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I’m into a lot of things, when it comes to tech. Computer based, I’m PC and through choice – it’s not that I don’t *like* Apple, and it’s not the expense, but that most everyone I support, tech wise, is on a PC. It makes sense that I stay on the PC too.
But when it comes to my phone, my tablet? Apple all the way! I’m an iPhone nut, having briefly toyed with the Android (G1), messed with the Blackberry,worked with one or two of the other leading contenders. I can’t see myself with anything else to be honest.
And I’ve got an iPad too – in part because it’s one of those things that I’ve wanted since it was announced, but also because it works for me.
But I can’t help but wonder where all this tech leaves us – which I guess I have to explore in more than one post – right now I wanted to touch on something I read in the ‘does bad grammar’ post linked at the bottom of this post.
The idea that we refer to our tech as animate instead of inanimate objects (basically, dropping the ‘the’) or considering our tech as persons rather than things isn’t a new idea. I view my laptop, my desktop, my phone and my tablet as an extension of me – more importantly, I view them as having ‘personalities’, lives and ‘jobs’ of their own. It’s not as if I’m arguing sentience for them – I’m not – I know they are tools – but they are tools with emotional investment. I ‘treasure’ my tech in ways I probably shouldn’t.
I have learned in the last few years to separate myself from my tech – for various reasons I could spend days immersed in tech and felt antsy when I wasn’t online because we were on holiday, because I was in hospital – because I was unable to ‘connect’ for whatever reason – my disconnection from ‘my world’ has ironically faded despite my ‘world’ being more portable. Now, it’s not quite like that, but like every relationship that has shifted, I’ve grown to love my tech. It’s kinda like the difference between loving and being ‘in love’. There’s that depth of relationship with my tech – with the tech I guess – it’s more than being connected to the world, though that facet of it makes the relationship more beguiling, but I know, like everything else, I need some space from it – and the rest of my tech sometimes.
What do you think? Do you consider your tech as inanimate, or do you have an ‘odd’ relationship with what is, effectively, plastic, metal and a touch of electricity?
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Related articles
- Does ‘Bad Grammar’ Have Anything to Do with Apple’s Success?, Dan Knight, Mac Musings (lowendmac.com)
Kai is a writer, author and avid reader. A mental health advocate, Ludosport athlete and coder. She’s the mother of two young adults, owned by two cats, and lives with her beloved in the Cotswolds.
I know what you mean about treasuring tech, I have an unhealthy love for my BlackBerry phone and, like you, can’t picture myself with anything else. I’ve been on BlackBerry for 5 years now.
I do have an iPad too, which gets some use, and a MacBook Pro tri-booting Linux, Windows 7 and OSX, so it’s not that I dislike Apple, I just find the iPhone a bit of a bother to type on and spend myself emailing and texting more than calling on my phone.
I also dislike being offline for any given period of time, even the hour and a half a day on the London Underground bothers me. ^^
Yeah – I think if it weren’t for the iPhone being full of all the apps I like to play with, I’d be still on Android. Unfortunately when I was on the G1, the market wasn’t great – when I switched in November of last year, it was competing with my iPod Touch for basic things like writing and more, which was sad. So, off to the iPhone I went and I haven’t looked back. I’m not sure how I’ll feel about the 4, my 3gs is perfect for me right now.