East Paradise

 

Drug and alcohol use and cell phone dependency don’t correlate on
the levels of severity, detriment and affect it has on people’s lives, but there are slight resemblances to its frequent usage and addiction.

At first glance, iPhones appear to be overrated, trendy and cool with all their unnecessary applications, show off features and $30 a month fee for the Internet you already have at home. Calling
and texting were originally its primal need until Zack Morris’ phone
capabilities came to an end and people decided to spoil themselves and
jump on the bandwagon of digital evolution. Being so ridiculously
convenient and helpful, it has been the best technological decision
made my users. It is definitely one of those, don’t knock it till you
try it experiences. It’s not until you have one of those little Pop-
Tart size phones in your hand guiding and resting quietly on your
pillow at night that you realize how truly wonderful it is, as it
silently yelps and pleads, “Pick me up, I’m yours. You need me1”

Conned by convenience and wooed by luxury, with
directions, weather status, Shazam the music finder, Pandora the music
provider, a dictionary, paying bills from the freeway, emails, a
translator, movie times, a camera, voice recorder or calendar it will
take you there in a stretch limo. Absurdly enough there is even a
vibrator app that will bring the lonely pleasure in their times of
need or turn your phone into a flute, a tasteful combination.

The users vary in demographics, from surgeons, to rich
kids, young adults and teenagers. It satisfies all age groups,
whether they’re anti-social, bored, busy, dependent or addicted.
It’s not only the iPhone that sparks these feelings of stimulation,
but cell phone usage in general has become more addicting and user
friendly. iPhone just blew the others out of the water.

Apple CEO, Steven Jobs surpassed all expectations of cell
phone usage and dependency by setting the bar high for a product’s
capabilities that has become all the rage and envy of those who gawk,
ogle and admire its existence that leave its users pleasurably addicted.

First stage: Experimentation
UNLV graduate in science in business administration,
iPhone lover and world traveler Mikela Lee-Manaois said, “I would be
lost without it. It’s helped so much in traveling. It does anything
and everything.” As for experimentation, she was surrounded by them
for two years with friends and coworkers, “I would mess around with it
and became fond of it. And finally I gave in like peer pressure and
bought one. I assumed that if everyone was benefiting, ranting and
raving about it, I had to see what it was all about.”

Second stage: Regular Use

Service industry worker and iPhone user Dennis Yauch II,
23, knows a lot about the iPhone. “People are constantly texting,
gaming, surfing the Internet, and listening to music or a combination
of them all. People are becoming more and more obsessive and
stimulated by the fact that they get email and text. iPhone’s make it
more accessible. Addiction will only get worse. We haven’t seen
anything yet. Wait till next generation.

Pros: super accessible to anything on the go. Cons: limited service,
horrible customer service, both AT& T and Apple, limited insurance,
getting refurbished when it’s their product that breaks. But it’s
helpful on the go. I have full Google maps, GPS, phone books,
internet, and other helpful apps all in a push of a button. I like
the product, hate the service. Hate how my arm is twisted due to high
demand of the product. The companies involved can treat people worse
and worse because of this. I’ve always wanted a nice phone.
Internet, maps when traveling, music, texting, and lastly a phone
because the AT&T 3G network sucks in Las Vegas. Crazy huh, a phone I
barely use as a phone. I would tell people to wait until more
services were able to provide the phone or even wait to see what else
comes out, even though it will probably dominate for years to come
like the iPod. But hopefully Blackberry can compete more and more to
give Apple the provided services something to compete with to keep the
product worthy.”

Third stage: Misuse/Risky Use
Lee-Manaois said, “As for risky behavior, I use my phone a
t work and school even after been asked not to. When I receive a
notification I feel like I have to check it. When driving, if at a
stop light, I will try and read and respond as fast as I can before
the light changes. I try not to do it while in motion but sometimes
catch myself attempting to. With temptation in her pocket she can’t
resist its sensual instant gratification.
UNLV art professor Brian Porray said, “When have students
not chatted during class? I’m realistic when it comes to the cell
phone/texting issue. I understand and acknowledge the world my
students live in. If an individual wants to text in class I don’t
lose my composure. I obviously do not endorse texting in class, but I
don’t flip out if I see it. I clearly explain at the beginning of
each semester that if a student finds it absolutely crucial to text,
they should simply leave the room to do so. Mostly out of courtesy
for everyone around them who could care less about the conversation
taking place in their palm. Abusing the situation leads to poor
performance and a lower grade, but I let my students make that
decision for themselves. Are we socially addicted to texting?
Probably. Rapid communication is here to stay and will only become
more prevalent, although I have a feeling that the novelty will wear
off sooner rather than later and hopefully we will all learn to better
categorize our interactions.”

Fourth stage: Dependence
Singer and anti-iPhone supporter Logan Lanning of America
YEAH and the Flowers of Evil said, “They’ve become a crutch on
society, itfs supposed to be the age of information but you’re
missing what’s out there cause you’re too busy texting on your
phone. The only reason people don’t walk around with laptops
connected to their hips is because they won’t look cool, so now they
have iPhonefs they can carry around. I think we should burn them
all.”
Photographer Cristian Torres said, he’s torn, It’s
dependent, but convenient. It gives me access to Pandora, Google
maps, Google anything. It’s universal, I can use it for everything
and all the applications are sick.”

Fifth stage: Addiction
UNLV graduate in marketing and sociology, Marissa Burger,
26, rages about the phone and spent $700 in one month on her
fulfilling addiction. She waited months for the glitches to subside
as she would leave her forgotten Blackberry behind to a better
improved cellular device. “I love it, everything is so accessible.
It made life so simple with the computer at my fingertips. I could
search topics, find proof, Wikipedia, take pictures and video.” After
just two weeks, it was lost and stolen, and she spent $400 the next
day to get another. Soon after, her friend dropped and cracked it,
thus forcing her to cough up another $200 to fix it. She feels
powerless and sad without it, she admits she’s addicted and it’s a
road to dependency, but says the pros outweigh the cons. She says as
an X-Blackberry user, it is more fun oriented rather than business but
can be used for both. She loves how it brings acquaintances together
with games like Words With Friends and has created a subculture.
“It’s going to be scary if a network goes down since we’re so
reliant on it.” She wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Proud iPhone addict Troy Delgrosso, 25, said “People get a
ddicted because you can play the game you want, check your MySpace,
Facebook 24/7. You have a computer in your pocket. Who wouldn’t be
addicted? The addiction is heading to people buying more expensive
phones and getting carpal tunnel at an early age or becoming blind
because you’re staring at this screen all the time or becoming
obsessed with the damn thing. Pros: its very user friendly, it’s hip,
you can do almost anything on it. It’s a computer, decent size.
Cons: very fragile, keyboard sucks, has a mind of its own sometimes,
expensive to fix, warranty sucks, apps are expensive. But it helps me
everyday, if I need an address for somewhere to eat, GPS or Google
something. Definitely don’t know how I survived without it. I like
the size, the internet, apps, the ways it’s setup. I wanna marry it.
It’s gorgeous.”

-Maggie Leon