18 November 2009

100 Issues for 100 Days: #94

#94: One Missed Call

Today I left my cell phone at home. Though it's annoying (no timekeeper, no way to reach people when I need to tell them something quickly, etc.), the best thing about not having my phone is that I don't feel bothered. I don't feel tied to what I should be doing because there's no one to remind me if I'm not.

After work I went out to dinner without regard to the time or what was happening. To be honest, I couldn't care less if I hadn't gotten home at a decent hour.

I think more people should free themselves from the constraints of cell phones. Whenever I see my students, every moment they can they're checking messages or texting. When I got my cell phone in college, I rarely pulled it out during the day and definitely not during classes. Why do we seem to dread our screens flashing "one missed call"? Do we feel that we'll have missed out on something significant? When did we start seeing a missed call as a failed moment rather than just an opportunity to call someone back?

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