Age of smartphones
Smartphones are a necessity these days as you must have "Roti, kapda, aur makaan, aur smartphone" to call yourself civilized. Even if you don't want to be civilized smartphone is pretty awesome.
The number of smartphone users in India was estimated to reach over 748 million in 2020, with the number of smartphone users worldwide forecasted to exceed 1.5 billion users in 2040. The number of smartphone users worldwide is projected to amount to nearly 2.7 billion by 2019. So what could be the reason behind this expansion, let's find out.
Contents
- The Rise
- The Rule
- The issues
- What if it's all gone
- Conclusion
The Rise
The first smartphone was invented in 1992 and released for purchase in 1994, by IBM. It was called the Simon Personal Communicator (SPC). It was pretty heavy though but sold 50,000 units in 6 months, which was a lot. That was the spark that ignited this fire. In 2001, the first feature phones were launched with 3g connectivity with some hefty plans for internet connectivity, and then Uncle Steve blew the market into shreds with the legendary iPhone. Thus ending the era of feature phones and marking the "age of smartphones" as we know it. Android came into competition with ios and these are the major players to date. The smartphone we use today had its major base in 2007 and it never budged since.
The Rule
Smartphones are practically mini computers. You can do "almost" anything you need. Smartphone usage is increasing day by day as companies are pouring millions into the R&D of phones, apps, and internet-based services. Phones have already replaced alarm clocks, torches, calculators, and mail. They have simplified the map problem with a margin far beyond a normal human's grasp. Smartphone cameras have started replacing DSLRs. You can shoot a cinematic video from a high-end phone and they give phenomenal quality. And when it comes to apps the possibilities are endless.
The still ongoing pandemic was very tough for humans and we will never forget those whom we lost, but we persevered despite that and all thanks to our strong will and a decent internet connection. India's UPI prospered exponentially and today you can buy dhaniya worth 10 rupees by scanning a QR code at sabziwala and he will nod that it's done, and at present you don't even need internet for this, pretty astonishing I'll say. Movies have started to launch on OTT platforms exclusively and don't even talk about web series as everybody's binging these days. You can order anything and it will be at your doorsteps within 1-3 business days.
The enormous expansion has been possible for the budget segment smartphones which deliver exceptional value for money. Although you can buy phones worth 1.5 lahks, budget phones are what you'll see in the majority of Indian's hands. The fact that PUBG became such a massive phenomenon says it all. All the credit was to their specific target smartphone users. And we have seen it before from the early days it was Temple Run and Subway Surfers, then it was Candy crush saga and Fruit Ninja, Clash of Clans, Angry Birds, Pokemon Go and then it was PUBG and in the pandemic, it was Ludo king(1 for nostalgia).
There are countless applications for smartphones that a normal human cannot fathom but it's not always flowers and springs. Let's talk about it in the next section.
The issues
The issues are also countless and pretty disturbing namely:
- Privacy: You are always tracked and have to give up your privacy in order to use Google, Facebook and its other apps and almost everything. Even though it might be a good thing but not always.
- Frauds: Online frauds are at an epic peak since commercial smartphones have come into the picture.
- Addiction: Glued to phone scrolling, swiping, binging and whoops-10 hours have passed just like that. And the same goes on the next day.
- Negative Influencing: We have seen riots insinuated over religious political influence on the internet and they were pre-planned and sponsored. Yes, it's that easy as people in general haven't changed a lot.
So is there nothing we can do about these issues, should we ban smartphones for all or what? Well, no particular party is to be blamed especially not smartphones themselves. It's a magnificent tool if used "smartly".
What if it's all gone
Just for a moment imagine if all the smartphones went to dust just like how Tony Stark snapped Thanos and his army into the wind. What would be your reaction? For sure we all would behave like junkies stripped from their "drug". It would be chaotic as we all have depended on our best friend so much. Now it's up to us how we use the company of our friends, it's like a clean slate filled with useful information as well as junk, what we consume makes us. pretty neat analogy, right?
To understand the importance of smartphones in our life, and not get addicted to them, we should deliberately not use smartphones for a while as "separation is the best teacher". This is my slogan.
Conclusion
To conclude, we can't live without smartphones as they have become part of our lives. If by accident we left our phones at home we would feel that a part of us is away, far away. It is a sophisticated invention and humans so far have used it as a boon as well as a curse. So let's thank our phones and use them well.
By-
Akhilesh Semwal
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