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Why I don't have a cell phone by Lacy Shum I really dislike quite a bit about our modern world, but nothing is more annoying than people who use cell phones in public places. A number of municipalities have recently enacted laws outlawing the use of cellular phones in various public gathering places, such as restaurants, theaters and meeting halls. Of course, most states now won't allow you to use your cell phone while you're driving, unless you are using a hands-free option. Here's my vote for a ban on the use of cell phones in a number of other public places and also restrictions on what you can say and who you can call when using your cellular link to the universe when you may interact with other non-cell-using humans. The first places I would ban cell phones is anywhere there's a line, including most grocery stores, department stores, malls and public offices, like the motor vehicles department, the post office and the especially, the unemployment office. If you're standing in line to collect or sign up for unemployment benefits and you're talking on a cell phone, you should be denied benefits just for being stupid. Sure, you're going to say you were on the line with a prospective employer, but let's take a look at your call log, OK? You should also not be able to call your husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend or any other friend while in a public place unless it's an emergency. Calling to tell your boyfriend that he should wear something nice tonight while you're standing in line at the check-out counter is shameful, especially if you're wearing a sweatsuit. article continues below... And I guess that's what irks me about cell phone use. It seems that the people using cell phones the most are the people who need them the least. Sure, that makes the execs at Cingular and Verizon happy, but overuse of cell phones (How annoying are those Cingular commercials urging us to "talk it up" like we should be talking more?) is contributing in a large way to the decline of civilization. Not only are the people making public calls rude, annoying and insensitive, they open themselves up to public scorn. I recall a particularly burly fellow having a heated argument on a cell phone while on line at the post office. The comments, following his departure, ranged from ".... needs to get a life," to "what an A--Hole." So, if you are a cell phone user, please find a place away from other people to make those "urgent" calls. Those of us still civilized enough to recognize bad social behavior and you will not make a public spectacle of yourself. |
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