Column: A Happy Medium, by Erin Murtaugh

I have the biggest love/hate relationship for technology. At the time I am writing this, I love it. I am currently laying in bed while using my iPhone 5C and a Google Drive application to work on my column.

Sunday, I would have told you that I despised technology.

My day started out by going hunting, so I started using my Droid cellphone around 4:45 a.m. that morning. By about 10 a.m., my phone was already on low battery, which I understood because I was on it a significant amount of time before then. I was getting ready to leave town at the time, so I grabbed my car charger and brought it with me.

The whole way up, I had it plugged in to the charger. The battery level was increasing, but in a very odd way. Usually it was going up increments of 1 percent, but this time it was going up by 5 or 10 percent. By the time I reached the Twin Cities, my battery was at about 70 percent, so I unplugged it.

About an hour later, I went to unlock my phone and it went from 50 percent, to 5 percent and then just died.

Frustrated, I waited until we arrived back at the car to plug my phone in again. Right away, it showed it was at 10 percent. Then it shut off and said it was at zero.

I tried to restart it again, and it showed 5 percent but wouldn’t increase the battery level, even after about an hour and a half. I called Verizon Wireless to see what could be wrong and they said to try a new battery or new charger. I patiently waited to get home and then plugged my phone in. Nothing changed.

I activated a friend’s old phone for two days and then decided it was time to make a trip to a Verizon Wireless store. I picked out the iPhone 5C. I missed the ability to do school work on my phone. Wherever, whenever.

The way we are dependent on technology is insane. I use it every day for school, photos and just to browse on social media. I’ve had my computer crash. I’ve lost photos. I’ve had countless phones break on me. What I’ve learned is that technology is far from perfect, same thing with all humans.

 

Albert Lea resident Erin Murtaugh is a senior at Albert Lea High School.