If you tuned in yesterday, I was griping about change in my old-timey dinosaur hard copy newspaper. You might think that I’m totally against change. Think again.
In my life, I’ve had to evolve and change along with everyone else. I learned how to type on a manual typewriter, but I’m so glad we have word processors so that I don’t have to deal with setting margins or using correction tape. I like being able to tote around all my music on an iPod. I like having a digital camera so that I can take visual records of just about anything or instantly get rid of pictures that aren’t very good.
But I’m really looking forward to what’s going to replace cell phones. Something has to, no? I mean, technology changes all the time, so in a decade or so, we should be laughing at the idea that we ever used these things, right?
I’m only griping though because I was recently at a party with a bunch of people who are younger than me and are tied to their phones. I don’t mind hanging out with younger people much because (a) it keeps me young, and (b) it keeps me in touch with what’s going on in the world and how mindsets are changing. The fact that these people are totally tied to their phones drives me nuts though.
Oh, it’s not just the younger people who are cell phone crazy. I know. Lots of people my age and older are tied to them too, and even I am not the best when it comes to cell phone etiquette (though I think I get more complaints because my phone is usually off), but I really hate the fact that people have to text all the time. At this party, we were talking with people we’d just met, and one of them started texting another friend of theirs. This texting conversation kept interrupting the real conversation we were having, and the overall message felt like, “You are not that interesting. This other conversation that I’m having with someone who decided not to come to this party is.” At some point, I don’t want to bother talking to new people. If you’re going to interrupt our conversation, then I don’t really know how much I want to be friends with you.
I don’t know what it is. Do we like being contacted all the time? Do we send out more texts simply because we’ve bothered to charge our phones, bring them along, and keep them on? If we’ve gone to that much trouble, do we feel compelled to keep in better contact with other people, even if it comes at the expense of the company we’re in at the moment? Do we feel that we can’t be bored with moment we’re in, so we’d better check our phones to see if we missed anything?
I’m guessing everyone has different views of this, but lately I’ve felt a little frustrated when forced to play second fiddle to a phone.





