How mobile technology changed me, and everyone else

I got my first cell phone when I was in elementary school, and that was pretty early for a Taiwanese kid back in the days. When I was the only kid in the school to own a cell phone, I didn't feel the impact of mobile phones that much. But when more and more of my friends started using mobile phones, the impact became more and more obvious.

One of the categories of mobility that we talked about today was mobility as "connected presence", and it just pointed out the biggest difference that I could feel on me. I remembered back in the days when my friends and I did not have mobile phones, we seemed more patient. I did not get frustrated if I could not reach my friends. It seemed so normal that everyone who wanted to talk to her on phone had to go through her mom, and sometimes her grandparents, and when she was not home or when I had no way to reach her, I just waited without being annoyed.

However, this totally changed when we are so used to having mobile phones with us, no matter where we are and what we are doing. One thing I notice is that people become frustrated so easily when they cannot reach their friends. I actually had this experience just yesterday. I called my boyfriend several times but he did not pick up, and as you could imagine, I became frustrated and annoyed. Before we are so used to the convenience of mobile technology, we did not blame on our friends if they weren't home, but nowadays, we blame on them if they don't pick up the phone.

In addition, I become more connected and more attached to friends even though I don't see them all the time. I text my friends when I think of them, and i receive more than 30 text messages in a day, sometimes even more than 50. This feeling of belonging actually became stronger especially when I started using iPhone. Because of the internet connection and the 3G network, I can view my friends' facebook whenever I want, and we can comment on one another's photos even when some of us are in class. Because we are so used to being reached, and constantly communicating with friends, we get insecure when our friends don't respond right away. I noticed that I checked facebook no more than five times in a day before I had iPhone, but after I switched to this magic phone, I now check my facebook a lot more than i used to do. Sometimes I check it too often that I see no new notifications on my homepage, I feel kind of lost. I sometimes start worrying if I'm not as popular as before: How come no one comments on my new status? How come no one "like" my photos? And how come they don't respond when I tag them in my album?

I was shocked when i noticed that I became such a paranoid person and such an impatient person just because of the convenience of the new mobile technology, but if you pay attention, you will notice that I'm not the only one who feels this way. A lot of people are just as paranoid and as impatient.

Because I noticed how impatient I was, I adopted a new way to deal with those negative thoughts. Think of how convenient our lives have become because of the mobile technology. I should be thankful for whatever I have now, instead of complaining about my friend who did not pick up the phone or no one responded right away to my new status on facebook.

Sometimes I still get frustrated if I call my friend for a hundred times before she finally text me back and say "sorry I put my phone on silent", but I'm moving toward that direction of being thankful and as patient as I used to be. And i think a lot of young people should go the same thing too.