The "smart mob" revolution predicted by Reingold is an accurate description of the times we live in today. Everything has become summarized, mobilized, and accessible, literally right into the palm of our hands. Facebook and the iPhone are prime examples of this "smart mob" culture, as well as mediums through which I have experience in participating in that culture. Facebook started out for me as a place to leave messages to a few friends. Later on, I started finding family, then school events, and then updates, stories, pictures, pictures, and pictures. My everyday life did not seem complete without the over-saturation of information and images of what was going on in other people's lives, as well as my own need to broadcast my every move. Over time, however, I learned that this Facebook presence did not equate to reality. I could tone down my participation and still "exist". Likewise, I had an iPhone my first year of college. Not being a particularly phone talkative person, I was seduced by all the other activities the phone provided - music, note taking, watching TV, finding directions, playing games, and connecting to the internet, from anywhere. A few months ago, I lost the phone. I had to make a choice - pay for another expensive iPhone and its costly data plan, or just go back to a "regular" phone. I ended up making a choice to not buy another iPhone, and then it hit me. No matter how much it seemed impossible before, I could live without constantly being connected and amused all the time. It was just a matter of being practical.
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