This is a weird two parter because I have two complaints that happen to connect for the same reason and I guess I give it away in the titles. Hmm. Need to work on that. Nonetheless, those who know me, know…I love all sorts of tech and smart phones in particular. I try to keep up with the latest and greatest in smart phones, but honestly, with Android just pushing out a new phone every few seconds and iPhone blowing it up everywhere else, and with Windows Phone sneaking around elsewhere, it’s tough. So it doesn’t matter how brand new the phone is and how up to date it is, there’s always a new one around the corner. Which is all great and good…if you can use it. Unfortunately, my biggest pet peave with phones nowadays is the battery life. To have the newest in phones means that you’ll have to eventually know that there will be a point in the day that you’ll either need to plug it in or…have a very shiny piece of glass.
Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.netI don’t know how many people remember the old giant phones that had a single line of green numbers that simply showed the number dialing out. Those were AWESOM! There were no contacts or apps or even caller ID, it was just a device that was the size of a brick and weighed about as much, and it lasted forever. And even as phones got smaller and we were able to play games like snake and black jack, and we were able to upgrade to a greyscale screen with a few lines of pixels to play with, the phone would live for as long as a week before it needed a recharge. And I’m talking about seven days here, people. And these phones could fit in the pocket, they were nice and compact and they could do everything phones could do now…okay, minus all the fancy stuff. So maybe the obvious reply is, “Then go back to the old feature phones, if you miss it so much”. Well, if I want to stay in the dark ages I should, but if I want to keep up with the rest of the world, I need to just bite my tongue and accept my fate. But I can’t, it sucks to have phones that die after a few hours of use. Why oh why can I not have a phone that lasts a whole day? I’m not asking for a week, I’m just asking for 24 hours.
There’s so much research and new battery design out there. We keep innovating and evolving and changing things. And I’m not going to go into detail and bore you all, but they even have a battery that is liquid and can be shaped into anything you want, even into the shape of the actual phone. That means more capacity, bettery battery life and means that if we get into an emergency half way through the day, we don’t have to hunt down a land line or someone else with a cell phone that actually works. Yet we are tethered to our wall sockets. If we want to adopt the newest technology we have to sacrifice our freedom. And maybe you’re thinking, “what’s the big deal? It’s just a phone.” Time and again I hear people say, “What would we do if we didn’t have our phones?” So it’s not just a phone. It’s a part of our lives! It dictates how we plan our day, communicate with people and pretty much conduct almost every facet of our life. It’s not simply a phone anymore. It’s an extension of ourselves. And that’s why I rant about battery life. Because that’s our reality. Our reality is that we want the best and most diverse phones out there. If you don’t believe me, look around you. So many people have these smart phones, playing games, listening to music, checking into places. You’d be hard pressed to find someone with a simple phone. So, is it too much to ask for a phone that lasts me a single day?
Is it too much to ask, for a relationship that lasts longer than a few months? I’m not going to name celebrities, and I hate that I actually know a bit about celebrity relationships, but it’s pretty amazing that the battery life of love is so short even amongst the “lay-people”. Now, I don’t know about how people felt in the past and the reasons behind why relationships lasted so long. Maybe the reason why people don’t stay together for so long is because people are just getting smarter and not staying in relationship that can inevitably deteriorate. I’ve often talked about how much hard work it takes to keep love alive, and so maybe I shouldn’t be surprised that couples are lasting as long as smart phone batteries. They burn out, it’s a lot of work, and people are okay with this.
Image: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.netFairytales often find their foundation in love and the power of that emotion. Music, movies, and all forms of media almost rely on this concept. But as we evolve as human beings and the world begins moving at a faster pace, we find ourselves switching out our relationships as quickly as we switch out our smart phones. Romance becomes obsolete pretty quickly the older we get, and though I may not know anything about how teens handle coupling, but I think it would be safe to say that “puppy love” doesn’t have the same kind of power it had when I was growing up. I’m really not that old…
So the concept of soul mates and “the one” are slowly being thrown by the wayside for sex and well…more sex. Which I don’t see a problem with, but what’s so wrong about finding one person to spend the rest of your life with? I think there’s plenty of room for there to be that dream. I realize it’s hard to take seriously, but how great would it be if we had a love that lasted as long as our old cell phones? Yes it takes work, yes you’re going to have to recharge/revitalize that passion and that desire, that “battery”, but what you get is something that works, that makes you happy, something you can rely on. Can you imagine just living life and just trusting that your significant other will be there when you get home? Someone that still turns you on no matter how many years have passed and who finds you equally as attractive?
With even Geek Love Radio stating that marriage is a dying institution, and I’m not saying you have to be married to have a long lasting relationship, and maybe I’m just being cynical, but that intimacy, that friendship, that bond should not be forgotten. It’s like we’ve decided to look at long lasting relationships as mere fairytales. Even music nowadays rarely talks about those feelings of the heart like it did a decade ago. Is this just an archaic way of thinking? I’d hate to think so, but it seems more and more that people are giving up on that idea, and I’m here to say that you shouldn’t. I believe that it’s possible, that many people can achieve “true love”. And even if that’s too farfetched an idea for you, at least don’t throw away that fantasy. Because you never know.
I guess I’m just living in a pipe dream, where phones last a whole day and hold all the most sophisticated of 4G antennaes and quad core processors, and where relationships, marriages, and couplings that last years upon years with the promise of a loving, caring, and compassionate companion. I think I’ll keep the dream alive. Though I’m curious what you all think. Am I just a lunatic or is there some truth to those songs and those movies? And on a geek note, do you think battery life will ever catch up to the ever growing technology? What are your thoughts?
