The Cell Phone Sagas


Sounds like it might be a good movie, right? Yet when we see them going on right in front of us, we cringe, we get angry, we demand to know what is wrong with society!

I'm pretty easy going about cell phone use. I take mine everywhere, and I use it just about everywhere. This afternoon, I've taken time to find out why the world thinks cell phone use can be a problem. These are the ones I completely agree with:

Safety: Driving with one hand on the wheel while complaining about the idiots on the road would be an example.
Content: I'm not sure what has desensitized people to talking loudly about their bodily (mal)functions. In addition, I would like to point out that background noise counts as content, to the person you are talking to. To that end, do the women who talk on their cell phones in the bathroom while they are tinkling and flushing really think their friend on the other end really wants to hear that?
Timing: DO NOT answer your phone while we are having dinner without asking if it is ok. I think it's rude to assume that your companion wants to hear your one-sided half of a conversation. There are other obvious situations: movie theaters, job interviews, funerals...
Tone: You don't want to reveal your true colors to the public if you don't have to (especially if you are really really nasty)

Speaking of nasty, the following is also a big no no...



Now for the things I think we could be more lenient about:

Multi-Tasking: I do not have a land line at home, so I rely on my cell phone for all communication to my family in Colorado, and to my fiance who is often away on trips. These people call me on their schedule, not neccessarily on mine. Sometimes I happen to be grocery shopping. As long as I'm not broadcasting my personal life, why should anyone care? As long as I'm paying attention to my surroundings, why should anyone get upset? There are times when multi-tasking is not appropriate (like driving, as discussed above). But we should recognize that the more technologically advanced we become, the more multitasking is going to become a part of our lifestyles.

Proximity: Why is anyone complaining about this? I've heard that the proper etiquette is to stand with a 10 foot radius around you while speaking on the cell phone. Sure, this is easy enough. Now imagine you are in an elevator, and someone is gabbing away on their phone. It bothers you. Why? What if they were having the same conversation with the person standing next to them? Would you still be bothered? This leads to a hypothesis...people must not like the idea of seeing someone talking to thin air. If they can't see what's going on, they get frustrated. There may be hundreds of explanations. Ultimately, it might be that people are still not used to seeing humans interract with technology. It's just a hypothesis.

To sum things up here, let's remember that our society is changing. With so much technology growth, we're seeing stretch marks in our daily expectations. These will go away, and they'll smooth down. When the generation that has caused all the need to grumble ages enough to grumble about the generation following, we'll probably be complaining about a neo-letter writing campaign. We'll say: "Why doesn't anyone use their cell phone anymore?"