The Evil iPhone

I know it isn’t fair to only pick on the iPhone so I will include all smart phone type devices when I say they are evil.  According to a web article I read the first iPhone was released June 27, 2007. In my opinion it should be recognized as a day of gloom every year. Obviously no lives were lost like on D-Day or September 11th but the undesirable habits and behaviors those handheld gadgets have created are very depressing.

The ugliness of the iPhone and like gadgets has no boundaries. It affects people of all ages and races without discrimination. I’ve seen grandparents ignore grandchildren who are in the same room just to text someone or look up some trivial information.  I’ve seen babies play with iPhones and toddlers watch movies on them. I’m going to pick on my kids and their friends only because it was the most recent abuse I witnessed.

Abby and Josh had some friends up to Voyageur this weekend and we finally have broadband internet. I walked into our living room once and saw all of them on their personal evil device. Scrolling through Instagram feeds, snap-chatting their friends, watching senseless vine feeds, “liking” photos on Facebook and who knows what else these children sat on the sofas like little zombies. They were all in the same room yet they were not interacting with each other.

It was a very sad scene and I’m afraid my living room isn’t the only place it is happening. It’s everywhere. At sporting events, restaurants, in vehicles and everywhere you look the iPhone is replacing conversation and worse. I don’t think we’ll know all of the ill-effects these gadgets have for awhile and it will never be soon enough.

Luckily I live in a place where cell phones don’t work and I can turn off the wi-fi.  That motivated them to get off of the couch and get outside to enjoy the 70 degree temperature and sunshine.

I took them to a campsite in the BWCA to enjoy the afternoon. They played catch, swam, visited, explored and had a great time. Back at Voyageur they played at the volleyball court, jumped off the dock, went fishing, paddleboarding and swam some more. They even played a game of cards.

When it was time for a movie at night the wi-fi was back on and the gadgets were back in their hands. None of them could watch a movie without checking something on their iPhone every fifteen seconds. I’m not kidding. These kids are so addicted to these gadgets they can’t be without them.  And as I said before, kids aren’t the only ones.

What are adults afraid they are going to miss out on if they don’t continually have access to their phones? Is it a missed Facebook post about who has the brightest child, cutest puppy or best husband? I have no idea but I do know you can get away from this by taking a canoe trip into the BWCA.

There are adults who can’t imagine going on a Boundary Waters trip because they can’t use their iPhone. How sad is that? I hope you will challenge those people you know to spend a week gadget free and there’s no better place to do it than in the Boundary Waters.

I don’t know what the solution is but I do know there is a big problem and it is one I dislike very much. It sure would be nice to go back in time 8-years and beg someone to not release the evil iPhone. Until that happens, visit the BWCA frequently and run quickly away from evil.

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