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What did we do before the cellphone?
10/31/2009
By Nigel Wallace
While most people are very cognizant of this often heard question, the other adjoining question, which we put less emphasis on is, “What did we do before the Internet?” Whatever your question though, anyone who wields a Smartphone with an Edge Data Package knows full well both the glories and frustrations we all now face in a new age. Would I trade this technology for anything…? Yes I would.
Whenever I hear anyone talking about how wonderful it is that we are so connected to each and every person around us, I often fall prey, like a sheep and silently agree. I think to myself, ‘It’s true. If not for my cellphone I wouldn’t have gotten that e-mail 30 minutes ago, I wouldn’t have picked up that call, and I certainly wouldn’t be driving down the road, focused on the next story awaiting my perusal’. But then when I realise that I am not focused on the songs playing on the radio, or admiring the beautiful views that have been uncovered by the cutting of cane, it occurs to me that I should not be a sheep, but should instead be a lion, leading my pack of one to a better way of life.
I can almost recall with perfect clarity the day I was given my first cellular phone. A long time advocate for my personal freedom, I thought the entire concept of the cellphone was offensive given its intrusive nature. When I decided to jump in my busted Datsun and head for the beach, the only person I wanted to talk with was God… preferably from the inside of a Cole’s Road barreling wave. But I digress. The point I am making is that when I hear the title question, all I can remember was good times when my mind was focused on my passions and my heart flew free, untethered by the realities of life and constant connectivity to that life. With that in mind, there was an actual chill running down my spine, like the one you feel in an eerie Hollywood Horror when the little box with the Nokia phone was place in my possession.
I can recall it like yesterday, when my best friend answered his cell phone five years ago and simply stated, “Finally.” Yes, finally I was one of the masses, linked into a world that now had easy access to me regardless of my location. And regardless of the chill running down my spine, I was secretly elated at my conversion to this new world, this new way of thinking. If you want an example of how fully I have been converted just look at the holster on my hip and understand that there is another phone in my pocket. Yep, connected is an understatement.
That said, I don’t know how many of you wish you could destroy the cellphones of your friends and families who spend their time talking with work colleagues through a slew of e-mails, typed back and forth between two opposable thumbs? All I know is that I sometimes fall prey to a situation where the people I am hanging out with probably want to grab by BlackBerry and send it flying out of the car window. Is it possible that we were productive when we didn’t pick up email in our cars? Is it possible that we were competent to deal with the situations when we arrived back at the office?
I know that question will be answered differently, based on everyone’s unique work requirements, but I also know that for most of you there is quite a bit of food for thought.
So here’s my food, thought out and prepared for your consumption. “What did we do before cellphones?” For starters we were better drivers, not jumping at every ring tone that signified a different level of importance to the person waiting on the other end. We were less stressed by our jobs since we actually had the opportunity to leave them in the office. And perhaps, most importantly, we had better relationships with the physical people we were interacting with, since one of the greatest interruptions on the planet could be plugged out of the
wall.
The cellphone is a blessing, trust that I will not be getting rid of either of my phones any time soon. In fact I may add more applications for conversation and connectivity (So much for being a lion). I just want everyone to recognise that though useful, what we did before cellphones took over our lives was probably a lot more relaxing than what we are doing now. Just take a vacation to another country, turn off your handset and see what I mean.
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