Part 3: I probably don't want to talk to you
As I have said in the past, I don't really care much for cell phones. Actually, I think what I said is that "I hate cell phones." So I've decided to make this week "Why I Hate Cell Phones Week" at omarphillips.net. This is part 3 of that series. Part 3 was supposed to be hand-held devices part 2, but that was going to be about the people who actually talked on them outside of their cars, a topic that was covered in Tuesday's comments. So we continue.
The implication is that because I have a cell phone, that means I want to make myself available to talk to you. The reality is that I probably don't want to talk to you. If you're my wife, and you want to tell me to pick up some milk at the store, then fine. Otherwise, call me at home, on that other phone I'm paying for. If I'm not there, assume it's not a good time for me to talk.
I know, you cell phone rights activists will say, "why don't you just not answer your phone if it's not a good time for you to talk?" I'll admit, this is my own fault. My mind says, "what if this is an emergency?" Because really, why else would they call me on my cell phone as opposed to at my house? So I answer, only to find out that you want to know how I'm doing or what I'm doing later*. You interrupted my trip to the Apple Store for that? Goodbye.
----
* Let me save everyone the trouble of having to call and ask me this. I'm doing fine, I'm going home, and I'll be asleep by 9:30pm.
Comments
RaJ said:
1. "What if" wireless comm had been readily available as telephone infrastructure came into being around the world? In other words, if all our homes weren't already hard-wired for/with "normal" telephones, wouldn't we choose something portable and even personal like cellular? The point is this: my mindset favors the concept of phones as objects that exist in places and facilitate communication; That's what I grew up with.
A cellphone expands on that; it can be a "home phone" or a mobile, personal communication device.
2. As for availability when away from home, I'm with Omar, "but." This too is a learned thing. Many people - I'm thinking teens for sure - find it natural and normal to be available for calls no matter where they are.
I see two problems. First is a loss of solitude. This is something I can control, and do. My cellphone *isn't* always on, and for that matter isn't always with me. Can you say "voicemail?" Okay. Second problem: rudeness. Say you're with someone, walking, dining, driving, whatever. You're talking; a cellphone rings. Whether it's yours or theirs, it's an interruption. If it's answered, one person will now be left staring into space while the other interacts with a third party. When this happens at home it's still rudeness to some extent; seems worse (to me) away from home. Worst of all are public places where strangers are forced to endure such distractions.
And yet... 10 years from now cellphones will be even more ubiquitous, more deeply ingrained. One day everyone with memory of and preference for pre-cellphone existence will be dead. What then?
Oops, gotta take this call, seeya--
cadiz12 said:
you can always feign a lack of minutes and tell them sms is better for you. if you turn off the notification sound you won't be interrupted, your wife can still reach you, and you aren't obligated to respond right away. as someone who has trouble differentiating the cell from a homing device, text message is the wave of the future.
me said:
I never answer 80% of my calls. I figure if it's emergency enough, they'll leave a message. Oh well.
Viking054 said:
I don't even answer the real phone in my house. I simply hate phones. I wish they would go back to whatever evil dimension they came from and quit ringing at me.
Since they've invented caller ID it's not so bad... At least now I know what I'm missing when I don't pick up the phone.
jasmine said:
so i have a problem with text messaging with cell phones.
i just posted about it. ugh.
@ said:
I love having my cell, but I hate having less privacy. I ALWAYS do that too..."what if it is an emergency thing."
seventeeen syllables said:
I'm with you all on the cellphone hatin. I am almost 100 years old, and back when I went to college (with Alexander Graham Bell), we actually had to share one phone between two rooms in my dorm (that meant 1 phone and 1 phone number for 4 girls.) Nobody could call you in the middle of class to say they got tickets to Kajagoogoo, or ask what was up with Alex P. Keaton on this week's episode of Family Ties. You had to wait til you got home to your phone to find out.
So now that I'm a professional educator I am mystified and annoyed when people are like "but i neeeeed to have my phone on during class, so I can find out when Britney goes into labor!" Because I am from the dark ages when cell phones were only a gleam in the phone company's eye.
In fact, I also remember when there was only one phone company. Can you imagine? No, you probably can't. Sigh. These kids today....
Glo said:
hmmm.....*shakes head and walks off*
marriedman said:
I like cell phones almost as much as I like pig's dancing nude and sleeping with my wife while pissing on my lawn.
nutshell: me no likey.
Sarah Eliza said:
See, here's the thing I don't get. And maybe It's because I've got my "only one half of common sense" goggles on, but... Did you really get a cell phone just so that your wife could call you and ask you to pick up milk? Because if we only want to be available on our home phones, then doesn't it make sense only to have home phones?
Nadia said:
Cellphones RULE.
*runs off to hide behind glo*
X said:
I don't like the things when they're being loud and obnoxious or when people shout into them like amplification hasn't been invented yet. I have my phones on silent most of the time. It'll vibrate if I need it.
Apart from that, I like cellphones so much that I have two.
I'm not even a bit sorry.
---X
Nadia said:
X, you've made me ashamed of my cowardly ways. I'm taking a stand, albeit a totally uncreative and more-than-a-little-repetitive one:
Cellphones RULE.
(Note...um...picture the stoic expression on my face and the immobile state of my feet)
I'm really not sorry.
I said:
Sorry about my lack of commenting of late, time has been scarce, and I always feel like I need to get to everyone's comments. Except for tonight.
17 - I didn't figure you to be older than 60! You hide your age well.
nadia - Way to take a stand.
sarah eliza - Welcome back! As a father and a husband, I always want to be reachable -- in case of EMERGENCY. Not to find out about how the party went last night.