Smart

Yes, I know it’s not exactly groundbreaking to launch into a critique of the rise and rise of the smartphone, but here’s how it finds its way to a place in my vision.

There is no point debating the mobile phone; the smartphone. Smart it undoubtedly is. In fact, I distinctly remember the first time I saw one in action. Not too sure on the date, but I think late 2009. Walking back from the local boozer with me dad and brother-in-law, one of whom had an iPhone. Probably wasn’t dad. Anyway, as we walked by a building, we noticed it had a date carved into the stone facade, but we couldn’t figure it out. It was in Roman numerals and, as we were neither Roman enough to understand, nor sober enough to think it through, we turned to Apple and Google and, by the wonders of the Internet, we (well Rob, actually) found the answer, right there in the middle of North Street. Incredible.

Yes, incredible. All I’m saying is that if you want to meet up with family and friends for a nice meal in a nice restaurant, then just leave the bloody things switched off. There could be other people looking for a table at which they could actually engage with their fellow diners. What could possibly be so important that it cannot wait an hour or so? (To be fair, I suppose these poor souls could all be in a restaurant with a menu printed in a language they don’t understand, so they are all looking at a translation function. If it was somehow all coded in Roman numerals, I know they would have been fine.)