The iPhone is the New Cigarette

http://bluvox.com/2009/08/the-iphone-is-the-new-cigarette/

by abie • 17 years ago

42 23 17 years ago

bluvox.com

sound2man• 17 years ago

Great points, though the iPhone doesn't kill people like second hand smoke does.

diiq• 17 years ago

I suppose you could make an argument about iPhoning while driving...

But time is still turning. It could be that multi-touch screens cause deadly "finger cancer".

likpok• 17 years ago

Or you could make an argument about the debatable efficacy of secondhand smoke. (I have heard people claiming that secondhand smoke is not as bad as people make it out to be. I do not have sources for this, nor am I particularly arguing it.)

Also, what about all the E&M radiation? If you want to go out on a limb, it's a little less tenuous than finger-cancer...

stepherm• 17 years ago

but they do explode on rare occasion.

jeremymims2• 17 years ago

Insofar as everyone I know wishes they could quit using one (due to the well publicized problems), but very few can do it?

If only there was some patch, software or otherwise.

geuis• 17 years ago

I'd much rather quit smoking than give up my iPhone. On second thought, I do want to quit smoking and have no desire to be rid of my iPhone.

axod3• 17 years ago

>> "due to the well publicized problems"

Err. Which well publicized problems?

simonsarris• 17 years ago

AT&T is a pretty well-publicized problem.

jeremymims2• 17 years ago

I'm not sure if you're kidding, so I'll bite:

- Frequently dropped calls - 3G connection problems - Delayed SMS and voicemails (sometimes by days) - App store problems - Short battery life

Some of these are AT&T's fault, no doubt. But I've had AT&T for the better part of a decade, and I've never had so many "network" problems as when I bought an iPhone. When your phone has dropped an important phone call with the CEO of a public company three times in 5 minutes in Central Park in New York City, it makes you want to break the piece of junk into a million pieces.

But the promise of the phone, and the experience when it does work, is really quite good. It's just not a piece of equipment you can rely on. I struggle with the thought of getting rid of it quite often, yet just can't seem to pull the trigger.

kqr2• 17 years ago

You also see cigarettes used as props in movies. Will the iphone take its place?

I'm trying to replace that classic image of two lovers in a bed smoking, with two people twiddling with their iphones.

abie2• 17 years ago

I can send you a picture ;-)

Alex3917• 17 years ago

Howard Rheingold used the phrase "lightweight digital refreshment" in 2001.

abie2• 17 years ago

Thanks for the reference. I should have known that!

scott_s• 17 years ago

Humans are pattern matching machines. We can always find some mapping from one thing to another thing. Not all such mappings are relevant or useful.

aurora72• 17 years ago

Hey, I can do all of these things with my Android G1, too. And even better as it's got a real keyboard.

brown9-2• 17 years ago

You could replace any mention of "iPhone" in this list with "Blackberry" or even "smartphone".

1. The Blackberry changes your brain chemistry. For better and for worse it makes you feel good and want more (mechanism of action be damned).

2. The Blackberry gives you an excuse to step outside and fiddle with something when you feel like not working for fifteen minutes.

3. The Blackberry gives you something to do in boring interstitial situations, like waiting in line at the store, or waiting for the bathroom, or waiting in line for the bathroom at the store.

4. The Blackberry gives you something to do with your hands in awkward situations.

5. In really awkward situations the Blackberry gives you a way to check out entirely (granted, that’s a slightly different type of cigarette).

6. When you’re using your Blackberry in public, some people will think you look sophisticated. Others will think you’re annoying.

This article seems like an annoying attempt to get some attention / linkbait.

pssdbt• 17 years ago

This comment seems like an annoying attempt to get some attention / dickbait.

boblol123• 17 years ago

Replace the word Blackberry/iPhone with the word penis, I think it's just as accurate.

swombat• 17 years ago

Do you often play with yourself while waiting in line at the store or having an awkward situation?

lurkinggrue• 17 years ago

I wondered why I would see people outside the office here talking on their iPhones.

Took me a bit to realize they had AT&T and there was no signal in the building and barely any outside the building.

One reason why I stick with sprint is it works everywhere I go in this area.

The iPhone is the New Cigarette

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