Dusty demons found hiding in my office
I
often have to stifle a giggle when I witness what is essentially an impromptu group photo of the obsession with cellphones. It is not like I suddenly
noticed; the rock I live under does have windows after all. I am talking about that moment when I just
stop to observe; I marvel at the scope of this current cultural phenomenon. Age
isn't a factor, nor is social strata. It manifests right in front of you, whether
you’re cruising the aisles at Walmart looking for cheap crap you don’t need or
strolling into a fancy office fronted by a receptionist with a $100 manicure. I’m
talking about that obsession with our “cellulose” phones, those magical devices that convince a goodly portion of any group to stand around with their faces buried in the screen. I’m guilty too at times,
though I force myself to stop walking when I ‘m writing a text, which occasionally
does help the person on the receiving end. Anyone that receives texts from me on a regular basis can attest to the 3rd degree eye slaughter that results from the “some language
other than English” those texts frequently contain. And no, I don’t use
auto-correct thank you; I can make perfectly nonsensical messages all by myself.
I get that I
can do lots of stuff on a phone. My question is why? I just don’t get the
attraction of fiddling with Facebook, getting lost in a game or watching a movie
on that little bitty screen. Nope, lost me there and no I don't want the app for that. I guess I should go out and
come back in again.
I'll catch myself standing there gawking when I‘m somewhere like a store or anywhere people tend to congregate, and I'll notice how so many folks have their heads bent over their phones. Sometimes
I wonder what the teens and twenty something's of today will look like when
they are my age or older. Will we have a whole segment of society populated by those afflicted with kyphosis? Scores of folks walking around with their head bent forward since
they can’t lift it up because their back and neck is all whacked. I’m sure
you've seen those little old folks in the grocery store, head bent over their grocery
cart, shuffling along pretty much staring at their feet? In addition, I envision a myriad of arthritic
thumbs and index fingers bent in 6 different directions from sliding, tapping
and texting. It doesn't sound pretty, then again I’m paying for my misspent
youth too in some ways, so the invincible mindset managed to get passed down
the line. Not that wasn't much of a surprise now was it?
I’ll catch
myself walking and texting and I make myself stop, finish my message and put
the damn thing away. I see so many people out and about that walk with their face
glued to the screen of their phone it makes me shake my head. I guess there is no great concern out there
of walking in to a wall or the person in front of you, possibly trip over a curb,
or just wander out in to the street. My question is, why the obsession with our
cell phones and why do I see so many
people doing it? Even If it’s in my pocket it's still sending me updates and such
from text or email messages. It is somewhat like having a bunch of kids around when
the ice cream man comes down the street; its just going to bug you until you take it
out and respond to what it wants.
The changes in phones and how we use them has
been quite amazing really, though I doubt the old land-line phone will disappear entirely. There are still a lot of areas where cell reception is bad, whether due
to terrain or in cities where cell towers are not allowed for aesthetic reasons.
I haven’t had a land-line phone in about 7 years and doubt I’ll go back to one unless
the geography of my domicile deems it
necessary.
I have a love/ hate relationship with my phone even if it
serves 3 functions fairly well. First
and foremost it's my alarm clock. No more pumpkin face luminous numbers
staring back at me in the middle of the night; I don't own any electric clocks now. Second, it’s my watch since I
don’t like wearing one. Lastly, it’s a phone, where it’s used sparingly as a
talking device. Since I talk on the phone all day at work I sure as hell don't want to talk on it when my day is done. I probably use it the most for texting, and it only makes noise when the alarm goes
off. Oh and there is another thing I use
it for occasionally and mainly outdoors. I used my current phone to take the picture
at the top and was surprised it actually came out all right. It really sucks for
taking inside picture, I almost need Klieg lights to get a decent picture. I
leaned them against the lamp that sits on my desk, which is made out of an old coffee
pot and voila! Wonders never cease.
Now my dastardly companion will go to one side of my desk, where it resides most weekends until I need the alarm on Sunday night. Now if my
thumbs would stop aching and I could just get rid of this stiff neck…
