All-Consuming Tech-Lust

I've been itching to get a new cell phone. It's not that I need one--it's just that the new Android phones look so cool and...the flesh is so weak. I have had a Blackberry Storm since November, '08, and had a BB Pearl before that. If you are into email and a really good, solid phone that keeps tickin' after way too many trips to the blacktop, Blackberry is great. Verizon tells me it's time for my two year upgrade and, like I said before, my hankerin' for a new gadget has got me checking out all my options.

What happened to the days when we had to keep a dime in the bottom corner of our bill fold just in case of an emergency? (That's right, kiddos, a dime for a payphone!). Didn't we manage to survive without cell phones? I can remember the rotary phones that we had as a kid. The only phone my family had for years was hanging on a wall in the kitchen . The cord was stretched into a tangled mess from constant finger-twirling, and could never be straightened out in a million years. The length of the cord dictated our distance from the wall...as well as our privacy. Then, in the 80's, some brilliant soon-to-be millionaire figured out how to apply wireless technology to home-phones and we left those pesky cords in the dust. Now, every kindergartner has his own cell phone number, accountant, lawyer, masseuse and maid.

Once we adapt to new technology it's hard to go backward. I like my phone, my laptop, wireless internet, satellite TV and radio. It would be like sticking your hand in a lion's cage if you tried to take my stuff away. Our tech toys become an integral part in everyday life once we start benefiting from their genius. My problem is when a toy becomes uninteresting and too familiar-- that's when I start hankerin' for a new fix.

The Blackberry has proven to be a good, reliable friend. My biggest complaint is when it freezes up or gives me a low-memory message. In the hunt for a new one, I, as a loyal customer, will probably hold-out for another Blackberry. But if Verizon ever gets the Apple contract from AT&T, I will drop it like a hot potato and snag an iPhone. I bet, even then, my tech lust won't be abated. I'm learning that most of the time we don't do the consuming, the products consume us.