Currents April 2020 Apr 2020 Currents web | Page 20

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Currents
April 2020
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Walgreens on the way home, even the cashier is
chatting on the phone while taking your money. Do
you feel valued as a customer? Later, during a stroll
through a shopping mall you observe friends walking
together while each reading their own cell texts.
Obviously, we all have a different “cell phone eti-
quette”. What one person considers rude may be
standard behavior for another.
Personally, I have a variety of “cell- free experi-
ences” for which I place the here and now, safety, or
courtesy before calls, messages, and e mails. For
example, on a relaxing hour-long walk outdoors, I
prefer the sights and sounds of nature to a phone
ring. Likewise, the phone remains in a locker at my
gym. A recent report found that gym-goers lose up to
forty percent of their workout taking calls. Even if
they finish during the allotted time, balance, coordi-
nation, and effort expended suffer. Moreover, for
some reason those calls seem overly loud to others
enjoying their work outs. Besides, only non- cell
users can make new acquaintances in any venue, so
virtual communications, be they through smart
watch, Bluetooth, I- Pod, or cell phone, make social
interactions that include eye contact and real
speech, impossible.
Last week I invited someone over to watch our
favorite team in a playoff game, When I realized a
couple of my comments were unanswered, I was
startled to see that he was receiving messages on
his Apple watch and cell phone while also wearing a
Bluetooth. I made a mental note to address the issue
before we got together again. Watching the team
alone may have been more fulfilling. In his eager-
ness to answer virtual messages, my guest forgot
about the only live person there, ME!
As emphasized in a new book, "The Myth of Mul-
titasking," a relationship was being sacrificed due to
a preoccupation with electronic messages and no
"anchor task" or main priority. Partners, children, and
friends may fall by the wayside. In fact, the practice
of ignoring people for phones has become so wide-
spread that there is a new word for "phone snub-
bing", which has been shortened to "phubbing."
While the word “multitasking” is relatively new and
sounds efficient, most of us can still only master on
one task at a time with any quality result. When we
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