New Smart Phone. End of Civilization?

I was overdue for a new phone, so I finally decided to jump (somewhat reluctantly) on the "smart" phone bandwagon. I've been a Verizon customer for a long time and have always been happy with their service. So, I decided to stay with them and ordered the new Motorola Droid X. After a wait of about a week, It arrived two days ago and I've spent more time than I should getting it set up and figuring out the bazillion different features. Having never used a phone like this, my head was spinning for the first day or so. It did not make me feel smart.

Two days later, I've gotten used to it. In addition to allowing me to have email and internet on the run, I also bought a car mounting kit, so I can use it as a GPS. It has been about a year since my old GPS quit working, so it is good to have back. The phone also has an 8 megapixel camera and can record HD video, which might come in handy for blogging.

Okay, this is not my phone. But, it's not that far off.
Welcome to the future-for better or worse.

My reluctance to getting a "smart" phone, stems from my fear of becoming too reliant on technology. This is an age old fear that I'm sure many share. And perhaps its a fear that has been beaten to death in literature and Hollywood. But, I really do think it's a valid concern. At what point is all this access to information 24 hours a day, too much. At what point does technology override our natural life? At what point do we become disengaged from the world around us in order to be plugged into a cyber one? (is it me or does the word "cyber" sound dated?) As I already feel that I spend too much time "plugged in", what impact will this phone have? How do we strike a balance? How do we teach the next generation to strike a balance? Whoaa, this is heavy! Okay, I'll lighten up.

I guess only time will tell. And I guess these concerns don't (yet) outweigh the convenience factor of having this phone. So for now, I'm "buying" in.

Image of my phone. If I was really good, I'd of blogged this post from my phone.
But, I'm not ready for that, yet.

So there, I'm glad I got the phone, but it's kind of weird that every time I use it, I feel like I'm using something out of Star Trek. It's kind of like a Data Padd and Communicator rolled into one. That probably makes me a nerd, just for thinking that, but I can't help it. And for good measure I think I'm going to start referring to my phone as the HAL 9000. We'll see how long this is funny for.