Cellular Entitlement

I remember when my best friend first got a cell phone. We were in junior high, and the new Razor was “all the rage.” As more people were given phones and IPods by their parents, I occasionally felt left out. I understood why my parents didn’t get me one: they were expensive, took up time, and my friends always let me borrow their phones when I asked them. Still, I wished I could have one so I didn’t have to be, I imagined, the only one without one. 

My parents had promised that they would get me a phone when I went away to college. They kept that promise, and as part of my graduation they gave me my very own hot pink Razor.

Motorola's Pink Razor

You might think that I would have been thrilled to finally own a Razor, but truth be told I was severely disappointed and, I hate to admit, a little bitter that my parents hadn’t gotten me something else. By the time I graduated high school, Razors had been outdated for a few years and touchscreens had begun to take the world by storm. I felt self-conscious whenever I had to pull my phone out in front of people to make a call. What made things worse was that the tiny glass screen on the front cracked within my first two weeks of school and my remedy was to try to glue all the pieces in using clear nail polish. What I would have loved to own as a teen was now a bruising embarrassment.

Is Having Technology Really a Benefit?Antione Nicolas de Condorcet wondered whether or not man would continually advance as new discoveries and inventions were made. I’m sorry, Condorcet, but I believe the answer is ‘no’ as well as ‘yes.’ With the technology man has access to today, answers to questions can be found in a matter of seconds and people across the world can talk together instantly. Unfortunately, even with advancements are prices to be paid. With the help of our technology comes a new level of entitlement, lasciviousness, laziness, greed, fear, and anger. These qualities have always been a part of mankind, but seem to have become endlessly amplified through the gift of ‘advancement.’

I had never before been unthankful for something that my parents gave me, but to be given a piece of outdated technology was too much, I guess. Perhaps we should try to think back on the days when NOBODY had technology and just learn to be grateful?

Image Credit: https://www.amazon.com/Motorola-V3-Unlocked-Player-International-Pink/dp/B000CQVMYK