Alienation

»Review«

There’s something of Goethe’s Sorcerer’s Apprentice about it—I truly can’t get rid of “the spirits I have summoned.” That’s exactly what happened when the smartphone entered my life. I resisted it for ages, then started using it for work reasons, and now I can’t imagine my personal life without it. This isn’t me—I’ve always avoided talking on the phone—yet somehow it is me, because I use the smartphone like a computer. And since my dependence keeps growing, especially with authentication requirements for sensitive applications, I now carry two smartphones—the second as a backup in case of total system failure.
Yes, I find my own behavior unsettling in this regard. It’s a good thing we’re multiple selves in a way: while we become alienated from ourselves in one life context, we befriend ourselves in and through another context, hopefully maintaining our balance.