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Cell Phone Tyranny
I have a hunch, unsubstantiated except through my own experience and intuition, that the advent of the cell phone into our daily lives adds immeasurable stress, wear and tear on our bodies and souls.
We’ve become accustomed to being “available” by cell phone 24/7 to our employers, friends, family and assorted “others.” Long gone is the time when we had landlines screening calls via a phone answering machine, allowing us to postpone communicating when we felt like it, neglecting to call back when that suited our proposes, delaying difficult return calls.
When cell phones first became popular it was cool to be seen popping out a phone at a ballgame or in the office lobby or sitting in an airport. At first a simple novelty, we then became used to being connected at all times. If the mobile phone was misplaced or forgotten at home, a veritable sense of panic would set in. Meals at home, which once were tranquil oasis of time when the landline phone calls were picked up by the machine became places where everyone has a cell phone “at the ready” sitting on the table.
The restaurant experience is less enjoyable now for the ringing of other people’s cell phones. Ill-mannered customers who just have to answer the call yell into the crowd to be heard. It is far from an unusual scene to see two people dining together, each speaking on their respective cell phones. Hello? Why don’t they just save time and money and talk to each other from their desks.
Social discourse has changed as well with the advent of the mobile phone. In the old days the first line of conversation used to be “how are you?” Now, it is the demand to know “Where are you?” We carry on conversations while cooking, working at the computer, putting on make-up, sitting in the tub or toilet. There is no place too private or sacred to be considered a phone-free zone.
In the past I knew that pretty much after 5 p.m. my time would be my own. Last night I received a business call at 8 p.m., a not- that- unusual occurrence. We invited a good friend on our sailboat recently, and he answered numerous business calls from the middle of Biscayne Bay on what was supposed to be a relaxing sail.
What does all this phone togetherness engender? Speaking for myself, and perhaps others, it diminishes the time I can completely unwind. Even in a warm bubble bath, for some reason I feel compelled to rush to attend to my ringing cell. The jolt we used to get when the phone rang in the middle of the night now comes more frequently as people are expanding the hours when they feel it acceptable to call. For some inexplicable reason, people have forgotten basic etiquette when telephoning as though a mobile phone gives the caller new liberties about when to call.
I’ve reached the point of “push back” against my omnipresent phone. No longer do I discuss business after 6 p.m. No longer do I feel the need to make a mad dash to retrieve my phone from my always messy purse before the caller hangs up. If the caller does not bother to leave a message, I do not bother to return the call. We are even thinking of having a cell phone free sailboat. If our guests can not unhook from their phones or blackberries for a six or seven hour sail, we will urge them to please stay home. It just feels right.
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