Communicado
We just got our first cellphone. We have mixed feelings. Dutch is excited - she loves cellphones. Cook is sad. I decided to get it because I wanted to be available to the daycare, and I've had several moments in the last year when I wished I had a phone. We got a prepaid package that gives us 1000 minutes for a year, which should be more than sufficient for our needs.
I don't like cellphones. I certainly see their utility, and I wouldn't mind if they were used just for emergencies, or even for briefly calling a friend to let her know you're running exceptionally late for a date. But I hate how people use them to insulate themselves from the world. I think people should interact with the world around them, not just with the people they choose to talk to on the phone. I also hate how they have affected socializing. It seems to be increasingly difficult to make concrete plans with people - they just say "I'll give you a call when I'm done with (grocery shopping, work, the gym, whatever), and then we'll figure something out." - I'd much rather just say "let's meet at 3."
But, then, I'm kind of misanthropic. Also hypocritical, which makes me worry that I'm going to become a cellphonophile. Cook took his first look at the phone and said darkly "this is the slippery slope..." - to what, I'm not entirely sure, but I'm sure it's a bad place.
No, you can't have my cellphone number.
I don't like cellphones. I certainly see their utility, and I wouldn't mind if they were used just for emergencies, or even for briefly calling a friend to let her know you're running exceptionally late for a date. But I hate how people use them to insulate themselves from the world. I think people should interact with the world around them, not just with the people they choose to talk to on the phone. I also hate how they have affected socializing. It seems to be increasingly difficult to make concrete plans with people - they just say "I'll give you a call when I'm done with (grocery shopping, work, the gym, whatever), and then we'll figure something out." - I'd much rather just say "let's meet at 3."
But, then, I'm kind of misanthropic. Also hypocritical, which makes me worry that I'm going to become a cellphonophile. Cook took his first look at the phone and said darkly "this is the slippery slope..." - to what, I'm not entirely sure, but I'm sure it's a bad place.
No, you can't have my cellphone number.
Comments
D looks like a cartoon in that photo below. She saying GRRRRRR, or szp^&%*^&$^&#@, or WAH.
BW