The Life-Hack

As I sit here, with my cat Winston, pondering what kind of technology has made my life easier, I can't help but notice that while I'm typing this, my iphone is logged into facebook, I have my e-mail open on my desktop, as well as spotify playing a wonderful playlist of Noah and the Whale in the background. So, should I describe the fact that my iphone keeps my life at the palm of my hand or that my HP laptop computer can perform multiple tasks at the same time? Since my iphone can basically do (almost) everything my computer can, I will discuss that.

I remember back when I was approximately 13 years old or so and I got my first cell phone. Back then it was just a standard phone; I could dial 911 and call my parents (just for emergencies). Today's iphone is clearly very different. I have social networking at the palm of my hand - just one click of the facebook app and I can be instantly updated on what my friends are doing, where my family is, and update my contacts on where I am. Texting is now unlimited (according to my verizon plan) and, clearly, calling people is a thing of the past. Who needs direct communication anyways? To say that facebook hasn't impacted my life in the easiness of contacting friends, reconnecting with old ones, and staying in touch with those who move away would be a lie. If it didn't, why am I constantly checking for updates? Even though I wouldn't consider Instagram to be a ground-breaking, life-altering new app, I would definitely say that it has added a wonderful ease of adding stellar effects without the use of photoshop and a direct link to facebook, allowing me to litter my friends' and family's timelines with beautiful pictures of my newly adopted kitty. Taking photographs used to take time with developing film or even plugging your camera into your computer and uploading your images into iPhoto or Windows Photo Gallery. So, I very much enjoy the ease of taking a picture, adding a witty caption, and instantly uploading it to facebook. In all honesty, who wouldn't?






I took a picture of my cat Winston (with Instragram) watching a video of himself on my laptop (uploaded to facebook) that I took with my iPhone.










Inspiration for Post:

Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life. Robert N. Bellah.Chapters 1-2