Why is the Cell Phone More Important?

The Split Second-In Consideration of Others in These Trying Times

I am still trying to get my unpublished book The Split Second:  In Consideration of Others or Look Up from the Phone and How to Deal with Rudeness in Others. Published. As of this now, there is some definite hope, and it feels good. Still, I “take things in stride.” Thanks for the support I received from many of you.

I had the pleasure of dining with a wonderful gentleman three nights ago. The conversation was scintillating as it always is with him. However, two tables over, two women and a small child were together. The women were engrossed in conversation; the young girl whom I would guess to be four or five was looking at cartoons on a cell phone the entire time. I could tell that the images had to be cartoons because they were playing quite loudly. This was sad for two reasons: 1.) It would have been nice if the women had engaged this young lady in conversation rather than keeping her busy with a cell phone presentation, and 2.) The cartoons were being played way too noisily. People with hearing aids and/or hearing difficulties would be bothered by this.

At the table next to us, a man and woman were both looking at their cell phones the entire length of their dining experience. Now, they can do whatever they like to do; they do not need anyone’s permission. However, I found it sad that they would not talk to each other having some sort of conversation.

At the table behind my dining companion, two women were seated. One woman was using her cell phone almost the entire time they were seated there. The other woman did not have a cell phone present. She simply sat there and stared at her companion using the cell phone she had with her. Had that woman with no cell phone been me, I would have said something at first, and then, I would have left the restaurant altogether before the meal was finished.

All three of these scenarios make one point I attempt to stress emphatically in The Split Second: when dining out, can we not put our cell phones away and enjoy each other while seated at a table in the restaurant and not have to rely on our phones? When I am dining with a friend, my cell phone goes in my pocket and my companion(s) have my utmost attention. I do not care what is on that phone of mine. My company is much more enjoyable.