Who's the boss ???

It’s too bad we cannot control the technology that is supposed to be “improving” our lives.  Instead, we are letting it control us, much to our detriment.

One of the most-puzzling, at least initially, changes over the last few years has been the abandonment by drivers of using their turn signals to let other drivers know what to expect.  This trend started becoming apparent several years ago and seems to have an exponential growth to it.

Twice within the last few weeks I have personally seen near-accidents that were caused by a turn signal not being used.

At first, the reason did not seem apparent to me, but now I think I know.  Most people are using their cell phones while driving.  A simple glance around confirms this.  In fact, talking or texting while driving has become more important than driving itself.  So if the choice becomes one between attending to your phone or turning on your signal indicator, guess which one gets ignored?

At least, that is all that I can figure to explain it.

There is much good that comes from today’s ubiquity of cell phones.  They obviously reduce the distance that once left people stranded, often in isolation, with no means to call for help.  They also, however, have prompted a lot of unnecessary conversation that, over time and repetition, has made us act a bit less intelligent.

The trueness of this was shown to me while I was in line at a sandwich shop.  The person in front of me was on the phone.  From what could be heard, the conversation was not of utmost importance.

“Nothing.  Just getting a sandwich,” was the first clue.  What was important was that the person behind the counter was forced to continually interrupt the “conversation” to ask if certain items were wanted on the sandwich.  It continued for each item as the person returned to his phone call following each answer he gave.

Instead of picking up on the fact that he needed to stay off the phone for a moment, at least until his order was completed, he continued to prioritize his attention to the phone.  “Whatever.”  “I don’t know.”  “Whatever you want to do.”  Those were the comments he was uttering.

It went on through his entire stroll down the counter, and it became quit annoying.  Enough that the personal thoughts in my mind implored the moron to get off the phone and order his sandwich.  Once he had done that, he could talk senselessly on the phone all he wanted.  

Common sense and consideration towards others has become the biggest casualty of the ubiquitous use of cell phones.  Dating back to the first “Walkman” cassette player, and continuing since, we have come to think of ourselves as egocentric entities around which the entire world operates, rather than the other way around.

As such, we worry more about our own priorities, and less about being empathetic towards others.  It is a shame that we have allowed something than can help us in so many ways to erode our personal characters.