Cellphonitis: Is there a Cure?
The proliferation of cell phones in our society is hardly a new topic. But the fact that the abuses have escalated to new heights, as exemplified by Fort Lee residents, is an entirely different issue.
Drive by Fort Lee High School and check out every teenage girl with a cell phone glued to her ear as she walks down the street. As you are passing by School #1 in the morning, watch as parents drop their kids off at school, while gabbing away on their cell phone.
Rarely has there been a time recently when I have walked into my sons’ room and not noticed one of them texting a friend (That is of course when they are not communicating on facebook!). Sometimes, it is questionable whether human contact has now become irrelevant as the result of the cell phone disease. I have no doubt that both Google and Apple are now working on apps to make all human interface irrelevant.
If the Fort Lee Police truly believe that Fort Lee drivers are obeying the law against driving and texting (or just speaking), they had better look harder. I have Bluetooth in my vehicle, the legal alternative to cell phone use in a moving vehicle. But it is still distracting from your driving focus, so its use should be very limited, preferably to emergencies or at least very important occasions.
People cross the street, engrossed in their cell phone conversations, oblivious to the traffic. It is a miracle that there have not been more accidents as a result (I do have to admit that the slow moving ones make tempting targets!).
Yesterday at a basketball game (Fort Lee Boys Junior Basketball League), there were some high school students working the score board. In the past few weeks, there appears to have been some errors in posting scores, i.e. wrong team credited with a basket. On the scorers’ table, one of the coaches noticed the presence of cell phones. Is it possible the students were texting instead of paying attention to the game?! More importantly, is it absolutely necessary for the cell phones to be there?
We are victims of our own poor judgment. Even when we know better, we often abuse privilege. There are cell phones going off in movie theaters nationwide. Cell phones are confiscated in classrooms when a student accidentally forgets to mute it or turn it off. They interrupt business meetings on a regular basis. Or they simply interrupt a casual conversation between two friends having a cup of coffee (Starbucks in the A.M.).
Cell phones are addictive. And THERE IS NO CURE!
We love our cell phones and will never give them up. We depend on them; they are the new lifeblood of our society.
I have been offered only one partial solution to date (by a source who chooses to remain anonymous). Families no longer should keep food in the house. This will force the family to leave the home, go out and interact with other human beings. Maybe a bit radical, but it seems reasonable to me.