A quick glance around any room and majority of the people are using their cellphones, have them in their hands, or on their table, staring at them as though willing them to ring. For some, you may even think the cellphone is an extension of themselves, a now useful vestigial limb if you will. I love my cellphone, a fact that my worn out keypads and huge phone bills can attest to, but is this handy little gadget really that great?
Think about it, people were perfectly happy without cellphones. There were no embarrassingly loud ringtones that disrupt meetings, church services or even funerals. No annoying text messages with an endless stream of acronyms that read “omg, I cnt bliv tht, 2 awsm.kmp, ttyl.xoxo” and the greatly misused “lol”. You were never stuck in a lift or bus with someone who was screaming into their phone, absolutely oblivious that it has a microphone and they only have to speak at their normal tone. But most of all, you would never have to feel lonely or forgotten or rejected when your cellphone doesn’t ring all day or that cute guy/ girl didn’t call or text message you.
While cellphones are a necessary evil; they do come in handy in emergency situations and it is nice to know that it takes only a few seconds to reach a loved one; I think their disadvantages far outweigh their advantages. Infidelity is made so much easier now that all one has to do is send a text message to plan an adulterous liaison and the evidence can disappear with the simple deleting of said message. These days, all a suspecting partner has to do is check their significant other’s messages or call records (for the sloppy ones of course) and within minutes, years of love and happiness are down the drain. In the pre – cellphone era, one would never find out and continue in their happy oblivious existence. Ignorance is bliss, believe me. It has also become much easier to gossip or spread rumors. All one has to do is send a mass text. With the ridiculously low charges, who could resist?
Gone are the days when people used to talk and conversations were meaningful. Now everyone has a cellphone and human interaction has declined. Friends used to meet and have lunch and talk at length about anything and catch up on their lives. Now all one has to do to find out how their friends are doing is call, or send a text message. People still meet and talk face to face but more often than not, the conversation is interrupted by phone calls or messages from other parties. In extreme cases, the conversation is the interruption as some people seem to have their cellphones permanently at hand.
The obsession with knowing what one is doing at any given moment has gone wildly out of control. I believe there is nothing wrong with having some time to oneself without the constant intrusion of phone calls and messages. For goodness sake, turn off your phone every once in a while! People are thrown into such a frenzy when their cellphone’s battery dies out, you’d think they’d just lost their pet.
Holiday wishes, birthday greetings and condolences are increasingly sent via text. I guess these days nothing reflects one’s feelings quite like a text that says “m sry 4 ua loss,txt me f u nd nythn”. Hallmark must be operating at a loss. While the sentiments may be sincere, taking the time to write a letter or send a card shows true effort and shows that the person really was in your thoughts. A personalized greeting always counts for more, and lasts a lot longer than your limited phone storage capacity.
I would love to continue with my musings but alas, I have to go. I’ve got a ton of text messages and phone calls to return!
