Saturday, February 20, 2010

Good News ... well, maybe


 
If National Geographic Magazine can be believed, A new study  would suggest that cell phone radiation may protect against and even slow the effects of Alzheimers Disease.

This is good news, if it's correct. At least, for me, it's good news ;-)

It's good in as much as cell phone usage has become ubiquitous.
So much so, that I often wonder what we did before we had such conviences. We actually had to seek out payphones if we needed to make a call on the run.
Not only have we come to rely on the phone's calling convenience, we demand so much more from our phones now. They must text, email, have web access and a host of advanced things unheard of just a few years ago. My phone makes toast (milquetoast?)

Is our reliance on mobile phones just another in our growing list of technological dependencies? Do these dependencies make us stronger?

                                                             this is my current POS phone

Ha, I just now see the irony of asking those questions in this format :-)


22 comments:

The Lion said...

Nice. Did you post from your phone, too?

I think our reliance on technology is actually to our detriment. Technology is great and it has allowed a great many things to occur that never would have been possible. Now, I can have a philosophical discussion with someone in another country whom I have never met. I can discuss political ideaologies with a native Iranian and religious theory with a Saudi Muslim. All without leaving my home or the long distance calls.

But when technology fails - how hopeless can we feel? I recall a time during my stint in Alaska when, due to a horrific storm, we lost cell phone, tv, and internet. For two weeks. My fellow students and I had never felt so isolated. We could not contact our families to let them know we were alright. We had no clue what was happening in the outside world. And remember. we were on an island. In November. With 3,000 people in the same boat. In Alaska. We could have been hunted and killed by government agents and no one would have been the wiser :)

Scary stuff. Technology is great, but we need to remember how to survive without it. Because one day it just may leave us.

mac said...

" we lost cell phone, tv, and internet. For two weeks."

Oh my gosh !
I would have gone crazy!!

That time in Alaska explains why you're a Sarah Palin fan ;-)

Me-Me King said...

I gave up my cell phone just over a year ago. That explains my recent memory lapses.

BTW, I'm your latest stalker!

Senorita said...

I got my first cellphone when I was 19. It was when Cingular was Pac Bell and my stepdad cosigned for me.

I still have a very basic cellphone. I just have a regular number pad.

I have a laptop for all that internet stuff, and I feel so old-fashioned.

mac said...

Oh, I feel so bad for you poor girls.

No cell phone, Me-Me? None?

Senorita, the laptop does all that stuff better, anyway :-)

The Lion said...

Yup. You know me. I have always been a big fan of Sister Sarah :)

Me-Me, how do you live without a cell? I would fall apart. How would people reach me at work? And what if I needed to call a friend from the store?

I have a little panic attack just thinking of being out of contact with the world :)

Michael Lockridge said...

So, to cure Alzheimer's all we have to do is call old people regularly? We could call and remind them to plug their phone in for a recharge. Then listen to all of those disconnected stories which should contain the wisdom of many years but are instead boring and repetitive and go on and on and on....

Why, yes, I do have an older family member living in the home. We have to instruct her how to use her cell phone every time she uses it. And plug it in for her.

Liberty through technology! Yeehaa!

Mike ;-)

Fireblossom said...

I have never owned a cell phone. I don't want to be available all the time.

mac said...

Wow, Fireblossom.
I'm with The Lion, I don't like to be without my phone for too long.

I gave up my land-line phone a while back, no need for it.

I dunno Mike, my memory is shot, too. Rather, it's quirky. I can remember trivial stuff forever, but the important things escape me.

rita said...

I let my middle daughter borrow my cell phone a couple of mths ago...I haven't seen it since.
I am getting used to life without it, actually. I never used the text feature much anyway & it doesn't have a camera on it, so...no big deal.
I wonder what it does for one's brain to be surrounded by computers all day?
Technology is here to stay. We might as well embrace it.

Fancy phone! & it's not pink. ;)

Fireblossom said...

*crosses my arms and scowls*

My blogs are not on your blog list because...?

The Lion said...

Uh-oh Mac, you are in trouble.

Anonymous said...

Not using a cell phone for a couple of days is like bluffing in poker.

Secretia

Ileana said...

Sometimes I want privacy and other times I'll look down at my ringing cell phone on I-95 and think, "Oh wow, I was just thinking of her!" and have a great conversation with a friend while sitting in traffic. Cell phones are great for emergencies but I don't need them to make my café con leches, program my TV shows or anything like that. I can live without that.

Fragrant Liar said...

I totally can't go without technology at work or at home. I have given up on trying. But I don't like being so available all the time via phones, texting tweeting, FB, etc.

Especially true in the dating realm. Sometimes you just wanna not even give out your real name because your internet presence reveals more of you than you are ready for a potential date to know. Plus, I'm sure I've scared a few with my blog. ;-)

Maybe I should go back to a pen pal setup,eh?

Anonymous said...

I think I saw a payphone the other day, but I don't remember where...

Mashuga Mom said...

I love my phone, can't live without it. It stopped working one day and I NEEDED to have it fixed immediately.
Too much dependence, absolutely. Is it what society has transformed us into, maybe. Or did we do this to ourselves.

Mashuga Mom said...

I love my phone, can't live without it. It stopped working one day and I NEEDED to have it fixed immediately.
Too much dependence, absolutely. Is it what society has transformed us into, maybe. Or did we do this to ourselves.

Mashuga Mom said...

I love my phone, can't live without it. It stopped working one day and I NEEDED to have it fixed immediately.
Too much dependence, absolutely. Is it what society has transformed us into, maybe. Or did we do this to ourselves.

Mashuga Mom said...

I love my phone, can't live without it. It stopped working one day and I NEEDED to have it fixed immediately.
Too much dependence, absolutely. Is it what society has transformed us into, maybe. Or did we do this to ourselves.

Mashuga Mom said...

I love my phone, can't live without it. It stopped working one day and I NEEDED to have it fixed immediately.
Too much dependence, absolutely. Is it what society has transformed us into, maybe. Or did we do this to ourselves.

Mashuga Mom said...

I love my phone, can't live without it. It stopped working one day and I NEEDED to have it fixed immediately.
Too much dependence, absolutely. Is it what society has transformed us into, maybe. Or did we do this to ourselves.