Has mobile technology given us super powers that we haven’t realized? My eight year old nephew, Brandon thinks so!
Belt pictured here is a utility belt created by Fabric Horse
As a former comic book collector and avid reader, I was excited to pass down the tradition of comics to Brandon, so I invited him to see the Avengers movie with me. The Avengers is a Marvel comic book franchise that chronicles the adventures of Captain America, Iron Man, Ant-Man, Wasp, Thor, and the Incredible Hulk. The storyline is entrenched with the recurring themes that teamwork and cool gadgets can conquer any challenge or villain.
To my surprise Brandon declined my invitation! Brandon is very intelligent and inquisitive, so I asked him why he declined to see a movie with one of the greatest team of super heroes ever assembled. He said that he simply sees nothing great about superheroes. I said to Brandon, “Don’t you like their cool gadgets?!” “No,” he replied, “they have the same powers that I have.”
I was stunned by Brandon’s response, and the more I questioned his behavior, the more I began to think about Brandon’s generation who has always had mobile technology.
- Super Heroes have utility belts
○ Batman wasn’t blessed with super powers but he used his smarts, wealth, and utility belt to fight crime. His utility belt had the resources that he needed to defeat his foes. Whether on a tablet or mobile phone, cloud computing allows us to always be equipped with documents, spreadsheets, presentations and more leisurely items like movies and video games.
- Super Heroes have healing powers
○ Whenever injured in battle, Wolverine would quickly recover because his admantium spinal cord made him invincible. Although mobile technology doesn’t allow us to recover that quickly, it does provide us with apps and mobile websites that keep us plugged into our healthcare networks and doctors.
- Super Heroes have virtual assistants
○ Whenever Tony Stark had a question, he would call upon his super computer Jarvis to answer. Jarvis took up a whole basement floor of the Stark mansion. We have access to Siri and Vlingo who fit nicely in the palm of our hands
- Super Heroes have voice activated control
○ How many times have we seen Captain America within the clutches of a villain only to see him escape by summoning the Avengers car?! Mobile technology helps us defeat the villainous winter by remotely unlocking our car doors, starting our engines, and opening our garage doors.
My 8-year old nephew helped me realize that mobile technologies are closing the gap between my childhood superheroes and modern day reality. Mobile has the ability to make superheroes of us all, and help to improve the overall quality of our social and professional lives. The question remains, “Are you doing enough with mobile technology to unleash your inner super hero?” Mobile has given you the technology now you just need to add the creativity.
- Kam Taitt, 5th Finger
