Talk Is Cheap
Cell phones cheapen talk. As with any other commodity, conversation's value declines when there's too much of it. But there's a more worrying cost to constant chatter.
I was walking on the street behind a guy on his cell and heard him say, "Yeah, I'm just down the block; be home in a couple of minutes." I've sat next to people in restaurants who read the menu to someone on their cell. A few weeks ago I was at a conference. There were sixty people in a small auditorium. During the first morning session, five cells rang, each with its own "personal" signal. Four people ignored the speaker and disturbed their neighbors making their way to the hall; the fifth held a whispered conversation right in the room.
The big question is: What's so important?
The answer is, Not much. 90% of cell use has nothing to do with importance. I think constant chatter is all about not being alone, and especially about not wanting to think alone.
Cell phones insulate us from ourselves because while we're having a conversation, there's not much chance that we'll reflect a little on ourselves and our lives.
What's the moral implication of constant chatter? Ethics isn't just about how we deal with others; it's also about how we deal with ourselves. If we don't take some time to think on our own, to reflect a little, then we're failing to be ethical to ourselves.
Most of us get little time alone, and when we do, we watch television or read... or we talk on our cell phones. What we don't do is allow time for things to come to mind. It's when we're alone, walking on the street, sitting at home, or just staring out a window, that some things have a chance to bubble up in our minds. Trouble is, they are often things we don't want to think about or that puzzle us or even that disturb us. These are just the things we can duck if we get or make a call on our handy cell phone.
Human beings are social animals; no question of that. But we are also core individuals defined by our beliefs, our hopes, our values. Constant chatter gives our social side the right of way, and there's a great danger that it will redefine us according to others' beliefs, hopes, and values.
