Sunday, April 8, 2007

WALKIE TALKIES

i resisted cell phones for a long time. i was one of the last of my friends to get one. i didn't like the idea of being considered "always available". sometimes, i just like to be by myself. also, i had seen how people's manners suffered as a result of the convenience of cellular technology. more than once i've seen two people, sitting in a decent restaurant enjoying a nice meal together, while one of them chats on a phone.

some people are really obnoxious on the phone. they talk extra loud. and there is always someone talking somewhere, on a phone, wherever you go. silence has lost its value, along with the time spent with others.

my compromise to myself was i'd only get a cell phone if it was my only phone. while working in the restaurant industry, i decided it was time. it was hard for me to ever connect with people otherwise, since my hours became opposite to the rest of the world. still, i treated it as i treat any telephone. i take calls, for the most part, in private. unless its an emergency scenario, i don't abandon the company of my friends at a ring.

i think society is distancing itself from itself. with cell phones, and myspace, text messaging and email. we get further and further away from each other. hiding in bubbles and space between.

i'm getting away from the point i wanted to address. how did the walkie talkie phone feature become so popular? is it that people were paranoid that the general public didn't believe they were actually talking to another person? its bad enough that i always half to overhear half conversations every place i go. now i get to hear the other side, connected with obnoxious beeps, fuzz, static and squawk. with these walkie talkie things, people speak up into the phone that's now away from the mouth, oblivious to anyone other than themselves.

now, honestly, i love having a cell phone. its nice to call someone up when your not at home, get help when you're lost, be reached when your away. its a wonderful convenient technology. but maybe this convenient technology (isn't all technology these days about convenience?) is making us all walk through life in isolation. blocking the sounds of the world out with ipods. disregarding genuine connection for banal chit chat.

simply speaking, don't forget the rest of the world.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I got my first cell phone for christmas. I usually just use it to play games on at work. I don't answer the phone at home. Why should I answer a "leash".

projectgrassroots said...

I love me some cell phone. And it sure bet the sound of the outside sirens, yelling and those annoying metro guys with the papers. How else could i get my computer to work. thanks and keep it up.