Techno take-over by Eileen Padmore

I must say upfront that I've read about the dangers of smart phones.  Some become dependent on them, even addicted through their lures.  They beckon into a virtual world that can trap you into believing it is more real than the real one ..... although that one is not without its own illusions and fantasies.

Awareness provides immunity, of course.

However did I manage before?  It's my camera, torch, sat- nav, calendar, diary, alarm clock, dictionary, encyclopaedia, iPod, banker, photo album, calculator, photocopier, Bible, weight controller, fitness tracker, e-reader, e-writer, note book ..... and so much more.

Help!  Where's it gone?  Landline track it down ..... you're not good for much else now.  Ah!  Still in my coat pocket....  panic over.

All those apps!  Top favourite the one that lets me pray as I go.  Before, I had to go to my room, shut the door, make the effort.  Now I can connect on the hoof instead of wasting time.  Like when I'm in the queue at the supermarket.  God in everyday life.  OK, it's a bit public but no harm in that.

Best when I'm in the car travelling between zones.  It calms me down, makes me feels more benevolent to those other fools on the road.  Thank God I'm not like them!

It never gets turned off day or night.  Long ago there was a non smart predecessor used only for emergencies.  A different animal altogether.  Thank God for progress!

But sometimes it fails to serve me in the manner I deserve.  It sulks, refusing to load stuff.  Another trick is to change the text.  When I whizz off messages without checking they can turn into gibberish. It should know what I mean by now curse it ..... stupid device!

Then there are those nasty little tendencies like turning itself down, defaulting to 3G (unbearably slow) or running out of battery when I need it most.

Friends who don't have smart phones (or who haven't yet learned to use them properly) fail to understand the need to check constantly for messages, mail, posts or tweets.  Hmmm ..... feeling a tad lonely today.  Nothing new has come in.  Where are you all my 500 plus friends of Facebook and multitudes of followers on Twitter?

Let's stir things up.  Time to have a go at some.  I'm not confrontational but patience is running out.  How can he support that loser?  Even more skewed theology from you-know-who and if that other sends me emotional blackmail again I'll block her.  Easy.  One click and off she goes.

What?  You think I'm hooked?  Not me.  I know the dangers.


An attempt to give the inanimate a life, with a mix of ironic humour and dodgy theology thrown in.  Perhaps try giving it a voice next time ...... or maybe someone else would like to have a go and show me how it's done?




Eileen Padmore has retired from a life spent in health care and academia after experience in Sierra Leone, Zambia, Eire, and Northern Ireland (in the troubles) as well as inner city Birmingham and Leeds.  She has had articles published in Woman Alive, Christian Writer, and contributed to the recent popular ACW Lent Book.  Married for several decades to a professional musician, the family includes a feisty springer spaniel and a large African tortoise.