As I entered the Apple store, I expected my iPhone to light up and start vibrating. I had this vision of all the devices there welcoming my 6+ back to the Mother Ship, communicating with it a la the Furbies of the late 90’s. All was silent though and as I walked through the brightly lit space, I saw with my impaired vision the outline of heads bowed over phones, tablets and watches, the humans working together to diagnose and treat electronic extensions of flesh and blood.
Like it or not, we are as attached to our technology as we were to our stuffed animals once upon a time. Most of us take our devices to bed and reach for them as soon as we wake up, even in those middle of the night when biology calls. Not nearly as soft and cuddly, we keep our electronics perpetually clasped in the same hand that once held a bear’s paw or a bunny’s ear.
It suddenly made sense to me in that shopping mall. Our iPhones belong to their counterparts no more than the doll we found under the Christmas tree still belonged to Santa. Once you have your first tea party or send your inaugural text, you become an inseparable pair. The robots may take over the world someday, but if and when they do, I plan to be holding mine in my hand.
