The New of The Day: Are You Texting Me?

I understand cell phones, really I do. There are a hundred reasons to have one. Personal security is certainly on the top of the list. Walking late at night to your car and someone is following you. Maybe your car breaks down on a dark, deserted road and you need assistance. I could go on and on, they should be a good thing … should be.

The truth is I’m rather amused by the epidemic of cell phones. When I was in school, you needed a job so you could afford to buy some old clunker. You were nothing without a car. Some kids needed a job to buy weed. Nowadays, teenagers need one to get the newest iphone. Not that long ago, when I would see somebody hiding in the backroom of the restaurant, face to the wall looking down; I automatically assumed they were stealing food. Now I walk by without even thinking twice. I know they’re sending a text.

The latest phones have full internet access … wow! By itself, the internet is an astounding thing but now you marry it up with a cell phone, that’s truly remarkable. As a writer, I suppose, it works in my favor. At work, I mentioned my new column to a friend. She whipped out her iphone, pulled it up and walked off reading. Later I saw her moving down the alley, phone shoved up in her face, laughing and muttering, “Michael Jackson was scarier alive.” That’s from my ‘Go Ahead and Scare Me’ column.

I could write dozens of editorials, pro and con, about cell phones. The other day I was at the grocery store and had just made it up to the register. The clerk started to scan my items, and then stopped for about forty-five seconds to answer a text. I remember thinking … Really?

Today’s I was inspired by a new application available for iphone called ‘Date Check’. I think the name says it all. There was a Seinfeld episode where Elaine finds out her favorite form of birth control is about to go off the market. She buys up all the remaining contraceptive sponges in town and before every date, she puts her potential new boyfriend through a grueling series of questions. If he didn’t meet up to standard, she would tell him, “I’m sorry. We’re never going to be able to have sex so I don’t see the point.”

Can you imagine how a modern day version of this scene might play out? A guy comes knocking on your door. You invite him in. He asks you what movie you want to go see. You answer, “Well, before we get to that, can we talk about this credit score of yours? How’d that happened?”

I don’t know, maybe in today’s society it’s not a bad thing. The world is full of serial murders, missing women, stalkers, and date rape. Perhaps having the ability to know more about someone is good. On the surface, though, you have to admit, it looks a bit ludicrous.

It makes me wonder how we are evolving as a species. I was at a table, attempting to take a dinner order, but I couldn’t seem to get one person’s attention long enough to find out what he wanted to eat. Finally, his mother leaned over to me and whispered, “He’s texting.”

“Oh,” I responded. I moved on to the next person and ran into the same problem. “You’re not texting each other are you?” I was joking but both heads nodded. “Why?” I asked.

“So no one knows what we’re saying,” was the answer I got.

Are we going to lose the ability to be surprised, to follow our gut instinct, or even have a meaningful private conversation without typing one out with our opposable thumbs? Technology is a good thing. Cell phones improve our lives but they shouldn’t stunt our growth. Watch the news and see how many stories involve the misuse of cell phones. My recent favorite is the kid who went to jail for text related sexual encounters termed sexting. I want to live in a world where common sense dictates our actions. It’s probably an impossible dream but I can hope and I guess I can always write about it. That’s what I do.

Find out more about me on darlaferrara.com.
Till next time … Peace
Darla