Anti - Social Smart Phones

We are living in an era where telecommunication technology develops rapidly.

From only sending air mails and chat on the telephone, we now can tele-conference, video-call, email, chat with a total stranger etc.

Not only we can do it with a computer, now we can do it with our cell phones.

Yes! Email, chatting, video call, surfing the internet, opening facebook, friendster, twitter and whatever virtual relationship (whether for friendship or love) site can be accessed with only a cell phone on your hand.

Such a small device with such enormous functions. They are called smart phones. They are smart, or at least we hope they are.

Is it good?? Of course it is! If you have friends all over the world and you miss them but don't want to pay large amount to call them, you can simply chat with them, YM, MSN, ICQ etc.
Or if you are so mobile that you barely stay in the office desk, you can still check your emails, reply to them, you can even have video calls to discuss important issues without having to go to a certain place to arrange a meeting.
And if you are going on a holiday and take pictures and you want to show it to your friends and families, just post it on facebook and everybody on your friend list will know.

So, why do I call it anti-social smart phone? Obviously it helps us get connected with our distant friends, families, colleagues, business partners etc.
And that's it! That's the only thing it can do, we get connected with the distant ones, but how about the close ones??

Anyway, if you think about it, do you really need to chat on YM with your friend who live in the same city? Why not meet directly? Or chat on YM with your parents abroad, why not call them on the phone? Wouldn't it be nicer to hear their voice?

And, sadly but true, with the smart phone, we get connected with the distant ones but ignore the close ones.

I have a friend who cannot be separated from her cell phone, every second of her waking moment she always hold it in her hand and do things with it, whether chatting, or facebooking or emailing etc (I don't really know precisely what things she does with it cos I never peek).
Even when she is with other people, she will always be busy with her phone. She chats with the person "over there" but not with the person "over here".
It really annoys me a lot. Going out with her is almost the same as going out myself, I think it's even better if she's not there and I'm alone strolling in the mall, I don't have to wait for her cos she cannot walk fast since she's typing something on the phone, I really think that she's actually doesn't want to go with me and honestly I don't need her to accompany me. Her behaviour actually offends me, not only me but all the people that have had an experience of going out with her. I wonder whether she does it only to us (because we're not really her friends, just co-workers) or also to her best friends.

And she complains that nobody wants to be her friend here......

But I'm grateful that through her, I learn that I should build relationship with human, not cell phones.