The Age of Phones and GBs

The first phone I ever had was an “ HTC Vivid” that I got in 2nd grade, also released in 2011. It was an android with 16GB. Although it was my first phone I also, unfortunately, ended up losing it a couple of days later. When it comes to the GB of my first phone vs the phone I have now, the difference is crazy. On the phone, I now have 256GB compared to the 16GB of my first one. When you think about the time period of the first phone you realize that the way things were produced on phones was different. Image files were different and the app’s data usage was just a lot different. Also, the memory storages were frequently full causing people to have to delete stuff all the time. Nowadays The apps and just things on the phones nowadays use so much GB that you basically have to get a phone with a lot of GBs. Even still there’s great benefit in having soo much storage because, you can have a lot of apps, store lots of pictures, have room to download all types of stuff, and just soo much more without running the risk of having to delete stuff to clear space. I’d say the only drawback of getting more space is that because of that phones begin to cost a bit more than past phones. Personally, I chose to get a lot of Gb because I do a lot of different stuff on my phone. I use my phone in a productive way, creative way, and entertaining way, so That means I have to have a lot of space in order to store all of that. From here on out, I just think the GBs will get bigger and bigger to gain more money, and phones are adding more and more bandwidth to produce features and just new stuff.

How I consume data

My first phone was the phone I currently have now which is an IPhone 8 plus. It can hold up to 12GB in storage. It’s been fine for me so far because I don’t have to download music. In the old days I had an MP3 and it was a hassle with storage because I’m a big music guy. 

My family has a plan that shares 50GB of storage per month. We have Sprint and they offer an “unlimited” plan but it just means it slows down when you reach a certain number and ours is 50GB. For my family that’s 5 lines so 10GB per person and we usually reach that by the end of the cycle. I use about 15-20GB because I stream a lot of sports but it doesn’t really affect the others because my parents typically don’t reach 5GB. We typically reach 55GB as a family because our wifi at home is trash so we constantly have to use data but it’s the worst of both worlds because Sprint is also trash.

My mother pays the phone bill and it ends up to about $550 a month for 5 lines. I think companies that produce and sell phones have made it affordable for everyone to get a phone with a decent amount of storage. About $100 for 10GB of data seems fair and that should be enough to survive a month. For the phones itself, I would say it’s a bit pricey but reasonable. If you want the newest best available phone with the most storage you’re going to be out $1000 but for a phone that is dated but still very good you could get it for about $200 or cheaper. In my opinion there’s no real need to keep updating your phone unless you’re a person who needs storage. Then again, I would argue put some of your data on a computer. 

Storage is valuable and at the same time a bit overrated. I’ve seen on other phones when the notification that your storage is full the phone starts running slower. In a sense storage is freedom. I would also say it’s overrated because if you have about 12GB on your device that should be more than enough for a normal person and if you’re struggling with storage still, like mentioned earlier, just use a computer to transfer data.

Data is sitting around 120GB for the best devices and in the next decade I wouldn’t be surprised to see double that because we value data and we will keep engineering new ways to improve on that.

Childhood Phone

My first device that I owned was the COOLEST phone I have owned. Although the picture below is white and blue, my phone was just a little better because it was white and lime green. It slid open and would allow you text faster because you had the whole keyboard like a computer did but in the size of your hand.

When writing this post, I was flooded with the memories that came along with getting a new phone my 5th grade year. I remember that it was supposed to be for emergencies only but as soon as I got to school the next day, I got everyones home number so I could call them and for the people that had cell phones, I could text them. I loved to make up emojis and code words with my friends and I got so fast at texting. It was always a race to see how fast you could text correctly.

My Favorite thing to do with my phone was to play all day long was BrickBreaker. This was the only game that I knew because it was the only game that was on my phone. And I became a master at the game because I would play it for hours on end, literally.

The one thing that I realized when I look back at this phone and how limited it was is that it was simple. There was one way to turn it off or on. If your battery died, you could get one sent to you in the mail and replace it yourself. You had to be creative because with the letters and characters on the keyboard to make faces and words that we could understand that would shorten the texting time. I loved the simple days with a phone that felt indestructible. And the creativity behind it. This phone taught me so much and I am so grateful for being born in a generation that won’t grow up knowing the iPhone 6 and able as their starting phones!

Samsung Gravity T45

An iPhone journey that all started out with a flip-phone

My First digital device that I owned portably was not a Gameboy nor a Nintendo DS. I was in my puberty stage and I knew I needed a phone for emergency, so my dad gave him his flip phone that has a qwerty keyboard. 

At first, I thought, “this is so old” and then I gave it at least a year to use it. I felt like an outsider when it came to digital devices and it literally made me want to get a phone with touch screen. And for this phone in particular, I was mostly able to call not text because my parents couldn’t afford the texting service. 

To be honest I can’t remember what I did on my phone except call or maybe play games or even play around with the ringtones. By far, the ringtones were my favorite feature on this phone, and it was pretty interesting to listen to different tones and see what it sounded like. I had this phone during my middle school year, and it was ok. Being basic is what the features were designed for otherwise it was a terrible phone that lasted long.

After a while, I began to hate it and it literally made me want to punch a hole in a wall. What can I say? I’m just a young teenage boy with a phone that sucks and that made me feel like a kid in 2009. And honestly, I thought this was it, that I thought that I was going to be stuck with flip-phones and qwerty phones for the rest of my life and that I wasn’t going to get a smartphone nor an iPhone. it turned out, I was wrong.

After using it for a while, my phone finally broke and I was super happy it was done for and I knew I needed another phone, so I got a basic Nokia phone. My reaction, “why is this happening to me?” and that broke, then more transitions to Android phones, from a basic android phone to Samsung Galaxy SII to Alcatel phone then to Samsung Avant then to a Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016 Edition) then finally an iPhone 8 Plus. My experiences from a basic phone to a well-advanced touch screen phone was dramatically a successful journey. 

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  Image not licensed by me

Human Interactions or Online Interactions

The ideas regarding communication and digital devices in the classroom are not ludicrous. They are a perfect analyzation of this generation and the ones to come. Phones should be in the choice of the student, even if they are distracted or something else. It is without a doubt problem amongst children. With adults though, it comes down to their own choice of wasting their time on their phones. They should not be forced into choosing a side, but instead, be definitely decided within themselves. Alongside with not being able to multi-task on the road. People are not about to multi-task at all, they can either do both things horribly or do one thing well. For me personally, I have of course used my phone in class. The things in class tend to bore me and I usually get the important stuff out of the teacher and then doze off into my sketchbook or phone. I do realize, that is the reason why I keep to myself and tend to not interact with others unless it is important. People tend to not understand when you’re unable to interact with each other and they tend to blame it on other reasons, but just like every skill. It needs to be learned and trained to be better, instead of just jumping into a situation. Overall, It seems like people are not understanding real-life relationships. Not only that, but it seems that we have decided what the normal thing to do is and not the right thing. Just like how everyone is accepting how we can not interact with each other and it will be okay. Developing online classes, social apps, or even some weirder type of communication form with each other. It seems like humans try to keep away from each other to keep to themselves.

Are Laptops Ruining Education?

In her book “Reclaiming Conversation,” Sherry Turkle discusses the impact of digital devices on an educational environment. She makes the argument that the increase of technology in the classroom is detrimental to students, professors, and learning, in general. 

I found Turkle’s argument intriguing. I agree that personal devices, such as cell phones and laptops, can become major distractions for students during lectures.  

Early on in my freshman year of college, I would bring my laptop to class to take notes. However, one day, during a somewhat boring introductory lecture, I found myself lost in my own thoughts. Before I knew it, instead of taking notes, I was using my laptop to browse Facebook. By the end of the class, I had completely zoned out and had missed out on some important information.  

That day I realized bringing my laptop to class was too much of a distraction for me and decided to only take notes by hand from then on. Even though I made the decision to avoid laptops during lectures, this has not eliminated the distractions caused by digital devices altogether.  

In Turkle’s work, she quotes a college senior who complains she is taken out of the lecture when she sees her classmates misusing their laptops during class (215). I find myself having this same issue quite often. When a lecture starts to drag, oftentimes watching the YouTube video playing on my classmate’s screen in front of me is more compelling than remaining attentive to the professor. 

In addition, I have realized my cell phone is a major distraction for me during class. When I started college, I would turn my phone off and put it away before every class. Then, I started leaving it out on my desk but leaving it turned off. Next thing I knew, I was leaving it powered on and checking it multiple times throughout the lecture. Now I feel lost without my phone during class.  

Each time I check my phone, though, I take myself out of the lecture and potentially miss out on important information. However, now that I have gotten into the habit, I find it difficult to refrain from using my phone during class. 

This is why I actually find it somewhat relieving when a professor institutes a device-free classroom policy. This requires students to not use their laptops, eliminating that distraction, and forces me to put away my phone, eliminating the temptation to check it. It helps me stay focused and engaged in the coursework at hand. 

Overall, I feel it is best for everyone if college classrooms restrict personal digital devices.