A Modern Nightmare

I found myself in a foreign city.  It looked somewhat familiar.  I had been here before, but did not know it well.   I had to get to a hotel, but did not have the exact address.  Nor did I know exactly how to get there.  I walked in the general direction of where I thought it was, hoping that I would recognise the streets when I get close to it, then I might be able to find it.   Soon I realised I was not making progress.  If anything, I was getting more confused.  I was certainly lost.  

It came to me that I might be able to use the maps in my smart phone to help.  But when I turn on the phone, I couldn’t get to the phone app.  It seemed to be stuck in some app and could not get out.  It did not even seem to be my own phone.  The user interface looked unfamiliar.  Even the hardware - the phone itself - looked unfamiliar.  Did I pick up someone else’s phone by mistake?  Was my own phone stolen?  How was I going to get to the map app?  It was so frustrating, and scary.  

Suddenly, I realised that it was a dream. I was actually in my bed.  Everything is fine.  

Wait!  Was THAT - lost in a strange city - the reality but THIS - lying in bed - was the dream?

Eventually I figured out that THAT was really a dream.  Did I have that dream because I have to travel soon? That the dream was triggered by the anxiety I am feeling due to the impending travel and the ever more complicated technology?  

I have had dreams like this a few times in the past year - a recurring dream.  I have never had a dream like this - lost in a city with a phone I couldn’t use - before.  Until the appearance of the smart phone, obviously, dreams like that could not have happened. 

What does that tell me about dreams?  What does that tell me about me?