The Phone Thing

With the arrival of the holiday season it's time for a roast; in this case a curmudgeonly commentary on the phone lifestyle. Let me stipulate here that I don't like talking on the phone - any phone. I admit it's a useful device to convey information and it can be helpful in emergencies. But, my number one gripe about this century - old technology is that you can't see the other person. For me, communicating on the phone is like trying to swim using only one arm and no kick. Lacking visual feedback and no text, phone verbal communication is crude, necessary, but ultimately limited.

So, given these biases, here's my holiday list of phone related irritants and conundra: 

1. Leading off and probably topping everyone's list, the phone that goes off in the art gallery or other quiet gathering place. Bad enough that it rings, but when the gallery patron answers it rather than turning the offending device off, incredible in its rudeness. When approached, people always claim they "forgot" as if that makes it ok.

2. Those phone ads that portray everybody on the phone smiling broadly while gabbing away. How often do you grin while talking on the phone; when you win the lottery? 

3. The Bluetooth "talking to no one" phenomenon; I suppose handsfree operation is a good thing but it encourages a lot of needless and sometimes dangerous multitasking, like driving while conversing. And, to be in the presence of someone talking and unaware of their Bluetooth earpiece can be downright disconcerting. Fortunately, Bluetooth - as - style accessory seems to have crested, which leads me to my next rant about cell phones in holsters. I suppose it's an ergonomic convenience to have your phone clipped to your belt, but it appears to me to be a rather anachronistic reference to bygone days, when weapons were worn on the hip. I suppose communication devices are the new weapons.

Finally, you may have gathered I simply don't understand what appears to be the need, demonstrated in almost any public place, for people to be in constant in touch with someone not in their immediate presence; their physical bodies one place but their minds engaged elsewhere. For example, recently on many a beautiful Fall day here in Washington, mild weather, trees ablaze with color and there's someone approaching me, yakking on the phone, oblivious to the glorious environment. I ask myself, isn't it more than enough for them to simply be where they are, simply enjoying physical world?

Comments

[DougMcC]

About the phone item, as a Quarker meeting attender, we can definitely share your grief. I simple make sure that the cell phone NEVER makes it into the meeting house.
and on Bio resins, maybe try Weyerhaeuser as they are always looking for ways to use any part of a tree for products.