A few weeks ago I bought the new IPhone X. I was excited to get the upgraded camera and was looking forward to the face recognition feature. On my old IPhone 6, Touch ID had a few flaws. The sensor did not always recognize my fingerprint: After a hot shower, while I was cooking and more especially while I was running. It drove me insane. So yeah to the face recognition feature!!!!
I activated the face recognition feature by taking pictures of my face, as instructed, at every possible angle; up, down, sideways ...and there it is, it works! It feels cool to use new technology. I was like a kid with a new toy, every time I used my phone I had a smile on my face. My phone is more than a phone, it recognizes me, my cell phone is not anymore a standard device, it became a partner in life, my new friend.
Day 1 of my life with my new phone. I wake up, it is still dark out, but I do not feel like turning on the light, I pick up the phone, and because it is dark, my new IPhone friend does not recognize me. Ok, well, it makes sense, it cannot see me too well. I get up, and I turn on the light. I have a smile on my face, and I am thinking: "Hello phone it's me!" My phone friend does not recognize me. Ok, maybe it is my hair. Perhaps it is a technology glitch. I try every possible trick, turn off, turn on the phone, arrange my hair, look at my face, smile, no smile...nothing does it. I have to type in the password. I thought, my morning is not starting well. I move on, get on with my day, the face recognition feature works perfectly again, everything is back to normal. Just a bad start.
Day 2. I wake up. Now I know my phone friend does not like darkness, so I put my robe on, brush my hair, start preparing breakfast. I am ready for my phone. I tap the screen.....and.....it does not recognize me. What the hell??? Now I really get mad. I do the same thing as the day before. Turn on, turn off, position the phone in different positions and? ...nothing does it. No response. I type in the password.
Day 3, day 4, day 5…Same story every morning! Except for one or two mornings when it recognized me, then I felt a huge sigh of relief. But that is the exception. Most mornings, nada, niente, nichts, rien!!! So now, even before I touch my phone, I get angry, and I resent the moment when I am going to tap on the screen.
These events triggered a whole bunch of questions. What do I look like in the morning? Least to say, it is not very flattering. The truth is, I don't spend time looking at myself in the mirror when I get up. There is nothing to see that is going to make me think: "Wahoo you look fabulous darling!". In reality, I look like I just got up. So why isn't my phone (that is not my friend anymore) recognizing me?
The first answer that comes to my mind is that my phone might be sleepy too.
The second and most plausible answer, I don't look like the shots I have taken for the face recognition. That's the hard truth, and I don't like it. It has dire consequences on my state of mind. It's not good for my self-confidence. It is not a right way to start my day. It makes me feel self-conscious about my looks when I never really cared in the first place. I am thinking: "Did I sleep enough, am I tired, what am I doing wrong?". I am asking myself all sorts of questions right at the beginning of my day when I have other more important things to consider. It's bad. Period. What is this nonsense? It is very tempting to play the blame game, but I don't care I am going to do it. It makes me feel better. The face recognition feature has flaws. End of story. The problem is that it impacts my mood.
The next question arises: How do I solve my problem? I do not want to live with this negative energy every day. There are a few options.
Solution #1: Before I use my phone, take a shower, freshen up, put on my make up.
Answer: It does not work for me, I like to take my coffee first and read the news on my phone. I am not going to change my routine because of my phone's behavior.
Solution #2: Call all cosmetics companies to work on a new night cream that will plump, soothe, relax my face.
Answer: That will take them too long to come up with such a night cream. They would charge probably too much, and it won't work anyways.
Solution #3: Go to the dermatologist, ask the doctor to inject my face with botox and fillers and whatever is needed.
Answer: It is too expensive, and results are not guaranteed either.
Solution #4: Start therapy sessions with a psychiatrist to reboot my self-esteem.
Answer: It's too long, tedious, and he would probably find other skeletons in my closet. I'd rather keep them in the closet.
Solution #5: Trick my phone. Reset my face recognition feature, retake shots of my face but this time in the morning.
Answer: The risk? It might not recognize me for the rest of the day
For those who do not have that issue: Congratulations, you look great! For those who are not always recognized by their phones: Know that you are not the only ones!