Tethered to Technology

There is no doubt that we are a society tethered to technology, and a recent event helps to prove we’re on the wrong end of that leash.
If you haven’t seen it (and I suspect only those who’ve missed it aren’t online in the first place [and chances are excellent they’ve seen it featured on some newscast]), there’s video of a woman walking and texting and subsequently doing a header right into a fountain. It’s pretty funny. If you haven’t seen the version that’s set to the theme from “Chariots of Fire,” find it. That one makes a funny scene downright hilarious.

To boot, this occurred at my local mall… that is, on the rare occasion when I have a need to go to a mall, it’s the one I select. The local paper featured an interview with her today: “’I usually don’t walk and text, but I did this day,’ she said. ‘I won’t anymore.’” Okay, lesson learned. And my hat’s off to the way she reacted: Climbed out and walked away… after retrieving her phone, of course… like nothing happened. I have a lot of questions about the obliviousness of those passing the scene, but that’s a blog for another day.

But I do have to question her peripheral vision. I’m familiar enough with the floor plan to know that she passed Victoria’s Secret only steps from taking the plunge, and as we’re approaching Valentine’s Day, I’m certain its store windows absolutely glow red and pink. It should be hard, nay impossible, to miss, even peripherally. And as a mall employee… yes, it turns out that she works at a store in the mall… she should know that the fountain is just steps beyond Victoria’s Secret.

While I can’t speak to her peripheral acuity, or lack thereof, it’s pretty obvious that we’re all a little too engrossed with… and distracted by… our phones. The more tethered we become to technology, the shorter and tighter that leash gets. If you live in your phone, you’re going to miss most of life passing you by, and you just might miss that last step and take a tough plunge. For the love of God, look up and pay attention.

The Ubiquitous Cell Phone

What is it about cell phones? And in seeing them put to use in every conceivable fashion as I go through my day, I can’t help but wonder, “HOW did we ever possibly survive without them?”

I’ll state for the record right now that I fully appreciate and use them for their convenience … not only as a communication device but as a calendar, calculator, alarm, stop watch (and I really have used that function on mine) and clock, to name a few. The next advance of web access and gps functions certainly lend to their value. My question and curiosity surrounds the seeming need for some folks to talk on them incessantly. I mean really, have you ever listened in on someone’s conversation only to determine in five seconds that it was so much blather? And I’ve really got to wonder if the recipient of the call is thinking the same thing.

If you’re in the grocery store and need to verify your list or check the status of an item in your pantry, go ahead and make the call. If you’re running late or will be delayed, go ahead and make the call. If you decided to order take out on your way home, go ahead and make the call. If you’re just calling to chat, I’d say make the call as long as you’re not: driving, walking in a crowded store, standing in line for any reason, within earshot of others who have absolutely no interest in your conversation, or participating in any activity that requires a modicum of your attention.

I believe I’m not the only one who gets a little annoyed when chatting cell phone users block store aisles, hold up the line, fail to look both ways as a pedestrian, mishandle a turn while driving because one hand’s on the phone, or exhibit any other rude, inattention-driven activity. It’s more annoying when it’s a disruption of solitude and concentration. There are certain places where and certain situations in which a ringing cell phone is, in my book, just this side of a cardinal sin. Church, for instance. Have we so abdicated decent manners that preachers and church bulletins have to remind us to turn cell phones off?

I was lucky enough to view the Grand Canyon from the North Rim recently. My appreciation of its grandeur and all that’s spectacular about our natural world was disrupted in less than two minutes by, you guessed it, a ringing phone… and an irritating ring tone at that. I’m happy to report that I was able to curtail my urge to grab the phone and heave it as far into the canyon as I could… what with littering and all.

I’m not comfortable using a cell phone in public, at least not within earshot of perfect strangers. Maybe I’m not that chatty. Verbose, yes; chatty, no. Besides, my personal business is just that. I was recently in the toothpaste aisle and could clearly overhear the conversation of a woman on a cell phone near me. I was stunned at the incredibly personal details she was discussing about a legal case in which she was involved. I admit: I continued staring at toothpaste and simply eavesdropped. When my significant other found me and asked what was taking so long, I nodded my head toward the woman and said, “Sssshhh. I’m listening. I think she’s about to reveal where they hid the body….”

Long Distance… huh?

I received my phone bill yesterday, and it got me to thinking about the concept of long distance.

Since my cell service serves me in that capacity, I no longer carry a long distance connection on my land line. (Yes, I’m a bit of a dinosaur insomuch as I still even have a land line, but it’s one step at a time for me in this digital revolution.) It really wasn’t that long ago that land lines were required to have a long distance carrier. And the breakup of Ma Bell generated the advertising storm of switching services and cents per minute that fueled the broadcast media and direct mail for years. And that spawned the calling cards and the “dial 10-10…” numbers.

I remember learning to use the phone as a kid. Our exchange included letters. Maybe you remember that too. Ours was “Clifford 7” or “CL7” as I learned it. Numeric references took over by the time we moved when I was eight, and I learned my new phone number as “678” as opposed to its original “Orchard 8.”

Additionally, whenever I asked to make a call, it was always met with the query: “Do you have to dial a ‘1’ first?” Ah, the concept of dialing “1” for long distance…. It’s quickly becoming a fading memory. And the thrill of receiving a long-distance call! And running to get it. “Hurry, it’s long-distance!” The arrival of push button phones was cutting edge, and the families of the cool kids had them first. I remember wondering what the * and the # were for, and was told they’d be used for ‘something someday’ although no one could define what and when that would be over thirty-five years ago. In the meantime, they seemed to simply serve as symmetric placeholders for the dial pad.

Now we can’t live without * and # and there’s no more need to hurry for a long distance call. A minute is a minute is a minute. No longer does it cost more to call across the country than across the state, and in all likelihood, the phone is ringing right on your hip or in your pocket. And so long-distance calling quickly joins the memories of “touch tone,” dialing, party lines and switch board operators.

We proceed on through the 21st century.