iPhone Vs a thing called life

So the new iPhone 4 has been launched and ready for release in stores, are you thinking of getting one even though you know that deep inside that you don't really need it and it is an unnecessary luxury and waste of money. 'I can do whatever I want, it's my money!' you retort, but, are you really doing what you want? Have you like many millions of others been captivated by Apple's clever branding and marketing?

You know, I watch people go crazy when talking about the iPhone, they don't even see it as just an electronic device, to them, it is a solution to all their problems! This is how most modern day advertising works, the products are pitched in such a way that you're made to believe that somehow the product will transform your lifestyle for better. In truth, the only way that this phone (some will go so far to say it is sacrilege to call it as such!) is going to transform people's lives is by putting them into debt. Many are led to believe that by purchasing and owning an iPhone, somehow all their life problems will ebb away and never been seen again - The iPhone is not the answer to all your life problems, in fact, it may well become the opposite!

Firstly, I'd like to do a quick thought experiment. The current competitor for the iPhone 4 is the HTC Evo, which has a faster processor and is capable of multitasking applications. Even though the HTC Evo is a slightly more powerful phone, many will still choose to buy the iPhone for whatever reason they believe or convinced themselves to believe. If we were to take the Apple logo and put it on the Evo, and put the HTC Evo logo on the iPhone, would this change people's perception of the products if they had never seen or heard of either phone before? Most claim that the iPhone is the better looking phone, but with the Evo logo, would it perhaps look slightly less attractive, because in terms of design, what do we use to guage what is better looking than our own biases and what we have been told is good. I imagine, and I hope you will too, if the Apple logo were to be emblazoned on the HTC Evo phone, it would somehow become a different object in many people's eyes.

There are many reasons to own an iPhone, but the reasons for owning one may outweigh them. Out of all the companies, Apple have latched on to the idea that people are embarrassed of owning an older model phone, while most companies have already built in a lifespan for their phones, Apple have gone one step further and made it so once you buy an iPhone, you become invisibly subscribed to Apple's 'upgrade or be embarrassed' money sucking scheme. Because who wants to have last year's iPhone, when the latest iPhone is marketed as the item that only cool kids have? Now think about each iPhone generation, is each successive iPhone really that much better than the previous - essentially it is a phone, and perhaps a bonus if you can access the internet on it, but how much does it contribute to improving your life overall?

I can name a few things that most people might use their iPhone for ... check Facebook, watch YouTube, check Facebook again, and again ... Is it really constructive to be so connected? I've seen groups of friends sitting together, all busy posting their Facebook statuses via their iPhone about how they are hanging out with their friends. How is that productive? Some people will argue that social networking is important in this day and age, and if you don't do it, you'll be left behind - little do they know that most of these claims are sponsored by the very companies that promote them! How strange is that? Not very, all these companies have their own interests to look after, and social networking is another way for companies to administer their advertising to us. It's a multi-billion dollar business, and it is not very hard to understand why they would want us to be staring at advertising wherever we go; the iPhone is in essence, an efficient portable advertising viewer.

Why do people want to make their lives so complicated with electronic gadgets all of a sudden? I believe it all started with the Tamagotchi craze, the electronic pet which needed your attention at all times to feed and clean it, or it will die. The iPhone has become the replacement for that toy, Facebook and Twitter are the virtual pets. We've all become addicted to this new game of trying to keep our friends happy by publishing our statuses to the world every five seconds. Why do people do it? Because they're unhappy or bored. Like I said at the beginning of this post, the iPhone is not the answer to your life's problems, and many people who have problems or are unhappy (and believe me, it seems to be he majority these days) look to these products to fill an emptiness in their lives.

There are other ways to fulfill your life, and it is simply a matter of discovering it, and looking within yourself for the answers. We just have to stop being busy, because to be honest, Facebook is not constructive for our time. We can find other ways to improve our life and ourselves. Maybe think about getting fit? Some will say that the iPhone is an excellent way to pass the time, but time can be passed in other ways, for example if you are waiting for your dental appointment, you could do some exercises in the waiting room, bring a pen with you and do some relaxing doodles, improve your mind by doing a crossword puzzle, most of these alternatives are cheap or free and they provide endless benefits.

So if you don't spend the money on an iPhone, then what to spend it on. Who says you need to spend money? Maybe the need to spend comes from a less answered need within you. Like I said, we look for answers in the wrong places, and we often think that buying something provides the solution, but if only there were such quick fixes to our problems! Some people have never traveled outside of their own country, the price of the latest iPhone may get them a holiday abroad - life is too short to be staring at a tiny screen, the world is to be explored! Invest the money in life experiences, whether it be business, learning, creativity or exploration!