed in a virtual world of...  well, let's be honest... nothing of significance or importance. What a hollow existence. I had aspirations after waiting so long to gain my total freedom as an adult.

I ventured out on my own... I pursued an education and actually physically participated in campus life... I pursued my dream career... I climbed mountains... I went boating, kayaking and sailing... I biked extensively... I participated in competitions... I socialized with everyone around me... I excelled in my dream career... I was active in team sports as well as individual sports... I climbed towering cliffs and then rappelled down those same towering cliffs... I dreamed of flying as a child so I attended flight school as a young adult and then continued teaching students about aviation and aerospace throughout my adult life... I was fortunate enough to make beautiful music through decades of dedicated music education because dedication is the direct route to success. I could not have accomplished any of this had I been addictively attached to a silly cell phone.

When I was a child, I dreamed of doing things and then I went out into the world and did those things. I didn't twiddle my thumbs. Even when I do dream of my own little made-up worlds, I then create them as realistically as possible in the form of a realistic model in our real world. I went out into the world and participated in life. I wasn't a blind, mute, zombie lemming hopelessly twiddling my thumbs while attached to a tiny electronic device. I lived life and I continue to live life. I simply do not understand the trend for people to prefer to be attached to their cell phones while ignoring those around them and willingly allowing life to move forward without them.

Please, for the love of happiness, contentment, accomplishment and attaining your own dreams and goals in life, use those cell phones to book a trip... to find a hobby... to organize your lifelong dreams into fruition in the real world... to find a place you've always wanted to visit... for anything useful in reaching your dreams... and then, put those cell phones away so you can do these things you dreamed of doing in the real world while socializing with the living, breathing people around you.

Today's cell phones are indeed incredible tools for easing, managing and organizing our lives and, for this, I certainly understand there are quite a few valid reasons for owning and utilizing a cell phone. That being said, there is a line that far too many people cross where cell phones begin to rule the very lives they are intended to help. Cell phones should ease everyday burdens... not become an appendage and the focus of every minute of every day. 

My current Samsung cell phone is the best phone and mobile tool I've ever used, but... as I mentioned above, it is just that... it is only a tool that I use only as necessary to complement my life. 

There is no doubt that cell phones are incredibly useful tools in an ever-shrinking world but I truly do not understand why so many people are completely absorbed and frighteningly infatuated with these objects and their virtual worlds contained within them.

Look up and live your life before life passes you by forever.