Oh not so long ago, in a land seemingly far away, this story begins. (Foodie Hint: this post is not a cooking post so either honker down or give me hell.) Spitting the dummy is an expression commonly used when I lived in New Zealand working on the America’s Cup project – it was generally used in reference to one, very unkind sailor who constantly threw a tantrum A.K.A. spit the dummy.
Definition from Free Medical Dictionary: a sudden outburst or violent display of rage, frustration, and bad temper, usually occurring in a maladjusted child or immature or disturbed adult- is used primarily as a device for attempting to control others and the surroundings. It most commonly occurs at age 2 to 2-½ years. Also called temper tantrum.
Definition from www.usingenglish.com: Reference to an infant spitting out their dummy (or pacifier) in order to cry.
When I think of the ‘dummy’ aside from this athlete’s poor behavior (definition #1), I think of the term pacifier (definition #2) and the pacifier du monde on a global scale is the PDA.
I am no different, I am addicted to my PDA pacifer, and I wish that admitting it was half the way to solving the problem but really admitting it hasn’t helped me to cure the problem whatsoever. It has however encouraged me to try to get those closest to me addicted to a device of their own. Yes, I can be convincing on occasion and no addict wants to enjoy their addiction in an isolated environment especially when the ‘drug’ is legal. There is no denying it – PDA’s are legal and they are only gaining momentum, while far more prominent in Europe they are soon to take on an entirely new purpose — contactless payment. It is true and it is exciting to me in my geek-a-fied world. To be able to pay for a movie, buy a soft drink, or pay for meal all by your phone. Not to mention all that we can currently do with our phones – surf the internet, text, tweet, facebook, send emails/photos/videos. Let’s face it, for those that aren’t addicted it is only due to lack of knowing how to harness these tools and well the rest of us are simply ADDICTED.
The ramifications? Well, when your PDA becomes your new BFF then what happens to your current BFF? I’ve pondered the question for weeks. When we sacrifice the relationships with those closest to us to communicate with those we may or may not have ever spoken to, has there been a significant social change brought about by social media? I think the answer is yes. I don’t think that will change anytime soon but it should be noted. Is communicating that new selfish frontier that pushes all else aside? Will a new soc-equette evolve as a result? Despite my clear love for all of the new media tools at my disposal I can’t help but want to flip it all on its head and try to understand where it is headed. What are the rules? How should we play? What is the tipping point for the intersections between work and personal and how much should our real social lives sacrifice for our new BFFs? What may be the ‘right’ way to curtail the addiction is certainly not going to be popular or fun. I assure you that I am not ready to leave my pacifier behind, I have a revived thirst for knowledge, I have always been curious but now I have an unquenchable thirst to know as much as possible immediately. I have access to more online articles globally then ever imaginable and I do passionately follow the story trends and bends in perceptions. I am *THAT PERSON* that should tone down my addiction but my rekindled passion for the here and now is all consuming and all empowering at the same time. I don’t know where we go from here but I can’t wait to watch this movie as it unfolds in real time. I can’t seem to loose the pacifier or spit the dummy and I love that those around me find me interesting enough to tolerate me for who I am evolving to be.
Note: Recipe: 50% baby pacifier with 50% cell phone = cellifier. Where ever you are you can now reduce your chances of human contact, and boost the electronical oblivion factor 24/7.
An excerpt from an interesting article in GIGAOM: Shut Up and Drive! How to Identify — and Deal With — Cell Phone Abuse by Blake Snow.
If you decide you do have a problem, the best way to avoid future abuse is to plan ahead. For example, decide beforehand when and how you will use your phone, including periodic power downs. Turn off alerts for low-priority phone messages. And set limits on how often you tweet, so as not to disturb more important things in life — like true friendship, hard deadlines and (you guessed it) safe driving.
Thats very good to know… thanks