Are some lives so empty that an iPhone 3G will fill the void?

Paul Michael — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:54:38 +0000

In certain parts of the world (Russia comes to mind), people have stood in line for hours just to get some food. It’s messed up, but I get it. If standing in line for hours will result in putting a meal on the table for your hungry family, I’m right there. But why are people spending hours in line for a cell phone?!

I saw a clip from a news show this morning featuring a reporter who is clearly as dumbfounded as I am. The future iPhone 3G customers were stood in a long line waiting for the technological marvel that was about to change their lives forever.

It would make them happy. It would bring them the joy their lives were missing. It would be their friend, their confidant and their partner. On dreary days, it would sing sweet songs to them. It would massage their brows in times of sorrow. It would like the same food. Love the same sports teams. Everything was about to be perfect.

Well, not really. Because as several people have already tried to point out, including the reporter in the clip , it’s JUST A PHONE!

Sure, it’s groovy, but what else could you be doing with your time? Wisebread’s core philosophy is about living large on a small budget. And standing in line for hours to pay $200 (plus thousands in future cell phone bills) for a cold, hard gadget is neither of those things.

This all goes back to the article I wrote on Fight Club. It’s just stuff. It’s just a thing. A thing that will cost you high monthly charges for a minimum of two years. Why would anyone feel the need to waste their time and money on this? I mean, I like gadgets, I really do. I just bought a GPS system for my car because I’m so hopeless with directions. But I found it used on eBay and it was delivered straight to my door.

However, the iPhone 3G craze seems to go a lot deeper than just having some cool gadget. It’s almost as if people are afraid NOT to be one of the first to own it. I mean, what would their uber-techy friends say? What sneers and jokes would be made behind their backs if they shamefully pulled out the brick that is the original iPhone. Oh, the humiliation. Could they ever show their outdated faces in public again?

Personally, if you don’t pull out an iPhone 3G in my presence, and instead dial someone on a crappy old cell-phone that doesn’t even have funky ringtones, I’ll be way more impressed. You’re not owned by technology or advertising. You clearly have more self-confidence. And you’re not making up for something (like the guys driving the $120k slick black Porsches that guzzle gas and may be a substitute for something else sadly lacking). Here's another great clip from The Soup that made me chuckle, probably because it's so true...

I know I’ll get negative comments galore for this one, but I really don’t care. At the end of the day, if you really do feel like a gadget is worth all of this wasted time, effort and money, I’d like you to sit down, form the lotus position, and repeat after me…

It’s only a phone.
It’s only a phone.
It’s only a phone.

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

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Are some lives so empty that an iPhone 3G will fill the void?