Imagine am episode of "Intervention" (you know the one that chronicles the lives and-duh-interventions of addicts). Imagine the typical opening scene of the addict, curiously hunched over something; face twisted into that obsessively determined snarl.
Cut to a shot of the family member, visibly distraught and barely audible as they try to describe the sickness that has overtaken their loved one.
Then back to the desparate individual--a quick glance over her shoulder at the camera long enough to shout an emphatic "get outta here!!" before turning her back to the audience in a feeble attempt to keep her drug of choice out of sight.
But it's too late. The camera has caught a glimpse of-and is now zooming in on-her fingers tapping and scrolling away with frightening familiarity on a small, sleek, sexy little iPhone.
A quick close-up reveals the view of the addict: a never-ending list of brightly colored squares denoting promising and captivating applications. Scroll tap. Scroll tap. Brisk thumb movements. Audio of the family member reminising the good old days when she was sociable, approachable, normal...now only a shell of that lovable person. Her head never lifts. The phone never leaves her hand (shot of the addict holding the phone in the shower, hand and phone covered by a transparent ziplock bag, scrolling away).
Then the shots of the deplorable living conditions, unkept with filth by the stacks (including the fridge containing only a carton of take-out that has clearly grown legs), with the addict just slumped in a corner...scrolling and tapping....."hundreds of dollars a month", the family is saying through uncontrollable sobs.
................you get the picture..................
But don't you dare giggle or wave those disturbing-however ridiculous- images from your mind. There's nothing funny about waking up, phone still in hand, and immediately resuming an endless search for the next most amazing and absolutely necessary iPhone application. ...Downloading five different applications that do virtually the same thing to find the perfect combination of desirable user-interface (U.I. for you tech junkies) and maximum functionality.... Spending $16 on the perfect instant messaging app because it combines all of your favorite platforms into one beautiful little app with all the essential features...
So what if I have two navigation apps because one tells me what and where to eat while the other tells me what kinds of fun I can get into within a 20 mile radius following dinner! So what!!
Fifty-one applications is not only not a big deal, but necessary-alright?! I need that 3D labrynth game and I had to have crash bandicoot, also in 3D, at my fingertips! I need to know what to cook for dinner and how and which isle it's on! And you can't say you don't want to have instant access to what all of the major news sources around the world are saying is important--at 4am... in the bathroom... in line at the grocery store your beloved iPhone helped you find... maybe even in class...because the news doesn't wait people!!!
Hey, maybe I'm writing this on my latest app store purchase!!
Don't judge me!! I can quit whenever I want.
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