There are two spiritual dangers in owning a smartphone.
One is the danger of supposing terms and conditions are to be skimmed (or entirely skipped), and the other that every moment is to be captured and "digitized" for mass distribution.
Bypassing the legal terms and conditions with which all are shoddily acquainted, the provisions we hap-hazardously ignore are those relating to technology's intentions. The unfortunate truth is that machines have machinations of their own, and digital machines have even more ability and agency to claim our attention and control our actions. Suffice it to say that more societal shifts can be contributed to technology's hand than man's...
The craze to take pictures of everything is as old as cameras themselves but was upgraded to a certifiable insanity when social media gave us an instantaneous outlet to receive adulation for our captured "contributions." Today, there's not a place or experience we can't encounter vicariously through the internet's records (a tragedy deeply understated).
To dodge the first bullet, one should keep a "tech diary" for a month, on paper not platforms, to inspect their relationship with devices and flesh out the ways, good or bad, technology is shaping their hours.
This kind of expression may seem ridiculous or dramatic to some, but the results, I know, are beneficial for all of us who experience more physical touch in a day with an Apple product than a human being.
To avoid the second, one should take a walk in nature or undergo some other venture without a smartphone to document your experience.
There's a scarcity of people who simply exist in the world. So many don't live and exercise their being without diluting the moment with photos for their social media feeds.
Many argue these dangers are non-negotiable in a world that demands humans become smartphone "users" to traverse its paths.
I won't argue an iPhone doesn't make life easier, more organized. But unfortunately, things with advantages categorized as "conveniences" often fail to invite close examination of their own consequences...
