Many of us – or should I say most of us? – cherish our cellphones, almost obsessively carrying them with us wherever we go.
We check on them throughout the day for a new email or a funny comment from a Facebook friend.
It’s definitely safe to say that cellphones are, obviously, used for much more than simply calling someone.
Many people consider them one of their most prized possessions, often more important than the family photo album or heirlooms passed down from the last generation.
It seems we can’t live without them but, about 10 short years ago, life went on without this technology. Yes, cellphones existed but they weren’t nearly as advanced as they are today.
Whenever we drive along the Sea to Sky Highway – and many other highways in B.C. – the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure buys data from Google Maps, which is generated from our cell phones.
We’re doing the work ourselves by carrying our cell phones with us at all times and this information is being bought, according to the provincial government, in an attempt to analyze areas of congestion and accidents on the highway.
Many of us use Google Maps on a daily basis to map-out driving routes and determine how long it will take us to get to our destination.
The pay off for this convenient information is that, through our cellphone, our exact location is always tracked.
(MOTI said it uses traffic data as a whole to look at the big picture, not to track individual people, but the technology still exists).
But is it really a pay off? Do we really care if cellphone companies – and Google for Android users – constantly know where we are?
Admittedly, it is a bit creepy that our every movement is being followed, but would we rather live in a world without Google Maps, Facebook or email on our cellphones?
It doesn’t appear to bother the vast majority, judging by the millions of people who have these apps permanently installed.
We’re not willing to give this up. It’s become a way of life, all within less than a decade.
Our kids won’t remember a time without the convenience of cellphones, and the endless hours spent – a lot of it mindlessly – on social media.
This is something to think about.
But for now, I’m betting we will all keep our faithful cell phones in hand.
- The Chief
