I was in the locker room of my gym this afternoon. A man in his early sixties (just a few years older than me) was desperately searching for his cell phone.
I felt sorry for him. I helped him out by checking the area immediately around his locker.
This story had a happy ending. His phone, it turned out, was in his gym bag all the time.
The two of us got to talking about how those damn cell phones have become yet one more thing that a person needs to keep track of.
We were both old enough to remember when a man only had to keep track of his wallet and his keys. Life was so much simpler back then.
But nowadays, the loss of a cell phone can be just as life-changing as the loss of either a wallet or keys/car fob. So you had better not lose or misplace it.
In 1985, no one had to worry about losing their cell phone or having their email hacked. Cybercrime did not exist. Nor did the many neuroses associated with social media.
I don’t plan to abandon my iPhone anytime soon. But it’s worth noting: twenty-first-century technology enslaves us as much as it frees us. There was a time, not so long ago, when we happily did without all of it.
-ET