Smartphones: An inseparable part of our lives
Has your phone ever stopped working? What happens when it runs out of battery, or has not network coverage? Have you ever dropped it? Or, horror of horrors, misplaced it? It's a nightmarish scenario to imagine our existence without phones now. The smartphone is something we wake up to, and go to sleep with. It's an inseparable part of our existence. We look at screens right in the middle of important conversations.
Such has been the effect of smartphones on our lives, that there now exist a term to convey how an integral part of our lives that smartphones have become – smartphone separation anxiety. While it's easy to discard the smartphone as a frivolous entity that impedes true human interaction, and to undertake a 'phone detox', it's undeniable that modern life would be pretty much unimaginable without the instant access to all of the world's information in our pockets.
Curiosity and information
In this hyper-competitive world, it literally pays to stay up to date with what's happening around us. The desire to satisfy curiosity is deeply human. Consequently, search is now an absolute must-have for, dare I say, all of us.
Entertainment
The ability to take a mental break by using video or audio entertainment, whether in the middle of a busy workday or a long vacation, is one of the most popular use cases today. As smartphones and mobile data becomes cheaper, streaming apps have seen explosive growth and engagement.
Convenience
Smartphones allow us quick and easy access to maps, shopping, booking, payments. For many such use cases, the usage experience has been entirely revamped. By now, it's a no-brainer to pull out the phone to look for directions or quickly make a booking for a movie. In fact, to be honest, whenever someone driving next to my car asks for directions at a traffic signal, I wonder why a person who can afford a car doesn't want to use a smartphone.
Self-image
Contrary to the increasing pushback that social and mainstream media gets, I feel privileged to be able to possess knowledge through these sources. There is almost infinite scope for learning, and the aspiration to sound and look intelligent among peers can be satiated immediately through smartphones.
Communication and expression
This is by far the most popular use case. We are social creatures. Our innate eagerness to express and communicate with friends and family is what differentiates the human experience. Empathy is our superpower.
To this end, mobile phones are only another tool to accomplish this. Nothing beats in-person interactions where we can make eye contact and truly be in the moment. While voice and video take us close to this ideal experience, even text and visual elements like emojis, stickers, GIFs and short video clips enable vivid expression. We are confident that our team's work at Bobble Keyboard to facilitate visual and personalized communication adds significant value to our users.
Relationships and dating
Finding love and companionship, no matter how serious or casual, has never been easier. All thanks to highly innovative entrepreneurs who have leveraged technology and creativity to make hyper-successful apps in this space. No matter how low one's 'match rate', there is no shortage of optimism that inspires swiping all day long at all times of the day!
Photo and video
The effortless creation of photo and video memories and instantaneous access to them is happening at an unprecedented scale at this moment. Gone are the days when the photos at important events in our lives would be restricted by camera rolls of 36 snapshots each. Smartphone cameras keep getting better, and the memory on our phones has kept going up every passing year. Our forefathers would most likely be left befuddled by the selfie phenomenon.
