“I hear the new iPhone update is causing the battery to drain pretty fast”, my housemate said to me one afternoon.
“I’ll probably give it a miss” I replied, “I always have trouble with those updates.”
I didn’t give it a miss. Assuming I could outsmart my own phone, I upgraded. This brings us on to the second part of the story…
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Standing on the station platform after a long day at work, I took out my phone and noticed the battery had hit 5% remaining. That’s more than enough to take me home, I thought, referring to whether or not it would last the next 45 minutes so I could continue to listen to Steve Jobs’ biography uninterrupted.
With that thought fresh in my mind, I saw the percent counter drop a point, and my phone duly shut down.
For a few moments I mentally kicked myself for updating to the new OS. I pocketed the beautiful glass paperweight, and stared out across the tracks thinking, “What the hell do I do now?”
I had another fifteen minutes to wait for my train, followed by a twenty minute train ride and a ten minute walk home. Immediately I began to hear the world around me.
“Yeah blud, I only like the real breasts you get me? None of that fake shit”, said a fifteen year old to the left of me.
“Bollocks to this”, I thought, and scrabbled around inside my bag for the book I’d cruelly abandoned when Steve’s biography had come about. But it wasn’t there. I swore again as I remembered only that morning I had removed it from my bag as, being a minimalist traveller (whether across seas or council estates), I’d taken it out because I knew I didn’t need it.
When the train arrived I jumped aboard and, I’ll admit, immediately thought “This is a good idea for a post”. I sat down and pulled out my phone to jot down a note with points to remember (my general writing tactic). Of course as soon as I grabbed hold of it it’s uncharged state leapt back into my mind and I thrust it back into my pocket with disgust.
I sat there for a moment, acutely aware that if I didn’t write the idea down I would forget it by the time I arrived home.
I pulled open my bag and dived in, looking for a pen and scrap of paper I was sure I didn’t have. Success! I pulled out a cheap biro I must have thrown in over the weekend along with a folded up sheet of A4 which contained, within it’s folds, some work information of so-so importance.
As I jotted down the key points of this post (apologies for the scribbled handwriting), it hit me how utterly dependant I, and many others, have become on our phones and other mobile devices. I honestly couldn’t believe as I sat on that train I truly had nothing to read; nothing at all. I considered reading the work information of so-so importance but I soon snapped out of it.
This post will likely sound petty to anybody who hadn’t been bought up in the age of earphones in; ignore everybody around you. No doubt if my grandparents were to read this they wouldn’t have understood a word of it up until this point.
To me, it was an odd experience. I see the benefit of letting the world in when you are travelling to foreign lands and experiencing a place, and it’s people for the first time, but for your day-to-day commute, I’m not so sure.
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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
I also have tiny panic attacks when I run out of battery. “I will get so bored on the way back home” But usually I’m not bored. I have enough around me and in my brain to be fully thinking. I think it even feels better.
And when you run out of things to think about, the crazy man who smells of cats—talking to himself two seats over—starts to look like an attractive target to converse with!
I am going through a digital withdrawal of sorts as my computer hard drive crashed yesterday. I keep telling people that it is the worst time for me to not have a computer (it is finals week and I’m trying to launch an ebook in the next few weeks), but honestly I can’t imagine a good time to not have one! Amazing how attached we have become to our gadgets.i am trying to adjust to writing down my ideas on paper and, to be honest, it is so hard! I can’t wait to get it back in a week.
Also, I don’t know if it’s the same for you, but my handwriting has gotten worse. Almost makes me want to go back to writing by hand… Almost.
Interesting idea! I wonder if any experiments have been conducted into whether handwriting quality has declined over the past 10-20 years. Mine is simply a scribble nowadays as that is all it’s used for, short-form scribbles. It’s been several years since I’ve had to write anything longer, and that would only be a few times year at University.
It really is amazing how attached we become. I hope your hard drive comes back in good form! Thank you for your comment :)
I used to keep a spare battery for my battery eating razr (remember those?) but my android isnt to thirsty….though i do tend to split my android for text and internet and my ipod for music/ebooks. the smartphone is the new appendix- not necessary, but you somehow feel violated without it.
I did the same! (Nokia here. I was jealous of you Razr owners). Nice metaphor. I genuinely think my phone works harder than me some days.
I’m glad I’m not the only one of the opinion that it’s a beautiful glass paperweight (in uncharged form).
Unsure whether it’s odd to think of this consumerist product that we’re so heavily reliant on as beautiful or sleek, but I do. Just don’t tell the macbook air, they’re the jealous type.
For the battery draining ios5, take your minimalism to the digital level and close all of the apps in the background that you’re not using?
The battery issue seems to have sorted itself out, though it was losing 10% a half hour for a period! Way ahead of you, I’m somewhat frantic where it comes to closing apps. Several times a day I’ll excite them all in a row, make them jiggle about a bit, then “POW” they’re gone.
Mine’s a beautiful glass paperweight with an enormous rubber frame around the edge. I’ve heard horror stories. Thanks for the comment! Any chance of seeing a new AC post any time soon?
Between yourself, Mr Bernock & Mr Robertson I’m definitely overdue to have a cynical thought and put pen to metaphorical paper.
If the metaphorical paper starts to blow away, be sure to utilise your beautiful glass paperweight.
That was an interesting story Benjamin. I have learned to love it when my iPhone battery dies. Amazing how much more I get done. I always carry my journal with me and still love to free hand write. (I’m much faster at writing then punching those keys on the iPhone.)
I’m almost positive people’s handwriting has went down hill the last 5 or so years. You should see teenagers handwriting, just plain horrible.
Andrew! I give you 1 week for a new post or I’m writing one.
I have to start throwing my notebooks in my bag. In my current working situation I try not to overlap the work I do online (both writing, and my more entrepreneurial endeavours), with the work I do offline (something I enjoy significantly less). I love my notebooks and can’t bear to think of them being used for anything other than what I want to use them for (scribbling notes in ways that make no sense to anybody else but me, mostly).
I’m really interested in this handwriting idea Alicia mentioned above. I try my best to steer clear of teenagers, and their handwriting, at all times ;)
I think we should all band together to force Andrew to write some something new, whether through carrot or stick (I’m voting stick).
I went to a micro-conference some time ago focusing on the navigation of mobile technology and the fetish it brings.
Zzzzz….
10-15 strangers surrounded me at a table. The host had asked “take out your handset and set it on the table” everyone followed. “Next I want you to take the handset from the person on your left.” again, we followed.
Feeling uncomfortable that a stranger had my iPhone 3G, and he was intrigued to see what apps I had, I realised how personal and dependant my handset was to me. It was only then I thought I better start backing it up. The next week I lost my phone after a few too many drinks (as most of us do). There was no need for alarm, my life had been blocked and was ready to enter a new body, Mr.iPhone 4.
iPhone – The worlds biggest fetish.
Fetish – (noun) an object regarded with awe as being the embodiment or habitation of a potent spirit or as having magical potency.
Fetish sounds about right. Well done for not freaking out and grasping your phone back out of the other persons hands. I’m not sure I would have had the same discipline.
Hahaha. This post is amazing, mostly because this happens to me way too often =P I have a terrible phone & it dies, but I’ve learnt to enjoy my tech-free traveling time, it’s nice to hear your thoughts for a change & observe people at their strangest, no?
But I also, always carry a book, as a safeguard. And I never go anywhere, ever, without a (tiny) notepad and pen. Ok, maybe that’s a bit extreme, but I can never remember =(
Glad to get you laughing Tracy! Learning to enjoy your tech-free travelling time is key (and observing people on the train can be pretty fun). Always carrying a book (e or otherwise) is the way forward.