Once it was that the smaller your hand phone, the better but now the smart phones are slightly bigger, slimmer and very versatile. They can do things which I could never have imagined years ago. Just as my grandmother marveled at the voice coming through the hand-held receiver was her granddaughter’s, I now wonder at the fact that my hand phone can lead me to a place I’m looking for once I key in the address.
Many young people are so addicted to their gadgets that they obsess over it. If by chance they left behind their smart phone, it’s like having lost a limb! Have you seen a group of young people at a table all busy with their phones, oblivious to their pals? It’s now all about online communication, using social media and other apps.
Another trend is the selfie. I used to wonder what a selfie was but now I’m also taking selfies!! It’s taking a picture of yourself on your hand phone and you can post it on Facebook to share with family and friends. You no longer have to ask someone to take your picture.
Unfortunately there has been a case where a young man was so obsessed with taking a perfect selfie of himself that when he couldn’t, he attempted suicide. Fortunately his mother discovered him in time and the doctors saved his life. This is actually a mental health issue and it is defined as Body Dysmorphic Disorder which arises from the anxiety that causes sufferers to worry excessively about their appearance.
On the other hand, something good has come out of taking selfies. The “no makeup selfie” was started to raise funds for cancer research and many women posted selfies of themselves without any makeup on Facebook and made a donation. Within 48 hours, this selfie posting charity campaign raised more than 500,000 pounds in Ireland while in the UK it raised more than 2.5 million pounds. All in all more than $3.3 million was raised to fund cancer research.
I think one has to be sensible when it comes to the use of technology. It can help us to do many things but misuse can lead to undesirable consequences that are often unexpected.
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