My model-esque childhood friend folds her long limbs toward me to show me a recent text exchange on her phone. She swoops back ombre '70s curls, waiting for my obligatory response. I can't read a single line.
Finally, she addresses my deep forehead wrinkle of confusion: "Oh my screen has been broken for weeks. Here—there's a little space where you can still see... if you just..." I dutifully scroll very slowly, angling around the fractured mess, piecing together an already disjointed exchange. She should ditch this dude, I think, realizing I never thought that she should ditch the fractured phone screen.
Of course, this girl posts impeccable photographs of improbable wonders like tumbleweeds on urban rooftops and her collection of vintage Playboy covers. Knowing these photos are presented on a cracked screen only adds to her carefully disheveled vibe. The broken phone is evidence of experience. It’s proof of carelessness and indelicate partying. The cracked phone is the totem of a fun bunch of friends, the 3 AM kids that will take the party to a second location and have a good idea for the third. The girl with the cracked phone screen has a clumsy, irresponsible charm. It’s the phone of a dude whose apartment is also a wreck, but there are good speakers and enough party supplies.
In theory, no one would crack a phone on purpose. But I sense that, decades ago, someone said, "No one would ever rip jeans on purpose." For some, the cracked phone fits so perfectly with their gorgeously rumpled lifestyle, one wonders if it was a fake-break. Especially if they make their well-funded lifestyle known through other accessories, why wouldn’t they fix a broken phone unless part of them wanted it? (Related: gorgeously worn-in leather is always more expensive.)
A search for #crackedphone on Instagram will return roughly 12K posts, a generous stream of users with their, yes, shoddy iPhones. And here's a new development: decorating those cracks, using Lisa Frankesque rainbow highlighter pens, is trending. This graphic reads, "Cracked iPhone back? Use highlighters to 'pimp yo' phone'"—to which someone responded, "I can't do this my phone is black."
This is a foolish line of thinking, obviously. Who would intentionally break such a relied upon and pricey piece of technology? Probably no one, so there is a veritas to the destruction of the phone. One friend, who is notorious for losing everything, exists on a supply of old phones from friends who deemed their cracked screens unusable. She prefers it this way. "I just have to worry about it less," she says. "It’s already damage done." If one’s phone is in great shape, there is more to lose, and the phone elicits more concern over its well-being and low-grade phone anxiety.
Throwing people into swimming pools at parties has always messed with their sense of composure, but now their first yelps upon emerging are variations on: MY PHONE!! Worse, if they see the imminent plunge, they beg: Just let me take out my phone! Lame. Both of you go into the pool! Of course, a phone with a cracked screen—unlike a water-logged phone—is still an useable item, but people go to lengths to avoid the shatter. Carrying around a bubble of concern for one’s phone is a foolish deterrent for a carefree personality. This worry is often manifested in the clunky Otterbox cases, which have the look of puffy cell-phone diapers.
There is something about a cracked screen that is refreshingly resistant to the power
Finally, she addresses my deep forehead wrinkle of confusion: "Oh my screen has been broken for weeks. Here—there's a little space where you can still see... if you just..." I dutifully scroll very slowly, angling around the fractured mess, piecing together an already disjointed exchange. She should ditch this dude, I think, realizing I never thought that she should ditch the fractured phone screen.
Of course, this girl posts impeccable photographs of improbable wonders like tumbleweeds on urban rooftops and her collection of vintage Playboy covers. Knowing these photos are presented on a cracked screen only adds to her carefully disheveled vibe. The broken phone is evidence of experience. It’s proof of carelessness and indelicate partying. The cracked phone is the totem of a fun bunch of friends, the 3 AM kids that will take the party to a second location and have a good idea for the third. The girl with the cracked phone screen has a clumsy, irresponsible charm. It’s the phone of a dude whose apartment is also a wreck, but there are good speakers and enough party supplies.
In theory, no one would crack a phone on purpose. But I sense that, decades ago, someone said, "No one would ever rip jeans on purpose." For some, the cracked phone fits so perfectly with their gorgeously rumpled lifestyle, one wonders if it was a fake-break. Especially if they make their well-funded lifestyle known through other accessories, why wouldn’t they fix a broken phone unless part of them wanted it? (Related: gorgeously worn-in leather is always more expensive.)
A search for #crackedphone on Instagram will return roughly 12K posts, a generous stream of users with their, yes, shoddy iPhones. And here's a new development: decorating those cracks, using Lisa Frankesque rainbow highlighter pens, is trending. This graphic reads, "Cracked iPhone back? Use highlighters to 'pimp yo' phone'"—to which someone responded, "I can't do this my phone is black."
This is a foolish line of thinking, obviously. Who would intentionally break such a relied upon and pricey piece of technology? Probably no one, so there is a veritas to the destruction of the phone. One friend, who is notorious for losing everything, exists on a supply of old phones from friends who deemed their cracked screens unusable. She prefers it this way. "I just have to worry about it less," she says. "It’s already damage done." If one’s phone is in great shape, there is more to lose, and the phone elicits more concern over its well-being and low-grade phone anxiety.
Throwing people into swimming pools at parties has always messed with their sense of composure, but now their first yelps upon emerging are variations on: MY PHONE!! Worse, if they see the imminent plunge, they beg: Just let me take out my phone! Lame. Both of you go into the pool! Of course, a phone with a cracked screen—unlike a water-logged phone—is still an useable item, but people go to lengths to avoid the shatter. Carrying around a bubble of concern for one’s phone is a foolish deterrent for a carefree personality. This worry is often manifested in the clunky Otterbox cases, which have the look of puffy cell-phone diapers.
There is something about a cracked screen that is refreshingly resistant to the power