I remember that it was just a few years ago that when my colleagues and I would go out to buy a cell phone, we'd do tremendous amount of discussion trying to fit in as many features as possible in a phone within a given price. We had only heard that there were something called “smartphones” and we knew that there were some cool features in them but the fact that those features would come at a cost 2-3 times our budget meant that we need not even compare these models. But now, thanks to technology, the world has changed. Every kid in the block wants to buy one of these smartphones. Thanks to ever increasing rise in the standards of people and the lowering of the costs of high-end devices, it is not uncommon that the phone rings nearby and when the owner has flipped it out of his pocket, you see one of these smart devices in his hand with a full touch screen, ability to take pictures at resolutions that were once a challenge for cameras, able to play high quality music, access the wireless network around, if available and so on. A message beep no longer means that an SMS has arrived. It could also be an indicator that the user has just received an e-mail. This is how the picture today is. In short, we are living in an era of “smart phones and smart devices”.
There was a point in the past when people would see how easy it was to use a phone for making a call, sending a message and a few other basic features. Now, it is assumed that all these things can be done by the cell phone and we are more interesting in what else it can do. How great a picture can be taken by the camera? Can I access wireless networks on it? Does it have a touch? Can it play movies? Does it have the ability to manage my social networking accounts such as Facebook or Twitter or Google+? Is it dual core? How much RAM does it have? And so on! These questions were actually being asked by people when purchasing computers once upon a time! The other contributing factor has been that people are now willing to spend money on a phone as it apparently has become a status symbol. To a person like me, I find people buying phones for 45 thousand unimaginable. At the end of the day, it can be said that a typical smart phone with varying abilities is now in the hands of many!
So, let me revisit the title of my post – we have smart devices, where are the smart people? Are we really smart enough to be using these devices? This is the question I want to explore at length in this post. Now, many a times, in my place of work, we have to attend various seminars or meetings which can be considered optional. Many a times people walk into the hall, very late. Sometimes, people don't come for the seminar at all and when asked, they give the classic response - “I forgot completely!” We have a facility wherein we can use washing machines on a per-use basis and there are many times when people don't return the keys to the machine rooms for hours and hours after using the machine. The classic response - “I forgot”. Now, here I would like to take the opportunity for bragging a bit! I never am one of those people who end up saying, “I forgot there was a meeting!” or “I forgot I had placed my clothes in the machine!” And the reason for that is very simple!
The instant that I place my clothes in the washing machine, knowing that it would take 2.5 hours for the washing machine to finish its wash cycle, I punch in an entry in my mobile calendar and at the right time, my mobile reminds me that I have to get my clothes. In my line of work, it is easy to get entangled in work and meetings and hence this becomes important for me, the ability to use my phone to remind me of things that keep my social life well oiled. No sooner have I received an e-mail about a meeting or I have seen an announcement of a seminar to be held at a given time and date, than I have punched in an entry in my cell phone. Again, well in advance, my phone rings and says, “Attend Meeting in Office XYZ”. It's simple to achieve this! I do it using a phone that costs 7 thousand and many people with higher end phones, maybe double the cost, don't use these features and conveniently say, “We forgot!”
Another simple example that I can think of is when I was with a colleague of mine and we were actually searching for a location. My colleague spends minutes and minutes using his non-existent knowledge of the geography of the region to search for a place where we wanted to go. It took me to remind him, “Buddy, you have GPS on your phone!” When I say you have to be a smart user of a smart device, I don't just mean that you have to learn how to use the features of the phone in the right circumstances but I also mean responsible use of the device.
Just because it is possible for me to watch a movie on my smart phone does not mean that I am going to play it loud in a public place, like a train! It amazes me how people manage to spend 20000K for a phone but fail to carry a headset or an earphone, wired or wireless to actually enjoy its ability to show you movies or play music in a civilized way! It also amazes me how the smartphones are not switched off during seminars / plays, etc. It also amazes me many a times when people having smartphones run out of balance and e-mail, social networking, nothing works! I could go on and on with many examples where owners of smartphones are found doing that which demonstrates that they are not smart enough!
There is another kind of dumbness that I find in people using smartphones and this is strictly my personal opinion. The dumbness lies in the inability to ask the question - “What is it that I want to do and how I want to do it?” A person flashes his cell phone, newly bought, to me and says, “See, there is a nice piano application, there is a nice game here and so on.” For a few days, I see that the person is showing off some of the applications that can be run on the smartphone. After a few days, I find the person not using more than the most basic features namely making calls, sending messages, e-mail, social networking and an occassional camera or GPS. Please note that the calendar and scheduler have been left out because I am yet to see a person use this effectively! So, I find that the person has spent 25-40K for a phone that he tends to use most of the times for purposes achievable using 10K range phones.
The final dumbness lies in unethical use of devices. No, it's not about playing loud music in public areas, I believe that has been covered. It's the dumbness that lies in sitting in a social circle at a restaurant and updating your Twitter or Facebook status saying, “I am at Joe's Pizzeria!” or even chatting with your friends. I'd say, “Why come to a restaurant if you wanted to chat with friends online rather than talk to people offline, in person with whom you have come, you moron!?” It is nice that smartphones are accessible to a wider audience but my answer to the question, “Is that audience smart enough?” currently tilts towards “no”. With a humble hope that smartness dawns upon people, I am signing off!