Steven Spielberg (and his ridiculously difficult-to-spell surname) had better watch out; not even Titanic could match up to the blockbuster I've been planning. OK so it's not exactly a romantic drama...more like one of those creepy horror movies that involve a tall, thin man with weird eyes and a houseful of screams and dark secrets. Intrigued? Read on...
Set in a university in a small town in the middle of nowhere, our story begins towards the end of 2010. The opening scene depicts two female students walking together to lunch.
Girl 1: "Happy birthday! I can't believe you're nineteen already. Did your parents spoil you?"
Girl 2: "Not yet, but my mom's promised me a Blackberry as soon as I get home."
Girl 1: "A Blackberry? Really? I've never seen the point of those phones."
Girl 2: "Haven't you heard of BBM??"
(At this point we shall cut to a scene four months later, of a campus full of students wandering around with their noses glued to their cellphone screens. In the background, the creator of the Blackberry laughs maniacally).
Personally, I think it'll be a hit. It has all the makings of a horror movie: a shadowy bad guy, a massive cult and lots of young, beautiful people that are likely to have sex at any moment (provided, of course, they can put their phones down for long enough to do it). Just watch. I'll be raking in millions.
Seriously though, this Blackberry phenomenon truly has me stumped. A couple of years ago those cellphones were marketed specifically towards businessmen and were designed to work in a similar way to a PDA with the added advantage of being able to make calls. In fact, most of the advertisements I've seen around are still aimed at people in the business world. So what is with the sudden Blackberry fad among students? Last year, only one of my friends had a Blackberry. I return this year to find them all madly swapping BBM pins and spending their spare time checking to see if anyone has emailed them since they last looked at their inbox five minutes ago. Today one of my friends took her Blackberry out to check her emails during lunch; she became so engrossed in it that she didn't even notice me leaving the table. Most Blackberry owners are rarely seen without their cellphone pinned to their hand or ear, and the faintest suggestion of leaving home without it sends them into a cold sweat. Maybe I'm weird, but I don't understand the addiction.
As you've probably guessed by now, I don't have a Blackberry. There are a few potential reasons for this:
1) I can't afford one (probably true, except that my mom offered to buy me a new cellphone for Christmas and a Blackberry was one of the options).
2) I'm trying to be a non-comformist (potentially true, except that I refuse to conform because I don't see the point).
3) I don't want people to be continuously sending me random BBM messages (definitely true).
But the one defining reason why I will most likely never own a Blackberry is far simpler than most people think. That reason is...
(deep breath)
I don't like the keyboard.
No, I'm not joking. I really, strongly dislike those ridiculously big QWERTY keyboards that Blackberries all come equipped with. Trying to poke buttons the size of a pinhead is something I don't particularly want to have to do, and I'm quite happy with typing out messages on a normal cellphone keypad. I will admit that I also dislike how big Blackberries are - my own touchscreen Samsung is so small and sleek and beautiful. I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but in short I think Blackberries are ugly. There, I said it and I'm not going to take it back.
Now to hit the 'Publish Post' button and wait for the mob and their burning torches to arrive.
In my defense (as the friend who “took her Blackberry out to check her emails during lunch; she became so engrossed in it that she didn't even notice me leaving the table”) I had 101 things to organise via email. And granted, the lunch table was not the place to do this (very rude of me). But being a Comm member of a society who is throwing a huge party on Friday night involves some serious organisation and communication skills. Plus I had to check important information regarding my tutlings. I am not one of those people who BBMs while in the company of friends; in fact I hardly use that application – it’s as pointless as Mxit. Having my emails come to my phone has made my life so much easier and saves me so much time! But I promise not to be one of THOSE Blackberry owners again. :-)
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