Ian Rapoport is right — that viral pen question is pointless

For anyone in the 40-plus crowd looking to become more tech-savvy, apparently the best way to accomplish that is to become an NFL insider. After spending years frantically checking his mobile alerts, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport has no patience for technology that doesn’t require a power charger.

A Twitter post has gone viral in recent days. The post from Chris Grosse (below) is a picture with seven common types of pens with a question asking Twitter users which pen they would use if they could only choose one for the rest of their lives.

Who uses pens anymore?

This question was perfectly tailored for Twitter because of course a bunch of dorks/media professionals would rush to their mobile devices to weigh in on this debate. As the quote tweets and replies rolled in, the original tweet was seen by NFL Network. Rapoport mentioned it on television and had the by far best take on the topic.

“They’re all bad,” Rapoport said on NFL Network. “Who writes with pens?”

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The media dork writing this article was going to go with pen No. 5, but then I heard Rapoport’s take, and the cartoon lightbulb above my head clicked on. There is no reason for anyone who responded to that tweet to ever need to use a pen.

I have used a pen as a student and as a restaurant server — that is it. If I’m laying in bed and get a random idea for content, I’m not going to rush and stub my toe jumping out of bed to go find a pen and paper. My phone is right next to me, I’m going to jot the idea down in my notes app and go back to what I was doing.

Don’t want to end up like Jerry Seinfeld

Even if I did successfully write down the thought without injury, now I’m at the mercy of human error. I could end up like Jerry Seinfeld. I could have been groggy while writing the idea down and now I have to spend an entire 22-minute episode trying to decipher what the note said. Or maybe I left it on a hotel nightstand and the housekeeper threw it out. Now I have to go on The Tonight Show with no material.

This is not 1984, when people left a pen and pad by the living room telephone to take messages. Many people don’t even use house phones anymore. If you’re going to buy a device that allows the government and corporate America to track your every move, at least take advantage of the technology.

There is no practical reason to write anything down. Even if you want off the grid and purchase a dumb phone, you can save a note by creating a text message and then not sending it.

So while that tweet allows those that saw it to let their minds wander off into the nostalgia of notebook paper and ink, there is no need to ever think about a pen.

Don’t take my word for it. Listen to a person that takes in more information by 10 a.m. than you do all day.