"Is it, question mark?"

Walking down the street the other day, I was chatting with my cell phone when I looked up to discover some people with quizzical looks. But everyone does this, right?

Several times each day, I talk to my phone. For a writer, for any sort of creative, for anyone hoping to remember something, this is ideal. Thinking is productive. Thinking aloud is even more productive when those thoughts can be captured. That’s why I’ve trained my phone (or maybe it’s trained me?) to listen while I share my ideas and think aloud. I’ve programmed it to record, type and even repeat back to me what I’ve said. While driving, while walking, while at work, my phone is required to listen to me and take notes.

Mostly, I record this information privately. But then I forgot. And some boundaries became blurred. The tipping point occurred recently when I was in the midst of a real-life, in person, conversation with someone and this happened:

Me: “What do you mean, question mark?”

The other person: “What?”

Me: “Um, (clearing my throat) what do you mean?”

You see, when I speak to my phone it will even record my preferred punctuation so when I want it to record a question I end said question with “question mark.”

I should probably get out more.

It's probably true. My iPhone might own me. But I’m not like all those others; I’m not obsessed. Maybe you’ve heard of “nomophobia” (fear of no mobile phone)? That’s not me, is it, question mark?

Hmm. Maybe the saying is true: “life was much simpler when apple was just a fruit.”