About Us
In the years preceding my arrival at BC I was completely satisfied with my LG enV's a ability to call and text, since that is precisely what a phone should do. I would play with my friends’ iPhones and tell myself that I didn’t need one. However, I lasted a mere few weeks at BC before I traded in my trusty little keyboard phone for an iPhone 4. Now I have no idea how I ever lived without one. Having an iPhone makes almost every aspect of life more convenient, yet at the same time manages to stress us out.
1.You constantly receive emails.
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Remember when you used to check your email only once or twice a day on a desktop? Gone are those days. While getting emails on your phone can be helpful at times, such as when your professor has an urgent message or in the instance of a sudden cancellation, it’s mostly just plain annoying. It seems like BC’s general emails – parking advisories, bulletins, event promotions – are enough to bury all of the emails I actually need. Not to mention, it keeps my phone buzzing all day long.
2.Facebook is always active.
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With all the different groups you’ve recently joined on Facebook, whether it be for extracurriculars or a general class, this app is constantly abuzz with activity. Even if you turn off your notifications so you don’t receive emails every time someone posts in the group, you probably feel obliged to check on your groups at least a few times a day. With all the tickets being sold, taxis being shared, and IDs being lost, it can be hard to keep up. In fact it feels just going through the posts to make sure you do not miss something important is a responsibility in itself.
3. You’re always looking to recharge.
Screenshot by Katie Tolkowsky
It’s no secret that the iPhone’s battery sucks. IPhone owners always carry chargers with them in their backpacks and try to snag a seat near the windows in Mac or the outlet posts in the Rat. Think about it, you use your iPhone for so many aspects of your life that if it dies in the middle of the day you’re kind of disconnected from the world. It’s tough to rely on something that you need to recharge at least once a day.
4.It keeps you awake.
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Sometimes if I spend a long time on my computer, no matter how tired I am I won’t be able to sleep that night. Scientists believe that if you use electronics for too long or too close to bedtime, your brain is stimulated and almost reawakened. Using your phone in class, on the bus, while you’re eating, at the library, and even while you’re walking is going to interfere with your sleep.
5.Tweeters are everywhere.
Screenshot by Katie Tolkowsky
Ever get the feeling you’re being watched? With all these stalker Twitter accounts like @BCFashionPolice, @BCmakeouts, and @BCPassouts, it seems like nowhere is safe. Since almost everyone has the Twitter app, not only is it yet another thing to constantly check, but it is an opportunity for people to catch you in a bad light and give everyone else a good laugh via Twitter. You simply can never relax!
6.Hackers
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We all can agree that the iPhone has so many apps that make our lives easier. However, if your phone isn’t password protected and ends up in the wrong hands, now its someone else’s turn to be at ease, this time in hacking into our life. Think about any apps you have that might be personal –your bank account, your journal, something with your address on it – combine it with how easy it is to lose your phone, and things can get dangerous!
7.There’s always a new app to download.
Screenshot by Katie Tolkowsky
As if we need any more procrastination, it seems as though there’s always a new app to download that’s “all the rage”. Whether it’s Snapchat or a game you play with your friends like Ruzzle, it’s hard to keep up with all the trends! Not to mention they’re usually addictive and great for not doing your work. Don’t even try to pretend that you’re able to restrain yourself when you get a Snapchat while studying in the library…
8.iMessage is a constant conversation.
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Remember back in the old days when you would text to relay a quick message? Not anymore. With iMessage it seems a bit too much like instant messaging when you would talk to your middle school friends for hours about absolutely nothing. I fear that texting is replacing real life conversation because it’s easier. Now we have entire conversations over text, just only another thing to keep our pockets buzzing all day long and our eyes glued to the screen. On top of that, group messages with different groups of friends can really add up and be hard to keep track of, not to mention that they’re not always necessarily directed toward you.
9.It breaks very easily.
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If you’ve never seen a cracked iPhone screen you probably need to get out more. Part of me thinks it’s just Apple’s way of making us buy new phones. They’re simply too expensive to be so fragile and cases can only help go so far. I dropped and lost my phone in the Newton parking lot one night in the pouring rain and nearly had a mental breakdown. It’s awful that we count on an electronic device so much that really isn’t very reliable at all.
10. It’s preventing you from having real conversations.
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This is an issue that goes way beyond just using iMessage as a substitute for face-to-face conversation. This is about how you keeping your head down at all times of the day instead of talking to people around you. The other day I was on the Newton bus and a complete stranger sat next to me and struck up a conversation. Yes, I was pleased to meet someone new, but only then to be confused and a bit taken aback. Usually on the Newton bus if you look around you will see everyone with their phones out, either listening to music or engrossed in their screens.
Something we deem so helpful to our lives shouldn’t have to be this stressful. Less strain will surely come from less attachment to our phones, which means using our apps less- Facebook, Twitter and texting - and more human time. So the next time you just text someone to say hey, why not try asking them to grab a coffee at the Chocolate Bar so you can at least talk about nothing in person?
