Driving down the road, I cross a motorbike: there are two young men on it, sans helmets but with cellphones glued to their ears. As I wonder at their dare-devilry, sorry stupidity, in risking their as well as others’ lives, I am reminded of my cousin who recently broke three of her teeth as she rushed out of the bathroom to pick up the ringing cellphone. Just for reference, she is not a teenager but the mother of a teen and a tween!

I remember the pre-cellphone and pre-caller id days when people rushed to answer phones. Making a call was expensive so if someone called you, it must have been important. You were curious to know who was calling and why because making a call was the result of a decision-making process.

The cellphone changed all that. We were charmed by its ability to allow us to connect with whomsoever we wanted whenever and wherever. I wonder now why we even wanted this facility. Do you want an interest-free loan while you are having dinner? Is the story about how someone’s sister’s employer’s aunt was duped by the electrician more interesting than the show you are watching?

I guess no one realized how insidiously the device would infiltrate into our lives. What is it about the cellphone that makes most people prioritize it over relationships, work, leisure, sleep, to name just a few activities we previously thought were important?

My rant against the cell phone stems from its use as everything other than what it was originally intended for. It makes us ignore our surroundings, our immediate company, and important tasks. The next time you are in a restaurant, look around and you would be appalled at the number of people, ostensibly together but each tapping at their phone reading/ watching ‘God-only-knows-what’. People will interrupt a conversation, step out of a meeting or a theatre, interrupt their meal, stop doing whatever they were to take a call even if the chance that it is yet another marketing call is very high.

The cellphone does bring a lot of conveniences and often adds value to our lives but our mindless attendance to its vagaries is deadening our sensibilities and sensitivity. It is taking away our ability to be mindful, attentive, and often, polite.

The possibility of this article reaching my audience quickly would increase if I sent it to everyone’s phones but that would make it an oxymoron. Now I must go because my phone is ringing!