Teaching Myself Technology

POSTED BY: Meaghan Colerick

So, on black Friday/cyber Monday... whatever, it was a Saturday... I decided to go and buy my first smart phone.  

I know, right? Where have I been?
I'll tell you where I've been.  I've been on prepaid, old school, slider phone (basically one step up from a flip phone), with T9 capabilities.  It's been working for me.  I never used to text much, I hate making phone calls and I thought my laptop was enough social media for me.  But I caved.  I've been using more text messaging lately, and, honestly, wanted a camera where it would be easy to share photos.

Like most people in their twenties, I grew up around the ever evolving multitude of technology. Pretty much everyone I know has a smart phone that I've tried, I've used tablets and ipads for work, and there are touch screens everywhere. So, I've been able to teach myself the basics of using my phone.

First things first, I had to get rid of all those useless apps on the home screen. 
Next, I had to download apps that I knew I would use regularly (you know, like fantasy football and instagram... important things).
Then, I had to organize the ones I wanted on my home screen and start making accounts and signing into them, so I can start using them.

Despite having my phone for, well, only for six days now, I took some of my first pictures today while having a sushi dinner with Stefanie:

In case you were wondering: yes, it was as delicious as it looked.

Those pictures came out so clear.  I mean, now I understand why everyone thinks they're a photographer. 

Overall, I'm pretty impressed with myself and my ability to, as Rob so kindly puts it, "enter the twenty-first century."  I know I still need to establish myself more fully, and there must be some cool things that my phone can do that I haven't discovered yet... but I will discover.

I still need to: update work and friends and family with my new phone number, create a voicemail message, set up all my billing info... and, I guess, do other ascetic-type updates. So, basically, if you have any useful advice, please tell me all your secrets.

For now, I leave you with the first bathroom selfie I have ever taken:

I would like to point out the frustration and anger on my face, as I claw gripped the phone to be able to hit the shutter button; all the while trying to pose in such a way that it was clear that I was in a bathroom, in a full length mirror; simultaneously trying not to cover my face with the phone. Never. Again. maybe.

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Be sure to watch my journey through technology on instagram, twitter, tumblr,  and all those other things by following me at: mjaneawake (I promise they won't all be blank forever... well, unless I decide they're awful or too confusing to be fun).