Is there anything teachers despise more than being interrupted by a rock star tune, or a Ludacris rap beat blaring out of a cell phone during a lecture?
That annoying buzz that keeps going off in class, usually has students’ faces looking around trying to figure out which backpack the noise is coming from.
Let’s face it. We are a generation that loves to talk, and with the help of various technologies, we’ve created yet another instrument that fills our need for a better and more efficient means of communication.
With the creation of a cell phone, we can talk to anyone, anytime, anywhere, given of course that we have good cell phone providers. It is no doubt that a cell phone has many attractive features, but it sometimes seems that our dependency on it has its consequences.
Cell phone use is so pervasive in our society that the idea of not having one is suddenly viewed as odd and strange. There is a heightened vulnerability if you find yourself without it. The person utilizing it on a daily basis gets so accustomed to its presence that when something happens to it, the feeling of exposure to the unpredictable arises.
Imagine you are driving through a canyon in the middle of the night and get a flat tire, and your little shiny friend isn’t there to save you from your distress. Suddenly, the world around you becomes a very intimidating place.
A cell phone is also not merely a means of communication. It functions as our secretary, friend, alarm, phone book, mini computer, entertainment system and perhaps even our business partner.
Our dependency on this small object is so great, that its absence sends a panic through us. Loosing it creates a feeling of isolation from the world.
Having a cell phone means that with a push of a button, you are connected to a voice on the other end, and its presence does not require you to remember numbers. Therefore, it is only after you loose your cell that you realize you do not even know your best friend’s number, because it was always on the speed dial.
Say goodbye to the countless times you stood alone outside of class or a nightclub and fiddled with your phone as if to look like you were doing something, because as long as you were occupied, your self consciousness was satisfied.
It seems we often forget that a cell phone is a luxury, not a necessity.
In past years and generations, people have found various ways to deal with the world around them without depending on instruments such as cell phones. After all, they too had to deal with unfortunate circumstances, and perhaps were freer by adapting to these situations and finding ways to deal with them without the use of cell phones.
Although this idea might be difficult for some to fathom, the realization lies in that it is not the world that is changing, but rather the ones who inhabit it. There is no doubt that the existence of a cell phone has many admirable traits and functions, but it seems that the creation of such instruments gives us more freedom in some aspects by cunningly taking it away in others.
Tatiana Galadjev is a junior communications major.
