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| A beautiful sunset in front of her, but her cell phone has all of her attention. |
Are cell phones of the devil? I grew up in a religion where just about anything could be evil. If “they” didn’t like it, understand it, or think of it, it just might be of the devil.
They may not be so very far from wrong. What happened to the good old days when you didn’t have your conversation interrupted because “Oh, I have another call.” (Even my mom does that!)
There was a time when you didn’t have to pause your face to face conversation until your lunch companion could answer that call, respond to that text, play that next word on Words with Friends…on that devil’s plaything.
Remember those quiet moments when you just couldn’t be reached? Cell phones put an end to that because, you know, there’s apparently no “off” button.
With cell phones, too many bosses feel they have 24/7 access to you.
What about those days when you didn’t see even one person walking around with their eyes glued to a device in their hands? Or talking to the air…I mean that little thing clipped to their ear.
There was a time when you could make a mistake in public (or have a really bad day and do something stupid) and it not be in danger of being in a viral video complete with comments meant to shame you for simply being human.
Since when did “viral” take on a new meaning? If I think about it long enough “viral” actually makes sense for the whole cell phone debacle.
I wonder…if parents weren’t glued to a cell phone, would most of the forgotten children who have died in hot cars over the past few years still be alive? (I don’t believe for a moment all of them were forgotten, but some surely were. We are indescribably too distracted when year after year people forget their babies are in the car.)
How many other people would still be alive had they not been killed by distracted drivers on cell phones?
Would you have ever imagined 20 years ago that somebody's best friend would be a hand-held device? It goes everywhere they go, work, church, bathroom, bed. Personal interaction has been replaced by a mini-computer. People have years-long relationships with people they’ve never touched!
What if people paid as much attention to their children, their mate, their friends…their church family, their Lord, their Bible…it would surely be a different world.
The word "their" is looking funny to me now. It's time to close the post. I think my cell phone may be ringing, or dinging, or just waiting for me to pick it up to see if I’ve missed a text, or if it’s my turn to play a word or roll the dice.
Pet peeve, that whole cell phone focus while children sit, ignored, and look at their virtually absent parents.
ReplyDeleteMe? Not connected. My cell phone is almost always OFF and hiding in my purse, used only to find Bill in a store or parking lot. Seriously--it is off. I don't even give my number out when asked by form completers. I just say, "No. I don't need to be that well connected."
It's not that I'm so virtuous or so behind the times. (Well, I may be that behind the times.) The thing is, I had a job in which a phone hung on the wall 6 inches from my ear and I wore a beeper. It was not unusual for me to be on that phone, my beeper go off, the RN turn around to ask me a question, and a patient's family member to show up at my desk all at the same time. Sometimes, the front desk phone would ring for me, too. You know, because my own phone was busy! That scenario happened at least twice a day.
It cured me of needing to be connected. For sure.
The sunset picture is awfully sad, isn't it?
Deb
The standard joke at our house is if you are trying to reach mom (me) more than likely you aren't going to get her because she never has her cell phone with her or it could be off or she has it muted so she can't hear it. So if you try to reach me and you don't get an answer and you need to know an answer about something, you call dad and he'll relay the message to mom.
ReplyDeleteI hate phones in general (too many bad news comes through phones, if I never had to talk on one again, it would be too soon for me).
I have a cell phone for emergencies. I have a landline because of work (and if I ever quit that job the landline will be gone when our cable company contract comes up for renewal).
It is sad to go out to dinner and see whole families together and they are on this device or that device. A few months ago we went to Olive Garden and there was a family with 2 children. No phones or other devices at the table. They talked, they laughed, they interacted the whole dinnertime. (Yes I people watch too much). I admired them for not allowing technology to invade precious family time.
We have a rule here "no cell phones at the table" for when step grand daughter is here for dinner (so that means no one can have their phones at the table). Towards the end of the meal if we are talking about something and want to google it, then we'll allow it. But otherwise, its old fashion talking.
I remind hubby who takes his cell phone everywhere (mutes it at church) (but doesn't spend a lot of time on it) that we did perfectly fine 30 plus years ago without them. We have allowed them to rule us rather than us rule them (I tend to rule mine). And don't get me started on how much the phone bill is monthly........
betty
I agree with everything you said in the post! This topic is a very hot topic for me. It makes my blood boil when someone is driving and i see them looking down at their phones! I saw the opposite scenerio at Longhorn steak house a few months ago, than Betty. I was out to dinner with my husband and daughter, and the table to our left had a mother, father and two young teens with them. They all had phones and all 4 heads were looking down! I commented to my daughter how sad it was.
ReplyDeleteIt's a whole new world! I do miss the good old days!
Yet people will constantly ask you (shame you) why you turned your mobile off.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago, there was a survey as to what had been the most important invention in the latter part of the 20th Century. The majority of people didn't answer the home/portable computer; they answered the cell phone! Please tell me who thinks talking to your best friend while at Walmart is more important that being able to reach thousands of homes each day with your message (whatever that may be)? Were these people 12 years old?
I agreed with everything.
ReplyDeleteI find cell phones so annoying when other people use them ... LOL
We were once invited to Sunday dinner at someone's house and the host was glued to his phone over 95% of the time. I don't get offended easily, but let's just say that visit was no fun.