OK, let's all get out our cell phones and call each other

December 14, 2006

OK, let's all get out our cell phones and call each other
by John Fischer

I have found that it is very "in" to condemn the rudeness and intrusion into people's space, which has resulted from the widespread use of the cell phone. New technology has a way of altering our lifestyle before we have a chance to fully assess its consequences. This one sprang up so fast that we can find ourselves talking on our cell phones about how rude cell phones are.

Have you noticed how, with headphones, people appear to be going around talking to themselves? One version looks like a large beetle with a death grip on the wearer's ear. I've been in a public restroom before and the guy next to me says something and I turn to answer him only to discover he's talking to his beetle. He's in another world.

And then have you noticed how quickly we get attached to these new technologies and wonder how we managed without them? And yet if you stop and think about it, we did. We did just fine, as a matter of fact. So why don't we just go back? Well you could if you don't mind becoming out of touch with everyone around you including your own family.

So instead of fighting it, I've decided to think about winning this one. Like most technology, this one has good and bad consequences. What are some situations where a cell phone saved the day or made something possible that wouldn't have happened without it?

Cell phones can bring us into closer communication with those we love and work with, and it's hard to imagine how communication could ever be a bad thing. In heaven, we'll have a form of communication that will leave cell phones in the dust (pun intended). I bet we will be in constant communication and have access to anyone, any time. I even bet we'll know stuff about each other in heaven without having to communicate about it. But until then, I supposed we'll have to walk around looking like we're talking to ourselves. Do me a favor, though, and don't get one of those beetle things. They really look silly.