Call me old fashioned. Or maybe I'm a technophobe. Lately, people's use (or misuse) is really bugging me. Are people really so self-absorbed that they cannot go through a meal without looking at their phone? Have we lost all sense of proper communication and actually think everything is OK to share through a text rather than a phone call?
Don't get me wrong. I have a cell phone. It's neither smart nor state of the art. It's a phone. It's for making calls. Period. I don't have it with me at all times, and just because it rings does not mean I need to answer it. I don't just give the number out to everyone I meet because, frankly, I don't want just anyone being able to call me. And I don't always want to be found.
I know several people who treat their phone as an appendage, like it's physically attached to their hand as their fingers are. If it rings, or beeps, or chirps or makes any noise whatsoever, it must be answered, looked at, fondled and caressed. It doesn't matter where they are or who is with them. I'm concerned that we have decided this is acceptable behavior, both as the one answering the phone and the one being treated as second-class.
Am I being harsh? I don't think so. I think people deserve my attention when I ask them to lunch, or we're sitting at dinner. If I am constantly glancing at my phone, or worse, texting/surfing non-stop, I am telling that other person they are not worthy of my time and full-attention. I certainly don't want someone treating me that way. I'm not a doctor or a police officer. I am not so important that I must always be reachable, and must always answer my phone before it goes to voicemail.
We as a society have become so self-absorbed that we cannot focus on those around us, the ones who are supposedly so important to us, the ones we love. We need to get over ourselves!
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