Don’t Take My Cell Phone away from Me!
By Faiza Zia Khan
Newport Beach, CA
Ah these pesky little gadgets in our hands- these darn Cell phones! Always joined together the cell phone is no longer an extension of our bodies- it is a part of our being. If by any chance or miracle you are not a proud owner of one such device - congratulations you have solved the myth of the human mind.
Present day I do not know of any individual personally who does not own a smart device: a tablet, cell phone, iPad, Laptop, or Kindle. I often read about a group of people working on a project regarding staying unplugged and unwired for a week as a social experiment at some swanky university. Before writing this article I researched hard to find any empirical or academic evidence demonstrating that subjects were able to live long and happy lives after they disconnected themselves from the world.
Unfortunately, I was unable to find any pervasive hard hitting material substantiating claims that people in 2019 were living without digitization. There was always some form of technology at play that they needed to be connected to the outside world. What I did discover were random stories about a handful of good Samaritans living off the grid or just trying to be a deliberate luddite to defeat technology from taking over their lives. But never anyone functioning normally in everyday practical life has been documented as living successfully after being disconnected and unplugged entirely from any kind of communication technology.
I cannot preach to the converted as I myself am a champion of gadgets – a “Tech Junkie.” Usual behavior of a tech junkie involves these mannerisms not listed in any particular order: Staring at the phone until my eyelids droop into a deep slumber and cell phone falls off my limp hand, to waking up to the iPhone alarm blaring in my ears and opening my eyes to the lit screen.
Texting family and friends goodnight before I close my eyes and starting the next day with virtual “Emojis” and “GIFs” to say good morning is a pattern tech junkies regularly follow. I don’t think anyone has the luxury of time to call every one of their loved ones in the morning to wish them a good day. Conveniently smartphone technology allows us to reach out in a few seconds and can change the recipients’ mood entirely. The world has come closer due to the existence of this device and if the way of the world today is to text then actually talk to each other in person, then let’s not try to lose out on that opportunity. Besides my mantra has always been “If you can’t beat ‘em – join ‘em.”
As an observer I am always interested in seeing what our own community is up to in regards to the whole “attachment to the cell phone phenomenon.” South-Asians are usually touted to be adept with technology and technological advancement. It is true we adapt to changing technologies with a natural affinity and flare. A nice uncle of ours who is a close family friend once told a younger me that it could have been due to physical distance from family that necessitated those hour long phone calls and bills running into hundreds of dollars, before the new communication technologies hit the marketplace. This resonated with me as I always had my family here with me so there was not much need to use technology to connect with them. He said apart for himself all of his family lived in Karachi, Pakistan for years before their immigration papers were processed. And every night after work his only activity would be to ritualistically dialing different family members through a rotary analog phone and yelling so loud at the top of his lungs that possibly they could hear him directly overseas.
He reminisced that when digital calling cards were introduced it was a joyous occasion as the lady (he was referring to the recorded digital voice on the card) would tell them how many minutes they had to finish their conversation before they were cut off. With the advent of the internet the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Magic Jack became popular, where my brother-in-law sitting in Pakistan would prank my husband by calling him from a New York number when he first got the VoIP line. Onwards from there technologies such as Skype, Smartphone apps such as WhatsApp, and Viber exploded on the social scene and became the norm without hitting hard on the pocket.
A Pakistani friend born and raised in California recently live streamed her wedding from Pakistan for the whole friend circle living in the United States as she did not want anyone to miss out on the festivities. The local friend circle got together for a party here and an oversized television screen in the family room broadcast the event live where we celebrated together with the bride and groom in real time.
There are local event management companies who take over live coverage of celebratory gatherings for family and friends living abroad via YouTube or Live Streaming software. When I tell my kids the transition from where we started and how we ended up where we are now, they look at me in disbelief. Their answer to any communication is a simple text or FaceTime. To be honest it took me a very long time to accept the fact that it is easier to text my children rather than trying to get their attention in person. But after my initial inside struggles with my own self and conversing with other fellow humans I succumbed to the new normal.
Almost everyone I speak to these days say they get a response faster if they texted rather than trying to talk on the phone or in person- friends and family alike. Now I am so used to texting that even when I put dinner on the table at night I send a group text to our family group chat after announcing “Dinner is ready” just in case they miss my verbal declaration. C’est la vie!
(Faiza Zia Khan holds a Master’s in Journalism degree from the University of British Columbia, Canada. She has collaborated with news media outlets including Global National and actively volunteers for several community investment projects for the Red Cross, United Way and the Breast Cancer Foundation)
