Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Yes, I read...:)

I read an article today that made me pause. It confirmed something I've been saying for, oh, 6 or 8 years now. Cell phones. Yep, our constant need to be connected.
I remember when Lovee first got us a cell phone. It was a "bag" phone that stayed in the car. You know, for emergency purposes. ( ahem) I remember telling my BFF one evening, as we were driving away from a concert, that I wasn't sure why I had it because the likelyhood of me needing it were slim to nil. At that precise moment in time, I looked into the rear view mirror and saw a pickup truck go flying through the air over a car and into a creek. No shit!! Well, while rubbing the goosebumps off my arms I picked up my "bag" phone and dialed 911 as my BFF was telling me THAT'S WHY YOU HAVE THIS PHONE! As if a 'higher power" had just given me a clue. Hummmmm.
We graduated to the standard smaller version that could actually be carried around so that "in case there's an emergency" we'd be connected right away: because, after all, I worked in a bank and of course Lovee was in Law Enforcement so he "needed" to be connected.( for emergencies)

Anyway the article said that"Cell phones turn adults into babies, constantly needing contact with their spouses, friends and children." She went on to say" This morning, not five minutes after I'd left for work, my 11-year-old called from the kitchen to ask if he could have banana bread for breakfast. Kid---I'm not there. Eat ice cream and marshmallows. Make a vodka smoothie! Go wild or be a good boy, just pretend it's 1990 and I'm unreachable. With all of us connected all the time, independence never gets a foothold."
Later on in the article she states" I have a friend whose daughter went shopping for her first college formal and sent her mon - 1000 miles away- a photo of each dress as she tried ut on. Grow up! Buy a dress by yourself! "

I did w/o a cell phone for quite a while during my " it's not necessary to be connected ALL the time" phase. It didn't last too long. I tried to be a " holdout".....you know....if I get one I'll never be able to live w/o it so i just won't get one. I think that lasted untill Lovee decided to drive a rig over the road. He NEEDED a cell phone so he could contact us any time he needed to. ( and he did!)
So, here's the pause................Have we become so used to them that some of our individual thought process has left us? Would we become aggitated if we couldn't get ahold of someone while we were driving home from work? Do we still know how to make plans ahead of time instead of "I'll call when we get close so you can give me directions". Can we not make a grocery list BEFORE we leave for the grocery store so we won't have to walk the isles holding our phones up to our ears saying" Do we have ketchup?..ummmm, how 'bout mustard....

Of course I'm totally addicted by now. I just signed a 2 year contract and got Lovee and I new phones. Now, we're contemplateing getting rid of our 'land' phone. That scares me though....not sure if I'm ready for that big step. Maybe I should call someone on my new cell phone and get another opinion... Whatdaya think? Call me?

4 comments:

Sunshine said...

HAHA!! Jeanne and I don't have a land-line. No need to spend the extra $$ when both of us have cell phones right? :) That's our thought process. Hi, my name is Heather and I am a cell phone addict.

Allison Horner said...

We don't have a landline either & we don't miss it. ;)

I think I am the only human left not addicted to my phone. I'm not a phone talker, I RARELY text, and I hardly ever use camera phone or other features it has. I know, I'm weird!! :)

tt said...

You're not weird...I'm w/ ya all the way!

Tweb said...

I talk more on my home phone than I do my cell phone...which isn't saying much because I really don't care for either.

You'd be sick to death in my town. I'd say 80% of 10 yr olds have cell phones... yeah, lil snots.

Not in my house though!!! LOL!!! Can't have one until you can pay for it yourself!