This weekend, I downloaded an app from Safeway, an app for recipes and an app for home decorating ideas. This is the latest “wave” of downloads that mark a different stage in my life. The last wave included about 3 different apps that allowed me to search for rentals in Silicon Valley. Before that I downloaded a wave of job hunting apps and several months before that I was downloading city maps and language learning apps during my time spent abroad.
My apps are telling the story of my life. My phone, and its distinct collection of icons in its own personalized arrangement, have become another fingerprint. It has a unique mix of apps that represent my interests and needs. Anyone call tell, looking at the mix of social media and practical applications that I’ve recently moved and I’m looking for a way to decorate my new space. Considering the job apps, they can probably also tell that I just started a new job. Add the fact that I have Snapchat, Instagram and Zipcar, and I think it’s also clear that I am or was recently a student.
I use my phone to make calls, check my emails, and take photos. But it has also become my profile. This is the only phone that marks off the hostel I stayed at in Rome or knows directions to all the apartments I’ve visited before I settled into my new home. It’s as telling as my resume and my Facebook profile. It’s one thing to say that smartphones have become important parts of our lives, but it’s quite another to sit back and realize that it has become a reflection of your life.
I just think it’s interesting to note that our online and mobile activity are their own timelines. Going through my phone is a walk down memory lane. And it’s an easy way for someone else to find out details of my life that I wasn’t conscious I was l laying bare. Once again, I have to take a step back and think about what it means to be constantly connected.
DigitalCrystal 