It seems that a connected society is a rude society. The now nearly ubiquitous appearance of cellular phones on the streets, in cars, in business, and in the home has changed not only our behaviors, but our expectations of each other as well.
As a rule, we have come to a point where we expect instant access to everyone involved in our lives. The idea that "back in the day" you could call someone and have the phone just ring (never to be answered) or, worse, receive a busy signal is unbelievable! Somehow the world continued to turn, even if we couldn't simply leave a voicemail or a text message. The fact that someone wasn't home, meant that they couldn't be reached until they returned - today that is an unbelievable inconvenience.
"Back in the day", we used to consciously decide whether to bother someone at work or to wait until later and call them at home - the cell phone has provided us the opportunity to just call, with little or no worry as to the necessity of interrupting something they may doing. That change in behavior has led to receiver-end responsibilities that appear to be beyond the character of the Average Joe. Planes are delayed by people unwilling or unable to terminate a call, people get up and walk out of meetings if they receive a call, and (horror or horrors) church services and symphony performances are interrupted by ringing phones or texting attendees. Personally I think people with a phone to their ear or talking away into a bluethooth earpiece should be refused service in convenience stores - or shot on sight!
The distractedness of drivers holding a phone to their ear has been well documented. Some cities and states have made it illegal to use a hand-held cell phone while driving. Here in Texas it is now illegal to be on a cell phone while driving in a school zone - which helps only minimally during the daily commute as school zones are inactive ... unless you are lazy and don't go into work until 7 or 8! If you live in Texas, have you ever had anyone say "Sorry I'm entering a school zone - I'll have to call you back" and hang up? That's about as likely to happen as the lady in front of you putting on her make-up before leaving the house!
Bluetooth headsets and car/phone integration is intended to help - but most businesses require protracted data entry to speak the right language, access the proper account, or to reach the right department which doesn't float with the whole hands-free thing! And what's with this fascination of spelling things with phone numbers? Try calling 1-800-WHO-CARE(s) from a QWERTY smartphone.... I have to carry a small printed keypad telling me which letters go with which numbers. Ridiculous. Why are people so annoyed by your confusion when they walk up to you and say something completely random? They usually give you one of those "Are you stupid?" looks and jab a finger toward their bluetooth earpiece. Fortunately my gesticulated response can't be represented in print.
What we need is a realignment of our behaviors, expectations, and technologies. Evolving technology opens a world of opportunity for being more efficient - but at what cost? I am convinced that texting is pushing the next phase of human evolution toward beings unable to lift their heads, who are all thumbs with stubby little atrophied digits that used to be used for things like dialing phones, typing on keyboards, and turning the pages of books that used to be p-r-i-n-t-e-d!
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Mark:
ReplyDeleteYou've touched upon another pet peeve of mine...the need for today's society to be constantly connected! Does one ever wonder how necessary these various cellphone conversations are while people are driving, attempting to cross the street or attempting to receive service in a retail location or a restaurant? Does one remember the day when we as children would go to school and be completely out of touch with our parents until we returned home? These days we have schoolchildren calling their parents during their workday to retrieve forgotten homework assignments and deliver them to them at school or to assist them in plannning thier next move or to help them get out of some kind of a jam. My attitude is: "If you're not bleeding, you shouldn't be calling"!
Many people these days aren't stimulated enough by just driving alone...they need to be somehow otherwise engaged and conversing on their cellphone to make the journey rewarding, worthwhile & complete!
It's a damn shame that cellphone jamming devices are illegal in this country. I'm sure that it's because of safety/emergency issues, but it would be a wonderful thing if all car manufacturers could install a cellphone jamming device in every car that would jam all cellphone transmissions withing a circumfrence of three feet from the steering wheel while the car was in motion. I have a GPS system that came with my car that doesn't allow programming while the car is in motion. I'm sure that we have the technology that would allow this to be accomplished. It's not rocket science! The only thing, it would probably force these cellphone addicts to attempt to drive while sitting in the back seat of their vehicle.
Bottom line: Their is no cellphone conversation that is taking place in a car in motion that cannot wait until the driver arrives at home.
Oh puh-leeze...don't get me started! Too late, you already did!
BTW, my favorite sight is when I'm sitting in a restaurant and I see a couple sitting at a table both talking on their cellphones to other people!. People, etiquette is a thing of the way distant past, sorry to say!
Keep 'em coming, Mark!