Have you ever thought about this:
/hæv juː ˈɛvər θɔːt əˈbaʊt ðɪs:/
“If you were told not to touch your phone for 24 hours, could you do it?"
/"ɪf juː wɜːr toʊld nɒt tuː tʌtʃ jɔːr foʊn fɔːr ˈtwɛnti-fɔːr ˈaʊərz, kʊd juː duː ɪt?"/
For most people, a world without smartphones is completely unimaginable today.
/fɔːr moʊst ˈpiːpl, ə wɜːrld wɪˈðaʊt ˈsmɑːrtˌfoʊnz ɪz kəmˈpliːtli ˌʌnɪˈmædʒɪnəbl təˈdeɪ./
If we tried it, when would be the hardest moment to get through?
/ɪf wiː traɪd ɪt, wɛn wʊd biː ðə ˈhɑːrdɪst ˈmoʊmənt tuː ɡɛt θruː?/
Is it when you first wake up? During your commute? Or right before you fall asleep?
/ɪz ɪt wɛn juː fɜːrst weɪk ʌp? ˈdjʊərɪŋ jɔːr kəˈmjuːt? ɔːr raɪt bɪˈfɔːr juː fɔːl əˈsliːp?/
Whenever we have a tiny question in our daily lives, or when we want to look something up, we reflexively reach for our phones to search for it.
/wɛnˈɛvər wiː hæv ə ˈtaɪni ˈkwɛstʃən ɪn ˈaʊər ˈdeɪli laɪvz, ɔːr wɛn wiː wɒnt tuː lʊk ˈsʌmθɪŋ ʌp, wiː rɪˈflɛksɪvli riːtʃ fɔːr ˈaʊər foʊnz tuː sɜːrtʃ fɔːr ɪt./
Train schedules, great restaurants, or the definition of a word—our phones always give us the “right answer" in an instant.
/treɪn ˈskɛdʒuːlz, ɡreɪt ˈrɛstərɒnts, ɔːr ðə ˌdɛfɪˈnɪʃən ɒv ə wɜːrd—ˈaʊər foʊnz ˈɔːlweɪz ɡɪv ʌs ðə “raɪt ˈænsər" ɪn ən ˈɪnstənt./
They have become an essential infrastructure in our lives, almost like an “external brain."
/ðeɪ hæv bɪˈkʌm ən ɪˈsɛnʃəl ˌɪnfrəˈstrʌktʃər ɪn ˈaʊər laɪvz, ˈɔːlmoʊst laɪk ən “ɪkˈstɜːrnəl breɪn."/
However, precisely because of this convenience, I sometimes think we must ask a deeper question:
/haʊˈɛv
