March 12, 2002
Just who the heck are we talking to on the phone? That’s what I’d like to know. Does everyone have a cell phone? Don’t get me wrong, we own a cell phone and it is an invaluable tool for keeping in contact while one of us gallivants across town with kids or whatever. We’ve also had the opportunity to use our cell phone for an actual roadside emergency, thus fulfilling it’s original purpose in our household. However, it seems to me that people are using these things a bunch more than they were originally intended. I’ve seen people on the phone: In their car, on line at a store, in a take-out restaurant, jogging, biking, on every form of mass transit, walking their baby in a stroller…you get the point. Now we could go around all day about whether this was good or bad. Seems to me that this particular debate is heating up as far as cell phone usage and driving goes, so for the time being, let’s let that one slide, OK?
No, my point is this – what exactly are we talking to each other about? I logged loads of phone time when I was a teen talking with my friends (mostly girls whom I would like to date, but would later turn me down because we were such good ‘friends’, but that’s another story entirely.) We have a joke in our house that when we see someone on the phone we make up the conversation they are having. It usually goes something like this:
Guy on Phone: “Yeah, I’m in the video store.”
Pause
“Baloney.”
Pause
“No, not ham, baloney. With cheese. That’s my favorite sandwich.”
Our point is that while this guy may be talking to someone about something important (though I’d lay a buck that the conversation revolves around what video to rent) that the vast majority of cell phone conversation is filler, mere air pollution. This seems to filter through to both men and women, which is curious to me since (forgive me here My Love), in general women use the phone more than men.
So what’s my point, you may ask. I don’t really know. I’m not saying that cell phones are bad or good, I can’t make that judgment. I will say this: I don’t think that all this communicating is helping our increased isolation from our fellow human beings that continues. I’ve seen people so wrapped up in their cell phone calls that they have no time to say “thank you” to a clerk at a store, or “excuse me” when they bump into another person on the street. Bottom line – I’m not going to be using my cell phone for frivolous calls. There’s enough air pollution around without my contribution adding to the mix.
Oh, and by the way. Veggie baloney with American Cheese. On a hard roll.
