Yes, Look Up from the Phone

The Split Second-In Consideration of Others or Look Up from the Phone

I am still trying to get my unpublished book The Split Second:  In Consideration of Others or Look Up from the Phone published. I offer my thanks to all who have been so supportive.

One of the subtitles of my book is “Look Up from the Phone” (by the way, I have had a few tell me the title of the book is a bit too long). One factor of society these days, beyond the fact that I feel people are way too tied to their phones (I wonder if it were ethical in the medical world if people would opt to have their phones surgically attached to the palm of one hand), is people walking through the world would their heads constantly looking at their phones. For one, these folks can be oblivious to the world immediately around them and two, this constant attention to the phone while in public can slow people down considerably.

 I see a huge safety concern with the first consideration in that I have seen folks walking across street unaware of anything unfortunate or even tragic that could happen to them. Several years ago, a local news station showed a video clip of a man walking in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains just north of Los Angeles. What he did not see in front of him was a large bear. When he was too close, he finally noticed the bear and threw his phone in the air and ran away as fast as he could. Some might see this as humorous (honestly, I tried to resist the temptation to laugh), but truthfully, he came close to being mauled by the bear and that is not funny. Another time, a news clip showed a man who walked right into a fountain because he was too engrossed with his phone and not what was in front of him. That really was not funny either. People also walk across intersections with their heads looking down at their phones and could miss that automobile that may be driving through the intersection illegally and/or haphazardly. One might not take that walk without looking up and noticing the immediate surroundings just to stay safe.

Also, I have seen way too many people walking on a sidewalk, across an intersection, or anywhere else with their heads “buried in the phone.” Very often those folks walk slower than they would ordinarily because of something on their phones that fascinates them at a given moment. That can be very frustrating for the one waiting for them to get across the intersection or just out of the way. I have the subtitle of my book as “Look Up from the Phone” for a reason: it would be nice if more people noticed what was going on in the world around them so they could act and react appropriately.