I adore my mobile devices, but I like to think I’m
reasonable about using them. I do not walk blindly down the sidewalk like a
zombie while texting, my eyes fixed on my screen. (An acquaintance recently had
her phone stolen from her in the open street; she was walking down the street
in a quiet neighborhood, texting all the while, and a kid ran up and snatched
it out of her hand. She was very indignant about this, because she didn’t think
she’d done anything out of the ordinary.)
But it still amazes me (as an older person) how people drop
into trances while using their phones and their tablets. Three-quarters of the
people I see on the bus are texting or using their phones. At least half of the
people I pass on the sidewalk are deep in contemplation of their devices,
completely unaware of their surroundings.
Not to mention people driving cars.
I hate to think about it. I’m a pedestrian – I don’t drive a
car – so I’m largely at the mercy of people driving big ugly dangerous vehicles,
and I continually hope and pray that they look up often enough to stop at intersections and yield at crosswalks. Because,
you know, sometimes they don’t. (Once, a couple of years ago in downtown
Providence, I was in a crosswalk with a couple of other people when a driver
actually speeded up toward us. I ran like hell toward the sidewalk; another
guy, braver than me, stood his ground and yelled obscenities at the driver.)
But it’s the entranced drivers – the ones who are talking
and texting – who worry me.
I failed it within seconds.
Try it, and see how you do.
You’ll be horrified.
No comments:
Post a Comment