Quote of the day …
We are better at rationalizing what we do than being rational about what we’re doing.
- Linda Stone.
This quote was in an article written about cellphones being everywhere. I don’t mean they are ubiquitous but rather, people feel compelled to always have their cell phone with them. There are lots of people I know who get nervous and uncomfortable if they don’t have their cell phone with them. It’s like an illness.
My favorite commentary from the article is …
Last week, a high school sophomore told me that she brings her phone into the shower with her–in a Ziploc bag. She didn’t want to miss an incoming text message. When I asked her if, in her sleep, she had missed life-altering messages, she looked at me blankly.
Sadly, I can see this very clearly and by people I actually know and call friends. I hope, someday, there are help groups for this kind of illness.
Personally, I think that many people get to the point where they can no longer stand the silence inside their own heads and they feel absolutely compelled to talk on the phone, stick an iPod in their ears, etc.
I think it’s just one more symptom of our becoming slaves to our technology and inured to the steadily increasing pace of things combined with a steadily decreasing attention span.
(for the record, yes, my cellphone/pda is with me almost all the time, but other than using it as a glorified appointment book, I barely use the thing)