Everybody's On The Phone

I have these little issues that sort of "stick in my craw." Well, they stick in there until I get some sort of resolution. I have had a lifelong issue with attention. I'm not some sort of diva that constantly needs attention, but it does peeve me when I'm in the middle of a sentence, something distracts us so I'm cut off, and then we never bring the conversation back to hear what I was saying. For example...

Me: "So the doctor comes back in the room and he tells me that I have..."

Friend: "Oh my goodness! Did you just see that man almost fall on his face??" 

Me: "Wow...I hope he's alright!" 

Friend: "I almost fell on my face once. Blah, blah, blah..." 

**And we never get back to what the doctor was about to tell me.**

Get the picture? Because this is a peeve of mine, I'm usually very conscientious about making sure the conversation gets back on track for when it happens to other people. I want them to feel that what they are saying is important and interesting. I'm just a good doobie like that. So this week the issue that stuck in my craw is a friend of mine who is ruled by her cell phone...

Now I LOVE my cell phone and feel lost without it. I get texts,  I get emails, I have FaceBook on there, everything is on my phone. When I first started texting, I felt the need to respond right away when someone text me. But those days are over. I no longer respond immediately unless I feel like it. Furthermore, I feel that it is extremely rude to text during dinner, a movie, or when we're having a conversation. Emergencies aside, what is so important that it can't wait?  I'm also disturbed by the number of people who still text while driving! And what's with texting while walking? If you don't have time to stop & get out of other people's, the text can wait. 

And since I already sound like an old fuddy duddy, let's address phone calls. I'm a person that loves noise but I do not wish to hear your conversation. It's happening on the street and in the stores. But the worst is when you're stuck in an elevator with someone on the phone. It wouldn't be so bad if they were speaking quietly but these people are LOUD. And the worst offenders are the ones who use their ear buds to hear the phone call and then talk into the phone like a walkie-talkie. Since the ear buds are in their ears, they are unaware that they are speaking very loudly. And what of those people who use the phone in the public bathroom? Whenever I encounter these people I never know what to do. I mean, do I flush? Do I not flush? 

Sara, brought up a point that was so eerie to me it gave me goose bumps! She said (and I hope I have her permission to reprint it because it's amazing!): 

"This is why Simon and Garfunkel's "Sound of Silence" was so profoundly prophetic.  I mean these lyrics:

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence

Doesn't that remind you of people wandering about texting?  People writing songs that voices never share (texting and blogging)...talking without speaking, hearing without listening.  We're getting so attached to our computerized connections that we've disengaged from each other.  Far fewer times do you end up having a random conversation with random people, which can be some of the best! Instead, you're hooked into your own bubble."