Hobo.
This now politically incorrect term—once commonly used to refer to the homeless—hasn’t seen much daylight since back when my grandfather was dropping coins into some guy’s tin cup.
But as the saying goes, everything old is new again. And that renewal sometimes raises interesting, and in some ways unintentional, questions.
A new iPhone app called iHobo was recently released by the London-based charity DePaul. When downloaded (through the United Kingdom’s iTunes site), a virtual homeless person moves into your phone for several days. And upon his arrival it becomes your job to be your digital brother’s keeper. Day and night you’ll need to provide him with food, money, warmth … whatever he needs. Otherwise, he may get ticked, sell his bedroll and become a virtual junkie on your cell phone.
And I’m not joking.
This little app was designed to raise young people’s awareness of the homeless, encouraging them to get involved and give a little. Unfortunately the program also tempts teens to torture their poor iPhone-bound fellow to see what he’ll do. And sources have reported that the little guy gets so upset at your indifference that eventually he cracks the screen on your phone in anger.
This little app (and some people’s reaction to it) stirs up so much more than its creators ever intended. If you stop and think about it for just a moment, it certainly raises questions about moral responsibilities, the good and bad side of human nature and even our current tug and pull between real life and virtual life.
I mean, isn’t it interesting that the app creators thought a virtual homeless guy nagging you on your phone would make the man with the cardboard sign on the street corner seem more real?
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