Apparently the first ever SMS was sent some 20 years ago on 3 Dec 1992 when a young Bristish engineer used his computer to send "Merry Christmas" greetings to a guy at Vodafone on his mobile. The later could not respond because there was no way a mobile could send out messages.
My first encounter with SMS was in 2000 when given a small, sleek and stylish Nokia hp with sms function (and without antenna sticking out) by the company. It was the latest upmarket model at that time and I selected a swanky ringtone. Once I left it in a meeting room full of bankers working on a project for our company. When I returned to the room, they told me with envy that I missed a call. It was the first time in my life that I actually owned something before most people did. It was COOL. However it came with a price. We were working on a bond issue and the 2 top bosses' decision had to be sought when pricing the bond. They however would be attending a very important function at the hour of pricing the bond and could not answer calls. I was instructed to sms them to get approval. I was petrified as I never acquainted myself to the method of sending sms. When I told my boss about my apprehension, the response was "we don't give you an expensive phone for nothing".
Can you believe it, just 12 years later the situation is the complete reverse. I am probably one of the last ancient beings using a "dumb" phone. I thought having an I-pad is sufficient. However I felt increasingly 'left out' and 'different' for not having a smart phone.Also when I hear my daughter, husband and others talk excitedly about 'apps' I somehow feel a bit like a dinosaur. Last week when having lunch with my classmates at a course, I felt kind of embarrassed to check my 'dummy' when a sms tone came on. Every one was busy scrolling and scrolling the screens of their smart phones. Sigh! one literally feels as smart or as dumb as the phone one has. Now I can understand why some teenagers resort to stealing or shoplifting. They don't want to be thought poor or uncool or just don't want to be different. Well if a fortish woman whom I was 10 years ago succumbed to feeling COOL just having the first mobile model, what more the youngsters.
I am contemplating to continue using a dumb phone as practice to master 'non-self' ie. not to be conscious of my identity of not having a smart phone. Haha, that was just a joke. I may be a bit bothered when people think me not savy. Whatever it is I will go and get a smart phone. Why? Because I live in mortal fear of not catching up with technology and falling further and further behind if I don't pace with it. We need to adapt to the environment. It is no longer about being COOL.
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