The cell phone has become a necessity of modern life. Elementary school kids have their own cell phones these days. (I hope newborns use them at any time). Cell phones keep us in touch with family and friends and are great to have in case of an emergency. But public conversations can reveal too much. In fact, some of these details should not be discussed in public.
Have you been to the movies when someone’s cell phone rings? It’s annoying, to say the least. Cell phones ring in the middle of important meetings, at grocery stores, and during church services. The “bells” are as varied as the owners of cell phones. Some phones have catchy melodies. The melodies are fun the first few times you hear them, and then they get annoying.
Listening to snippets of conversation is also annoying. I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’m peeking through a keyhole into someone’s life. Because I’m a writer, a lot of sentences sound like soap opera tickets or “teasers” for upcoming TV specials. I have to stop myself from following the person and asking, “So what happened?”
When I was shopping at a discount store, I heard a woman exclaim, “I was terrified! Absolutely terrified! I couldn’t believe this was happening.” She then walked away and headed down a different hallway. Questions flooded my mind. Had the woman’s life been in danger? Were her family members also in danger? Did your story of hers have a happy ending?
Conversations between teenagers are interesting due to their speech patterns and topics. “Like, she always tells me this,” one teen commented. “Like, you know what I mean.” Although successive sentences contained the word “like” many times, he could not understand the conversation. And I thought she’d scream if she said “I like it” one more time.
Conversations at the grocery store tend to sound rushed. I felt sorry for the man in front of the pudding display who kept saying, “But honey, they don’t taste like that anymore. What else should I ask for?” The man went through his shopping list with concern. Clearly, the grocery store was foreign territory for him, and he couldn’t wait to leave.
I think cell phone conversations have gotten out of hand. We don’t need to hear about a stranger’s love life, family arguments, or job problems. It’s easy to forget that others can hear us when we’re on a cell phone. I’ve heard people talk, out loud, I might add, about their bank balances and stock investments.
It’s time to apply common sense to cell phone fashion. If you need to talk to someone, go to another room, your car, or another quiet place. Keep in mind that your conversation, like a radio show, is broadcast over public airwaves. Many people are listening. So think about what you say and what your words say about you.
Copyright 2006 by Harriet Hodgson
