| « Spoon? | The end of Boondocks? » |
09/26/06
I hate cell phones
And it's nice to know I'm not the only one. A writer at Wired outlines why cell phones are the bane of his existence. A lot of his reasons are things that I've complained about in the past.
Namely:
Interruptability
Phones have always been interrupting machines. Like a screaming baby demanding to be fed, a phone demands your attention as soon as it rings. It requires you to be interruptable. And a hell phone, unlike a house phone, tags along with you wherever you go, nagging.
This is the big one for me. At the risk of sounding like a cranky, anti-social luddite, it bugs me that a telephone is pretty much an open invitation for people to interrupt whatever you're doing in your private time to demand your undivided attention. Why would you want to bring such a nuisance with you when you leave the house?
Private in Public
Hell phones encourage a privatization of public space. Whereas once the voices in public places were always directed to other people who were present, a great back-turning seems to have taken place. A voice on a bus is now as likely to be speaking to someone invisible and absent as someone else sitting on the bus.
This really bugs me too. I don't think I'll ever get used to the awkwardness of hearing people two feet from me carrying on very loud and personal conversations with the voices in their heads.
4 comments
I'm with you for the most part. I only got a cell phone this summer when I started commuting almost an hour to Kansas City every day. I keep it on vibrate mode all the time and ignore it when I'm talking with someone or otherwise busy. And I try to excuse myself when I do need to talk and get somewhere that won't annoy other people. 
my cell phone is my only phone... being with the military and even when i was with the campaign it was a necessary evil.but i often forget it at home or leave it in the car. it's been there when i really really need it.
i do wish the era when we could just dissappear though, that was nice. not anymore! but still, i just say i left it in the car or whatever. that usually works for me.
Um, all your complaints are why I love cell phones. That is, I can set my phone for vibrate, and not be obnoxious, or feel like I have a screaming baby to pacify. Secondly, I can just look at my phone, if I recognize the number, I might take the call then. If its someone I don't want to talk to or if its a bad time, I just don't answer. I have little ones at home, and I hate when people call me at home. There's no vibrate...and it seems like people call whenever my youngest (8 months) is napping. 
cell phones are the most annoying things,they need to be outlawed in all public places and behind the wheel.I thought we were taught to keep both hands on the wheel?how can people use there turning signal?they don't.surely insureance rates will go up due to accidents created by there use.people have a tendency to forget there manners while useing them and the talking while on the toilet in a public restroom is just all wrong. 
Comment feed for this post
Recent comments