(Word of warning. If you own an iPhone and are addicted to it, then you probably won't want to read this post.)
It's getting on my nerves. Steve Jobs wasn't amazing. He didn't change my life (well, ... we'll get to that point).
I'll come clean and say that I own and use 2 Apple products. 1 - iTunes, which is free if you didn't already know. Over the course of the last decade I have purchased a little over $200 worth of songs, roughly $1 at a time. That isn't wishful thinking, I really have only purchased about 200 songs in the last 10 years. 2 - As a birthday gift a few years ago, my fabulous brother gave me an iPod. And I love it. No doubt. But did it change my life?
Let's examine what iTunes and my iPod have given me. I can now listen to any song on my personal database any time I want. ... Which means that I can now listen to music, with headphones, while folding laundry downstairs (since my computer is upstairs). Or while I'm mowing the lawn. I also can listen to music in the car. My music.
Wait a minute, though. I could do those things before. Remember CD's and CD players? Even if the iPod is more convenient, can I really say that listening to music a little easier is life-changing? No. It's only a smidgen more convenient.
So Steve Jobs didn't change my life with the Apple products that I personally own.
But let's talk about the Apple products that other people own. (iPhone users: Since you're still reading, because you can't accept the fact that you have an iPhone addiction, you really should just stop reading now.)
Here I'm willing to concede that Steve Jobs' Apple has given us products that have changed my life, but not for the better. Now I just have to tolerate iPhone-addicted people who tell me that they're not addicted, but they still can't put their phone down, and wouldn't it be great if I owned one, too! Look at all the things it can do!
I'm sorry, but from the outside, you guys look crazy. Actual quotes from iPhone users:
"My whole family owns iPhones, and sometimes we'll get together and I'll look around the room and everyone's texting instead of talking to each other."
"I don't have a husband, so I have an iPhone."
That one's my personal favorite, cause it really brings home just how far our society has "come." (Read that line as you will.)
Not that other smart phone addicts are immune from the insanity. But since we're suddenly giving Steve Jobs credit for the entire Smart Phone Era, then I think it's okay to include all smart-phone-addicted people.
During my church's April General Conference, when I was listening to the talks over the internet while in the comfort of someone's living room, a speaker said something about how there were probably people out there right that moment who were texting instead of listening to his talk. 2 of the 5 people in the room suddenly looked up sheepishly and put their phones down. 1 of those 2 people was texting again 10 minutes later.
Guess how many people in the room owned smart phones? 2.
This is an advance? The fact that I go out to eat with someone I love and I have to pause every 15 minutes while they check someone else's FB status, this is amazing? The fact that now people can play Angry Birds while waiting in the lobby of the doctor's office, this is awesome? (I often tell my children that they need to learn the art of Waiting. I believe it's becoming a lost art.) iPhone users show me what cool things their phone can do, and my (internal) response is, "Yes, but look what it CREATES!" Maybe these people don't look in the mirror.
No, I'm not just cheap and bitter that I can't afford an iPhone. I'm proud of the fact that I own the same phone that I did 3 years ago. Sometimes I show it to people and say, "Look what my phone can do: Make phone calls." The biggest reason I have to not purchase a smart phone (other than the ridiculous data plan price)? The people who use smart phones.
So if what Steve Jobs and Apple have given us is amazing, I want no part of it. And while it might be life-changing, that's not a life I want.
(You can find my no-rants-allowed family-friendly blog here.)
Not to mention that all of the products he "created" existed before apple put out their version. Smart phones existed before the iphone, music players existed before the ipod, and computers existed before the apple. Steve Jobs created a culture of consumerism that favored his products. Apple invented very few things, but marketed lots of them well.
ReplyDeletetee hee, my chemistry professor said in class yesterday that he is a little bit sad that Steve Jobs died because now he will not be able to kick him in the balls. This was the beginning of a 15 minute rant about distractions and how the iphone is number 1 on his list.
ReplyDeleteps...phin is me, Katherine
ReplyDeleteI love your Chemistry professor. Cause that's awesome. (And thanks for letting me know who you are. I spent some time a few weeks ago trying to figure out who in the heck phin was.)
ReplyDeleteAnd Justin, yes, of course. I only picked a few of the many reasons that Jobs wasn't amazing.
Tamra--I didn't realize you had a "tamra" blog. Man. I have been missing out. I just got an iphone (super old used one from a friend when my "dumb" phone finally broke). Because it's old, it's super slow. Which means I don't spend a ridiculous amount of time on it--I don't have the patience to wait 10 minutes for the map to finally register where I am. And I like it this way. I'm worried that if it were faster, I'd spend more time on it. I think Steve Jobs did great things for Apple and his influence was widespread. But he's not a saint. It's sad he died, because it's sad when anyone dies from anything other than old age. Right?
ReplyDelete