I remember when I got my first cellphone. While others around me opened and closed their phones, thumbing buttons at rapid speeds, I would observe. I quickly learned that when a text arrived to cease the conversation at hand – there were much more important matters to deal with. With a vibrating buzz or exciting jingle, the curiosity of what message could possibly be at the other end was too much to ignore. After coming to the conclusion that most every person I knew owned one of these magical hand-held devices, I decided I better truly enter into adulthood, and purchase my very own cellphone.
It was April of 2008. I remember this because when I bought my phone – a silver LG Shine, to be exact – I entered into a binding three year contract, which is about to expire this coming April. I admit, the cellphone – ownership, itself – was rather handy. As I had no personal landline at the time, I relied solely on my cellphone for important phone calls. The concept of a mobile device for making phone calls, however, was no new experience. The texting phenomena was. I remember getting laughed at for the length of time it took for me to send a text. It seemed to me such an inefficient way to communicate. Why text in minutes what could be said in seconds? Soon, though, I was sucked into the addiction. I could text fast, with one hand. I could flip open and shut my phone with the eloquence of a bird in flight. The phone was never forgotten anywhere, inhabiting the space of my right jean pocket. Plans were no longer made by phone call, but – however aggravatingly – by text. Flip the phone open. Snap it shut. Did I feel a buzz in my pocket? I better check. This became my regular routine.
Then, in the middle of this texting frenzy, I took a trip to Europe for six weeks. As I was not interested in paying for an overseas plan, I left my phone at home. I admit, it scared me at first. After I got over the lost ability of having constant communication at my fingertips, and stopped reaching for my right pocket, I actually began to enjoy it. I loved it. The freedom – not the exclusion – of being without my square friend was fantastic. I never wondered about texts; I simply paid attention to whoever and whatever was near. The old, “slow” process of email did the trick just fine.
When I returned, my mind-frame had changed. I forgot my phone at home a lot, for one. I wanted to get rid of it, having tasted the freedom of being without, but there is that three year contract I mentioned. Three years of legally binding, practically wedding me to my phone. The divorce – or payout, rather – to cancel the contract was not worth it. It was cheaper to keep the phone. So I have been held, legally, in relationship with my cellphone, for over a year since then. I admit, I have fallen back into old routines. I never forget it at home; it lives in my right pocket again. Although it has not been the same since before our six week separation, I give it a lot of my time. Indeed, long hours have been spent locked in a lovers gaze into the brightly lit screen of my phone since its purchase date.
I cannot help but shake my head at the idea of texting. Using a cellphone for phone calls makes sense: at the moment of a car accident, when lost, or simply needing to relay information to someone when one or both are not near a landline. This craze of constant communication is something different. I believe it is only good for trying to tune out and ignore the world around us. Being detached from electronic devices gives opportunity to be engaged in the present. People everywhere, myself included, are walking around with their eyes glued to their communication devices, when they could be admiring the world around them. I am a lover of nature, and like to think of myself as a deep thinker. Texting has caused me to ignore that part of myself more often, since times of quiet and solitude give me the option of communicating. While walking around a park, instead of allowing my mind to explore and expand, I engage in idle conversation with someone no where near.
Not only is texting causing me, as well as others, to rapidly shorten the amount of time spent with the singular mind at peace, but – pardon the offence – it has caused people to turn into idiots. All joking aside, the importance that has been deemed to texting has caused people to blunder around blindly, bumping into people and objects just so they can text. Even more crucially – not to mention dangerous – people are driving and texting with full knowledge of how many accidents and deaths have occurred because of this. It has been reported, as I have experienced myself, that “texters” may even feel phantom vibrations in their pockets, or hear the tune associated with receiving a text, just as a fingerless victim may feel a phantom itch or pain. Phones have become a part of us – of me.
I do not think that the craze of texting will end any time soon. In fact, with smart phones now gaining rapid support, it may only increase in its damage. I do believe that “texters” everywhere acknowledge the fact that it has gone a little out of control. The question is whether or not anyone will do anything about it. Even though I know that I would be better off without a cellphone, the thought of giving up my phone, or simply texting, is an intimidating thought – which is a great annoyance to me, as I know that if I go without for a month or two I will not regret my decision. Cellphones have become an integral part of North American society. People are attached to their phones as they are to their wallets and credit cards. Perhaps it is not all bad. I, however, look forward to this coming April when my contract is up and I am not obliged to my phone. I hope I have the strength, the courage, and the ability to do what I know needs to be done: stop texting.
long enough??
ReplyDeletethat is a lot of words about cell phones. I've avoided blogging on the topic because everyone knows my standpoint, and an angry blog usually won't change anyone's mind. if it did, more people would be like me i guess. i dare you to go two months without it once your contract is up, see how life is.
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