Anna Posyniak‑Dutka I Will Not Leave You Till Death Do Us Part…

The modern tech industry offers many products adapted toadapted to adapted to users’ needs. Here are three stories of people who describe their experience with mobile devices.

A) Alex, an athlete

I cannot imagine my life without a smartwatch. I have been running for 5 years now and I need to keep track ofkeep track ofkeep track of my progress. I had tried a number of different gadgets from the category of wearable technologywearable technologywearable technology but none was as good as a smartwatch. Why? First of all, a smartwatch is convenient to handle. Before I bought one, I had broken 2 phones simply by dropping them on some rocks when trying to check something during my mountain marathons. There is no such risk in the case of a smartwatch, which is secured on my wristsecured on my wrist [secured on somebody’s wrist]secured on my wrist. Mine is also waterproofwaterproofwaterproof, so I can have it on me even during triathlonstriathlons [triathlon]triathlons, which is great. It collects data about my activity, nutritionnutritionnutrition, heart rateheart rateheart rate and blood pressureblood pressureblood pressure. I also use it for receiving my email, texts, and call notificationscall notifications [call notification]call notifications, so I practically never part withpart with it [part with something]part with itpart with it [part with something]it.

B) Greta, a social sciencessocial sciencessocial sciences student

I don’t know what I would do without my e‑book readere‑book readere‑book reader. I cannot believe that about 3 years ago, I was among those who say that e‑books are awful. What has changed my mind? PracticalitypracticalityPracticality - to use just one word. When I started my university course in social sciences, I was shocked at how long my obligatory reading listobligatory reading listobligatory reading list was. We were expected to read 3 or 4 pretty thick books every couple of weeks. As I commute to the university daily, it was natural for me to use the time I spend on public transport reading those books. Unfortunately, the paper books turned out to be heavy to hold and carry around the whole day. Secondly, they are quite expensive. Second‑year students advised us to try e‑books instead and that was it. The cost is lower and I have a whole collection on one device. Besides,  I can refer back torefer back torefer back to them whenever I want. I think I might write my BA thesisBA thesis (Bachelor of Arts thesis) BA thesis about society’s changing attitudes toward mobile devices.

C) Rob, an undergraduate having a gap year

After my A‑levelsA‑levelsA‑levels, I still didn’t know what I wanted from life. Most of my friends chose their colleges and were serious about their future careers I felt I wasn’t ready for such a commitmentcommitmentcommitment. A gap yeargap yeargap year was a perfect solution for me and I wanted to make the most ofmake the most ofmake the most of that time to get to know the world and myself.  Because of that, I needed a device that combined the functions of a phone and a laptop. I wanted my family to be able to keep track of what I was doing while travelling. I also  wanted to be able to have access to the Internet wherever I went. I was recommended a tablet and it turned out to be a great choice. It is more compactcompactcompact and less bulkybulkybulky than a laptop. I could just put it into a protective sleeveprotective sleeveprotective sleeve and then into my handbag. It has quite a long battery lifebattery lifebattery life, which was especially important when I spent a couple of days without access to electricity. Not to mention its many functionsfunctions [function]functions! I used it to search for information, take photos, and do facetime withdo facetime withdo facetime with my mates back home. To me, it’s the most practical solution for those who want to travel lighttravel lighttravel light.

1 Źródło: Anna Posyniak‑Dutka, licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.