It’s A Lot Worse Than You Might Think

 

You see it every day. You see it but you don’t notice it. I notice it because I’m The Noticer.

Have I got your attention? Have I got you confused? I probably got you both. I’m talking about Cell Phones again. Please allow me to explain.

As we amble through Modern Electronic America wherever we look we see people talking on their cell phones...

• Drivers looking at their phones as they drive their cars.
• Passengers in cars (not the drivers) looking at their phones. Think about it. When was the last time you saw a passenger in a car that was not looking down at their phones
• Looking at their phones while walking in the park.
• In coffee shops. Actually in coffee shops they are often looking at a Smartphone and/or a Tablet and/or an (old fashioned) Computer. Many times all 3 at the same time.
• Looking at their phones as they walk. Search on your phone for “People bumping into things while looking at their phones”. Then, if you have nothing else to do, spend the rest of your day looking at what comes up.
• Looking at their phones while exercising on exercise equipment in gyms.
• Catching glimpses of their text messages and texting while getting a hair cut in between snips in barber chairs. Have you noticed how many bad haircuts are out there today? It is very hard to give a good haircut while your customer is texting.

Do you think they are desperately trying to solve the Mid-East Situation? Do you think they are trying to find a Cure for Cancer? Do you think they are Contemplating Great Thoughts? I don’t think they are doing any of these things. I contend they are usually just wasting time.

You think it is a bad thing that they are wasting time? I contend it is a lot more awful silly as you think. There are other people on the other end of their phone conversations, text messages, tweets, etc. who are wasting time back at them.

I got this off the Internet, so you know it is true...

• “There are over 1.6 million driving accidents alone due to smartphones — more than 300,000 injuries, and 11 horrible teen deaths every single day.”
• “There are three types of distracted driving, manual, cognitive, and visual. Using a cell phone, particularly texting while driving, combines all of the risk factors because it requires the driver to turn his mental attention to the device, manipulate it with his hand, and to look at it. The Institute of Industrial Engineers estimated that texting and driving is 20 times more likely to result in an accident than driving while intoxicated.”

Did I just hear you say, This is pretty serious stuff for a Blog called Foolishness...Or Is It?. What’s a matter fa you? Have you never heard of Serious Foolishness?

Would I kid u?

Smartfella