More thoughts on the decline of phone manners
The other day I posted here about some dude who was calling and calling and calling even though it was obvious to anyone with half a brain that we weren't open that day. I checked caller ID, and he had called 21 times. That's right...TWENTY ONE times. All day long. He called, he actually left voice mail messages, then he called some more. Amazing.
Today's cranky old guy rant is about cell phones. I rarely talk on the phone because of hearing problems. Between artillery, random gunfire noise, and working in a very OSHA-unsafe mechanic environment when I was a fleet mechanic, my hearing is pretty much shot. I have lost about 1/2 of my hearing range and have pretty bad tinnitus. (ringing of the ears). It varies from day to day, today the ringing is around a 7 of the scale of 1-10. It sounds like the noise from an old-time "test pattern" that you'd see when the TV stations went off the air at midnight in the old days of television. I'm not whining, I'm just trying to make the point that if I talk on the phone, it is for a really good reason and not just for fun.
I got a call today from a satelite family member. He was calling from his cell phone as he drove somewhere. I guess that is a good use of your time, multitasking if you will. The problem with it, besides the obvious "not giving your driving 100% of your attention" part is that it puts a definite time limit on the conversation. In short, it goes something like this:
"Hey, how's it going?"
"Good, how about you?"
"I'm good too, whatcha been up to?"
...followed by a couple of minutes of story telling on both sides of the conversation. Then, the caller gets to where he was going, and cuts off the conversation because he "is there".
I think it is pretty rude. If you are going to call someone and talk with them, do it. Don't just squeeze them in while you are driving somewhere. People aren't emails, and they aren't TV shows. You can't just TiVo a real live person.
Seriously, if a relationship is worth having with someone, have it. Don't just call someone and make beleive you are interested in what is going on in their lives if you are really only bored while driving to the store, restaraunt, or whatever.
This kind of weird attitude come, I think, from the overboard way that we live. We are constantly being hammered with data. Try to watch the news, and there will be a talking head newscaster in the middle of the TV screen, the stock ticker scrolling across the top of the screen, and an unrelated news ticker scrolling across the bottom. Then, on top of that, the TV station is running some kind of commercial for one of it's shows in the corner of the screen!
People have to text with their phones while surfing the net and chatting with an IM program at the same time. This can't be good for our brains. (me, I don't know how to send a text message, and I'm getting on just fine)
In the pre-election months of 2008, we went down to Keene State College to meet Ron Paul and hear him speak. I am not a big fan of colleges, but I've bene on many campuses. This was different. The students were walking from building to building in little groups, but they weren't talking to each other. They were talking on their phones or texting to someone somewhere else instead of talking to theri real live classmates walking right next to them. What have we done to our society?
Hang up the phone and drive. Go visit a real live person and sit don to chat with them for a few hours. Treat it like a reenactment if you have to...reenact the "old days" of the late 20th century when people still had the power to communicate without electronic gadgets!
Today's cranky old guy rant is about cell phones. I rarely talk on the phone because of hearing problems. Between artillery, random gunfire noise, and working in a very OSHA-unsafe mechanic environment when I was a fleet mechanic, my hearing is pretty much shot. I have lost about 1/2 of my hearing range and have pretty bad tinnitus. (ringing of the ears). It varies from day to day, today the ringing is around a 7 of the scale of 1-10. It sounds like the noise from an old-time "test pattern" that you'd see when the TV stations went off the air at midnight in the old days of television. I'm not whining, I'm just trying to make the point that if I talk on the phone, it is for a really good reason and not just for fun.
I got a call today from a satelite family member. He was calling from his cell phone as he drove somewhere. I guess that is a good use of your time, multitasking if you will. The problem with it, besides the obvious "not giving your driving 100% of your attention" part is that it puts a definite time limit on the conversation. In short, it goes something like this:
"Hey, how's it going?"
"Good, how about you?"
"I'm good too, whatcha been up to?"
...followed by a couple of minutes of story telling on both sides of the conversation. Then, the caller gets to where he was going, and cuts off the conversation because he "is there".
I think it is pretty rude. If you are going to call someone and talk with them, do it. Don't just squeeze them in while you are driving somewhere. People aren't emails, and they aren't TV shows. You can't just TiVo a real live person.
Seriously, if a relationship is worth having with someone, have it. Don't just call someone and make beleive you are interested in what is going on in their lives if you are really only bored while driving to the store, restaraunt, or whatever.
This kind of weird attitude come, I think, from the overboard way that we live. We are constantly being hammered with data. Try to watch the news, and there will be a talking head newscaster in the middle of the TV screen, the stock ticker scrolling across the top of the screen, and an unrelated news ticker scrolling across the bottom. Then, on top of that, the TV station is running some kind of commercial for one of it's shows in the corner of the screen!
People have to text with their phones while surfing the net and chatting with an IM program at the same time. This can't be good for our brains. (me, I don't know how to send a text message, and I'm getting on just fine)
In the pre-election months of 2008, we went down to Keene State College to meet Ron Paul and hear him speak. I am not a big fan of colleges, but I've bene on many campuses. This was different. The students were walking from building to building in little groups, but they weren't talking to each other. They were talking on their phones or texting to someone somewhere else instead of talking to theri real live classmates walking right next to them. What have we done to our society?
Hang up the phone and drive. Go visit a real live person and sit don to chat with them for a few hours. Treat it like a reenactment if you have to...reenact the "old days" of the late 20th century when people still had the power to communicate without electronic gadgets!
posted by MVTCoPete | 5:29 PM
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