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Cell phones: Is a day of reckoning coming?

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by Story_Idea, Sep 3, 2012.

  1. I Should Coco

    I Should Coco Well-Known Member

    Great topic, story idea (and actually, not a bad story idea!).

    I'm as much of a luddite as anyone on here ... still have a land line, only use an iMac computer both at home and at work, our cell phone (which my wife almost always carries) is a pay-as-you go, flip-open phone.

    However, most of the people I associate with socially are roughly my age (40) or older, so even those who have 4G-G-G-Gadgets don't stare at them constantly while interacting with others.

    Regarding teens, they can still interact face-to-face when they need/want to. For instance, I was in a long line with my kids for a raft ride at a water park earlier this summer. All the cell phones and gadgets were in their lockers. Yet everyone still goofed around, interacted and made the best of waiting for the ride on a hot summer day.

    Thankfully, we haven't come close to the "Ready Player One" world yet ...
     
  2. Smasher_Sloan

    Smasher_Sloan Active Member

    I reckon.
     
  3. Shoeless Joe

    Shoeless Joe Active Member

    I'm as guilty as the next person when it comes to carrying around my iPhone, but I still say I wish cell phones had never been invented. I'm not constantly on mine on the internet and all that. It's more of a constant need to see if you have any messages. If you walk out of a room and leaving it for 3 minutes what's the first thing you do, check your phone. Heaven forbid you're outside working for an hour, then you've really got to see if someone has texted you.

    I love and take to heart that commercial where the guys are driving around seemingly to look for service but in the end they are looking for somewhere without service.
     
  4. Azrael

    Azrael Well-Known Member

    A good smartphone is invaluable.

    Doesn't mean you need to stare at it.
     
  5. TheSportsPredictor

    TheSportsPredictor Well-Known Member

    I can't believe that everyone won't do things the same way I did them 15 years ago.
     
  6. Story_Idea

    Story_Idea New Member

    Great responses so far everyone! Thanks for the thoughts.

    TSP, I thought someone might chime in that this was, essentially, a "Get off my lawn!" post. And I have myself wondered if I am just resisting progress. But I really think that it's not that. It's less about the technology, to me, than about the acceptance of a social more that existed long before cell phones - that you should pay attention to the people you are with. That you should be "present."

    I don't feel like I'm raging against technology, though technology is the trigger here. I feel like I'm raging against rudeness, a kind of rudeness that is pretty universally regarded as such. Or used to be.
     
  7. Boom_70

    Boom_70 Well-Known Member

    One could say the same thing about a boner.
     
  8. TheSportsPredictor

    TheSportsPredictor Well-Known Member

    I don't think it's rude. I think it adds to the socialness.

    I was on a trip last week. We all had our smartphones and iPads. There were times when everyone was on their phone doing whatever. A lot of it was posting pictures to Facebook. Then we would show each other what we posted and share what other people said. We had some great views and would take pics and then compare to see who got better pics. I didn't feel we were excluding each other, but rather including more people on our trip.

    Now, if I'm with someone for like an hour, it might be a different story. We were all together for the good part of a week. But even when you're with someone for a short time, there's always those periods of silence that can be comfortable or uncomfortable. I don't have to be talking to someone the entire time to enjoy myself. Heck, I've been with people and you're talking to them and all of a sudden they just tune you out and turn and talk to someone else. Doesn't have to be a cell phone to take them away from the conversation.
     
  9. dooley_womack1

    dooley_womack1 Well-Known Member

    I can't believe someone would dare ponder for a second the consequences of changes in technology. Because god knows there were no consequences to unfettered industrialization or rapid home-building technology.

    Anyhoo, the cellphone thing is another reflection of the paradox of the Internet: facilitating communication while promoting isolation.
     
  10. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    I think I posted this here before, but at Thanksgiving dinner last year, two of my wife's cousins were texting each other from the table.

    Awhile back, I was at the grocery store, I watched a kid walk right into a freezer door because he was texting.

    I think it's more of a generational thing. Obviously, adults are guilty as well of being addicted to their phones, but it's the teenagers and younger who seem so completely tuned out to the world and don't have normal interaction with others.
     
  11. PaperDoll

    PaperDoll Well-Known Member

    I held out for more than 18 months, pondering different phones and plans and visiting the Verizon store entirely too often.

    My smartphone addiction didn't begin when I acquired the Droid. It's when my company gave me a iPhone with an unlimited data plan -- and basically said I'm now required to be accessible. I didn't check my e-mail on the phone all the time before that, because I was worried about going over the data limit. I didn't have a text plan before that either. Now I'm working on the iPhone, whether or not it's during my normal shift.

    My friends aren't smartphone addicts; in fact, many of them have yet to upgrade. But I went on a vacation recently which was similar to TSP's, a lot of people with a lot of screens. We used laptops, tablets and smartphones almost constantly when we were at home. Sometimes it was fun, as we shared what was going on in our respective worlds. But sometimes it felt very isolating, even with people sitting right next to me.

    That said, I went to New Orleans alone in the spring and basically threw my smartphones into the suitcase when I arrived. I used the Droid as an actual phone -- you know, making and receiving calls -- and the unlimited-data iPhone for maps and directions.

    I s'pose that's the question, whether or not smartphone use is considered rude. To me, people who talk loudly on their cellphones in public places are being more rude than those who are tap, tap, tapping. At least I don't have to hear them. And if I accidentally cut in front of them in line or shove them out of my way, they can Tweet about it.
     
  12. Hank_Scorpio

    Hank_Scorpio Active Member

    I have a smart phone and do use it. It comes in great for looking up restaurants or hotels and getting reviews of them, stuff like that. It's also good for facebook and checking scores.

    But there are also times that I come home, set it on my desk and don't touch it again for hours. I have no problem unplugging from that device at times.

    I've always hated actually talking on the phone. In fact, when I was in the industry, I'd look to do face-to-face interviews, instead of over the phone. Got better interviews and got out of the office more.
    So when texting came about, it was a good thing.
     
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