I found myself in an odd position last week: many of the devices I was carrying in my bag failed me for one reason or another, and I had to wait a few hours to get back home and rumble through the not-so-secret stash of phones lined on top of my printer to pick up my Nokia E71. I put my SIM Card in it, fired it up, and was instantly hit with the realization that of all phones I’ve owned or trialled (they are well over 30), the E71 is the one device that has never failed me. Ever. Never ever ever. The second thing I realized was how dumb was I to think that I could sell it, and that that’s not going to happen, not now and not in 10 years when it’s a rusty useless piece of junk that’s good for nothing compared to the current technology.
You could say that I have developed an unhealthy attachment to this hardware, but when I look at every scratch on my E71, I am reminded of all the good and bad times we had together. It went with me to Paris, was my only entertainment when riding the french subway for 2 hours daily for over a year, was and still is my main connection to friends everywhere, intrigued everyone I know at how much I fumble with it, helped me do a ton of my Masters work and my PhD acceptance project. It also came along to Stuttgart twice and was always ready to take my SIM card when other phones’ batteries died. It has been tossed around rooms, thrown onto beds, fallen on asphalt, drowned in a sink, showered repeatedly by heavy rain, and mistreated by accident oh so many times. I have fallen asleep holding it more than I care to remember/admit and woken up only to find it somewhere under my pillow or between the sheets or on the ground next to my bed.
In old times, it used to be hand watches or pocket watches that incited these sort of feelings. I even remember reading about watches that stopped working when the person wearing them died. It wasn’t only watches though, but also necklaces, wallets, rings, cars, jewelry boxes, and a lot of other personal effects. Just think about it, there’s almost always a family item being transferred from generation to generation because it had a special meaning to the first owner. Which makes me wonder, will there be a time in the future when mobile phones are those personal items? I can almost picture my grandson standing and talking to his daughter on her 18th birthday, sometime in 2090 telling her:
I want to give you something that was very dear to your grandmother during her life. They called them phones, and they let you call people and connect on the internet like the chip you have in your neck now. She cherished it a lot as it let her stay in touch with her friends and family, work, and have fun. She’s slept with it, ate with it, walked with it, traveled with it, and it brought a lot of comfort to her. But not only that, it was the beginning of a great idea and the reason why your grandma became who she is. I know it’s of no good use to you now, but she would have loved you to have it.
Too wide of an imagination?! Could phones become those special inherited items transmitted across generations? Or are we too deep into consumerism that we no longer give value and attachment to items we own and easily toss them around when the next best thing arrives? I would love to hear your thoughts on that.
[Picture courtesy of: The Urban Gent]
