Editing 1373: Screenshot

{{comic
| number    = 1373
| date      = May 26, 2014
| title     = Screenshot
| image     = screenshot.png
| titletext = I'M PLUGGING IN MY PHONE BUT THE BATTERY ON THE SCREEN ISN'T CHARGING
}}

==Explanation==
[[Randall]] is viewing a {{w|screenshot}} of a text-message exchange via his own phone's web browser. Such screenshots are frequently posted online, to show content ranging from [http://www.damnyouautocorrect.com/ humorous typos] to [http://www.reddit.com/r/creepyPMs creepy behavior]. In this screenshot, in addition to the text messages' content, we see a battery bar reflecting a charge of 6%; this effectively "{{w|photobombing|photobombs}}" (or distracts Randall from) the actual content of the original screenshot. On the other hand, the phone on which the shot is viewed is charged at a healthy 85%.

The phone the screenshot is taken from is an iPhone, while the phone being viewed is an Android. Another iPhone screenshot was the joke in [[1815: Flag]], where a 35% battery charge is of some minor concern to the intended recipients of the flag.

The title text suggests that Randall has plugged in his phone to quell the anxiety induced by the 6% charge in the screenshot, mistaking it for the actual battery indicator of his own phone. This measure is obviously unsuccessful, as charging his own phone does nothing to change the charge of the phone in the picture. A similar phenomenon is when a screenshot is viewed and the viewer attempts to use the controls (e.g. buttons) in the image. 

Randall's fear of losing power to his phone was later explored in [[1802: Phone]] and [[1872: Backup Batteries]], where he brings extra batteries and it is also part of the joke in comic [[1965: Background Apps]].

An alternative interpretation for the title text is that the screenshot was posted as part of a thread asking why their phone isn't charging. This would be ironic, as Randall's focusing on the battery level means his eyes are being drawn to the very problem being spoken about, yet he is too distracted by it to read that this is the problem!

This may also be a reference to {{W|mirror neurons}}. Mirror neurons are according to many neurobiologists a biological basis of empathy. If you see someone stick a needle in their hand, it feels as if you hurt yourself and some people experience a tightness of the chest when hearing a wheezing asthma patient on the radio. Here, Randall's mirror neurons start to fire as he feels the anxiety associated with a phone losing battery power.

Screenshot quality was discussed later in [[1863: Screenshots]]. This comic is one of a small set of comics with the same or almost the same title as another comic (only plural form of word screenshot being difference).

==Transcript==
:[Caption above the panel:]
:When someone posts a screenshot of their phone,

:[The panel shows the screen of an Android phone. At the top there is a black Android status bar with icons like WiFi, battery charge and the time, all in white:]
:85% 10:02 PM

:[Below the status bar is the open program, which is an internet browser, which shows the address field with an unreadable address and the tap icon to the right and the three dots for options. Below that is the page viewed in the browser. It seems to be a post from a person. Below the address bar is a picture of a user with dark hair in a square frame. To the right are two lines of unreadable user information. The post contains a picture posted by the user, and it is a screenshot of a chat/SMS conversation from another phone. The screen is light blue and the conversations has three blue speech bubbles to the left and two replies in between those in green to the right. All posts are unreadable, as are all other words in the picture. At the bottom of the picture the top of another users post, i.e. half the users image, can be seen. At the top of the picture, the status bar from this iPhone screen shot can be seen with icons both left, center and right. To the right the charge icon battery shows a very low charge, indicated with a small red line at the bottom of the battery. Around this low charged battery icon there is drawn a large red circle like spiral, circling the battery symbol two or three times, and four exclamation marks are written above this. The only thing that can be read in the picture is the charge percentage:]
:''!!!!''
:6% 

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I can't pay attention to the content if their battery is low.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Smartphones]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Screenshot01]]