When I was a teenager, I had a rainbow phone in my room. It had a cord that could wrap around the globe at least a couple of times so that I could walk anywhere in the house while I talked with my best friend, Jill. She lived just a few blocks away. I’m not sure why we never tried it, but since her phone cord was as equally as long as mine, we probably could have started walking to meet in the middle while still on our phones.
It was a happy day when we got a cordless phone in our house. And in relatively short order, cordless phones gave way to mobile phones. These days, I love my smartphone. As a master of multitasking, it feels like I am on it — either talking, texting or using an app — all the time. However, there is one place I draw the line: the grocery store checkout line. I feel so rude talking on the phone and not interacting with the cashier.
In our always-on society, I got to wondering about other people’s phone boundaries. I asked the Clairemont team to fill in the blank in this statement. I love my smartphone, but I refuse to ________________. Here are some of the answers.
- …bring it to the dinner table. Well, at least for the first 10 minutes!
- …use it for online shopping.
- …give up on or always substitute it for face-to-face verbal communication and interactions.
- …let it control me!
- …keep it on during naps. My sleep. Mine.
The last response added, “I’m not above, however, keeping it in my bra should the need arise.” Oh yes, the need for more pockets in women’s clothing. Perhaps that’s a post for another time.