Cell Phones

Washington state, like so many others across the country, has just added yet another crime to our list of state no-nos, this one being a ban on using cell phones while driving. Well, not exactly that: We have banned holding a cell phone and conversing while driving, though hands-free options (bluetooth, speakerphone) are still AOK. I won't go off on the fact that virtually all data indicates it is the conversation, not the act of holding a phone, which is the real distraction. Never, ever let facts and data get in the way of a legislator saying he did his bit. Too bad we can't find these guys jobs at the local pizzeria, where "go to the freezer and get the box" could be their community value add. (N.B.: Special prize for anybody who can cite the commercial which made that phrase famous.)

Why is it that people have such a hatred for cell phones? Is it truly the noise they represent, the loud talk in what would be an otherwise quiet and cozy restaurant? That may be part of it, but in my heart I think there is really a different reason, one which views cell phones as a snub. Don't get me wrong: I love cell phones. I had one back in the 1990 timeframe, when the cell phone (car mounted) cost me about $1200, and the car I was driving was worth less than $800. I think they are amazing inventions, and I never leave home without mine. (Although, in the sense of full disclosure, I should say that I use texting and email on my Treo about as much as I actually use the phone.) So back to the basic question: If they are so ubiquitous, why do we hate them so? My hypothesis is really one of social isolation: In the years prior to cell phones, being out in public meant that you were, indeed, in public. Like it or not, you were a possible target of a stranger's hello, casual conversation, and participation with another human being. Cell phones, especially when pasted to the ear, prevent that. In a way, we're telling those around us in public "You just don't count. I'd rather be blabbing meaningless chit chat with somebody on the end of this electronic tether than to waste my time talking with you." Get to know a stranger? Never! Why take a chance talking to a real person, maybe even making a connection, when you have the cell to tell the rest of the world to leave you alone.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not going to give up my cell, but I do try to use it judiciously. If I'm in a place where I might be able to talk to a live person face-to-face, I'm going to let the cell go to voicemail rather than give up the chance to have a once in a lifetime conversation with somebody I've never met before and may never meet again. Serendipity still counts in this world, so take advantage of it when and where you can.