Is this in surfing’s future? Image: Screensho
Throw your phone in the ocean. And hope someone calls. Hope that, midair, somehow the phone answers, and that right before it smacks the water and every circuit is fried, someone says, “Hello?”
So many people talk about the meditative qualities of a surf session (even those who aren’t all that “core” of surfers understand it right away). After all, the best part of surfing so far in this decade is that we can’t take our little touchscreen gadgets with us. It isn’t so much that being in the ocean is meditative; it’s just that we are forced to be bored in the ocean–which is a good thing.
Today, it is increasingly less possible to accomplish boredom (or perhaps we are just occupied and bored all the time at the same time). Every moment we are not stimulated or every moment we feel awkwardly idle with our hands, the phone comes out, and we mindlessly thumb through apps or messages.
With this in mind, think about if we were not surfers: When would we be bored enough to ponder? We may not be meditating in the ocean, but we sure as hell are thinking a lot. It may be reflective thoughts about water and life, or something pointlessly contemplative like, “Which movie was it where I saw that guy from that one show?” Either way, we are doing brain exercise instead of navigating the IMDb app for an immediate answer.
Here’s the problem: The waterproof phone is right around the corner. (Well, it’s already here, but it is far from mainstream at the moment.) With Samsung as the WSL’s main sponsor, the aggressive marketing of waterproof phones seems like the next logical step for webcast commercial breaks.
What will we do as surfers? It’s safe to assume that the immediate reaction to a ringing phone in the lineup would be some sort of violence or hostility–and that’s not necessarily a completely bad thing. Imagine hearing this during your next surf as you find quiet boredom between sets:
“Hello? Hey, no, I’m in the water. Yeah, not too great, but some fun ones. Haha, yeah, I know, right? For sure … “
And you know that person will be talking loudly; that person is always talking loudly.
“Yeah, call you right back! There’s a few coming in.”
It seems like we just won’t let it happen, but look at how quickly GoPros were accepted into the lineup. Yes, their purpose is completely different, but, at first, the idea of bringing digital pollution of any sort into the lineup was strange. It was. It still is.
So where does it stop? At what point will the surf community put its bootie down on electronics and say, “Here is the line”? How will enforcement manifest itself? Dialogue? Beaches with “PHONES PROHIBITED” postings? Passive-aggressive glares? Strategic paddling and drop-ins? Violence?
Or will this conversation be cut off before it starts, and phones will trickle into our lineups with little regulation?
