Phone Traffic
Once, while I was riding on a crowded bus, the man sitting next to me threw his cell phone out the window. When his phone rang, instead of dutifully answering it, he casually tossed it away. I was stunned. He looked at me, shrugged and looked away. I had no idea if it was his, if it was stolen or if he even knew what a cell phone was. But in one seemingly careless motion, he managed to liberate himself from something that has completely consumed me.
When my cell phone rings, it’s an incessant and incensed vibration that demands my immediate attention. I curse its calling, but am unable to refuse. Whether I’m in the middle of a conversation, in the shower or sound asleep, the ringing causes such panic and excitement that I feel forced to answer.
Technology is supposed to free us from the shackles of work and give us more leisure time. But it has proven to do the exact opposite. A 2005 Leger Marketing survey for the technology newspaper Computing Canada found that the majority of people feel technology has meant more work and less time with the family. Whether it’s cell phones, Blackberry’s, video games or email, we have become a culture enslaved by our electronics.
As people fall further into their personal gadgets, scientists and psychologists are now beginning to classify technology dependency as a major health problem, putting it in the same categories as alcoholism, gambling and drug addiction. The stress it creates is causing arthritis, migraines and ulcers. These physical attachments are causing weight gain, back problems and bad skin. But most troubling, it is having a powerful impact on our personal development. It seems the more ‘connected’ we are, the more detached we become.
“Humans are being trapped in a high-tech cycle that is freezing their minds away from living in the moment, looking at life and taking in what is around them,”, While technology has radically altered the externals of life, it has done nothing demonstrable to enhance the internals: moral, emotional, philosophical and spiritual values.”
As I stare blankly into a computer screen for hours on end, sometimes I wonder if thereys a secret message hidden in this technological maze. But the more I stare, the more I keep coming up with the same answer: I am trapped.
Credits:Adbuster
Author:Eric Slate
One Comment so far ...
I think that people need to actually take lessons on how to not answer the phone. Unfortunately, this is something that maybe I’m a little too good at.
I also think that technology could possible help with this. I’ve long been speaking of a personal telephone that LIMITS how people can be called (limits who can ring through, at which hours, on which days — and lets callers classify their calls according to urgency).
(If someone wants to develop this, I might be available to work on it.)
So far as safety is concerned. We could all.
Comment on 25 June 2008* Not answer the phone when driving.
* When we call someone on their mobile phone, ask them if they are driving, and tell them you’ll call back later if they are.
* (As I usually do) Ask people you call if it is a good time to call.
This is a real relief to some people who don’t want to talk at the time but don’t want to be rude. It makes them feel comfortable about admitting that it’s not a good time to talk.
* Write to talk radio stations that you listen to and ask them not to take calls from people who are driving.