ARE YOU IN LOVE WITH YOUR CELL PHONE?

Are you addicted to being connected?  Are you whipped? 

Everywhere you look people have their eyes glued to their cellphone screens. People are blindly walking into poles, walls, and crosswalks while reading text messages or surfing the web. Social interaction has also felt the hit from this behavior and may have caused psychological barriers for communication between strangers. People in waiting rooms sitting together, yet glued to the content of their phones. We've all seen this behavior, but when was the last time you noticed yourself?

Conversations have been shot down or simply ended prematurely from the fiddling of a touch screen during the engagement. People have been shunned or too scared to talk to someone who's mesmerized by what their screen is showing them. Family get togethers during the holidays have also been affected as everyone and their mother is instagramming, pinning, tweeting or facebooking everything that's going on. 

Do we love our phones too much?  (Image: gonzalobaeza)

Yes the content that's lacking from personal conversation has migrated into web comments. People feel more comfortable asking Google or Yahoo answers for advice over the good word of their friends and family members. It's apparent that the world of the internet is more valued than the world in front of you, and for that reason the respect level for anyone or anything outside of it has almost become non-existent. Truly the only solution is to separate ourselves from it, but we can't seem to do that for even one day without feeling extreme panic. 

Consider all the money you've spent on your cellphone bills since the introduction of the smart phone. The average consumer spends around $100 on their cell phone monthly. What's upsetting is the price to stay connected on the go is more costly than the price to stay connected from home. The option for a data plan has now become a requirement with all smart phones. With the death of the flip phone this makes us even more vulnerable to the plans these phone companies have on display. 

The line drawn between what cell phones are made for and what they are sold for may be disgusting to the consumer but it's very delicious to the investor. Cellphone companies are always boasting about their profit margins. With such strong demand, it's a very successful business. However, like everyone involved they all want a big piece of the pie. Verizon and it's competitors are no exception, tapping customers for more and more money for limited data plans.

Your opinion as the consumer will never be considered seriously as long as you and everyone else keeps paying.  

Smartphones come equipped with WiFi capabilities, but a data plan is required at the point of purchase. Why? Because these companies want more money. Your cell phone company is not a phone company, they've entered the entertainment business. They're providing you with so much entertainment that if it was taken from you it would create a large amount of HURT. It's like an abusive relationship - You can complain all day about it, but at the end of the day you're so scared you'll never leave. 

Truly these companies have become so powerful that with a touch of a button they could turn your service off and leave you crippled. So how do we escape? It would take a massive effort for change starting with all of us relying solely on WiFi. Tablets don't require a data connection, and they have WiFi, so maybe that would be a good place to start. One thing is for sure, you can't pay for cell phone service with anyone without a data plan. 

So what do you think? Do you feel these cell phone companies have taken things too far? Are cell phone prices ridiculous? Is your monthly bill too high? Could you use an extra 30 to 40 dollars off your bill every month by dropping the data plans? Do you think we should all go WiFi and stop relying on these horrible 3G and 4G networks? Speak your mind and let us know. 

Image Sources: Kārlis Dambrāns, Rhys A., Mila.S