Cyberfamilias
By MICHELLE SLATALLA The New York Times
WHEN I took my iPhone out of the box on Friday to prove to my children that we were the first family on the block with one, I had a glimpse of what life will be like after I'm dead and they're fighting over my jewelry.
"Can I have it?" asked Ella, 16.
"I'm the oldest," said Zoe, 18.
"I'm the only one who doesn't already have a cellphone," said Clementine, 9.
"You shouldn't keep it for yourself, because you hate cellphones and don't even answer the one you have," Ella said. "You will neglect it and won't use all the features. Give it to someone who will appreciate it. Me."
"Me," Zoe said.
"Me," Clem said.
I looked at my offspring -- so eager, so easily manipulated by the hype surrounding a shiny new gadget that could perform some but not all of the same functions as the gadgets they already owned - and wondered if the situation presented an opportunity to do far more than simply lord it over the neighbors.