Yes, I am one of those who think that using the phone on specific occasions is not the best and should be avoided, such as when we share with friends or family in a meaningful and planned way, regardless of how often we see those people. Today I want to argue that way of thinking and give three fun and unusual ways that, if they existed, would go a long way toward making us aware, and also have a good laugh.
For starters, you and I have most likely at some point realized that we shouldn't have used the phone on occasion, either on our own or because someone else told us to. So we can generally fine-tune that judgment.
Here's my first argument: from childhood in schools we are taught the rules of the good listener and the rules of the good speaker. These suggest that if we are listening to someone we should look at the person, not interrupt them, and so on. To do otherwise could be interpreted as saying that we don't care about what they are saying. The cell phone gets us to do the latter. It looks impolite that while someone is talking the other person is looking at their cell phone, perhaps responding to someone else or being distracted by something. And they are supposed to be a loved one!
Second argument, the use of the phone in face-to-face social occasions can reduce the value of the moment. We often hear people regretfully refer to what they feel they were able to do for or in the company of someone dear to them. Imagine remembering that it was the cell phone that separated us from that person! In reality, it was ourselves, not that gray box.
So, should I be completely execrated from these occasions? Not necessarily. We are not saying that we do something similar to the shoes in some places in the world, that upon arriving at the place they take them off (although it could, that upon arriving at the site everyone leaves their cell phone in a basket). That's why I like to say "limit cell phone use" instead of "ban cell phone use". Let me explain.
Photos I believe are part of the experience of sharing with our loved ones. There are photos and videos captured on our devices that are real treasures, even if they are the last ones that one of us has. But to capture them we would have to use the phone. I don't see that use as inappropriate, and it's different from the uses we talked about at the beginning, such as chatting with someone else, viewing social networks, playing games, etc.
Also, some of us have important reminders on our cell phone, such as taking a pill, an important meeting, a financial transaction, among others. Turning off such an alarm implies using the phone, so we would be doing something "illegal" if it were clearly forbidden in that context.
These are a couple of examples of how cell phones cannot be completely prohibited. I like better to say that we could "limit" their use. What might be one of the things that could help us implement these adjustments? This could be accomplished with education (especially to children), thinking about the effects it might have on others if we prefer the use of the device to its physical presence, and what we might be missing out on from others.
But obviously there may be other, more amusing "penalties" for those who use the cell phone on occasions when they shouldn't. I'm not talking about, "First one to grab the cell phone at dinner gets to clean up the dishes." No, because then they want to do that in the middle of the night, when everyone has gone to sleep and he's tired of answering his friends and checking the interwebs. That's no good. I propose three! Of course, it implies that there are applications that allow these things.
1-. Let others see your screen. Yes! If you dare to take your phone, your screen will appear on the TV in the living room, so everyone will discover that silly little game you play on the sly without anyone knowing or who is writing to you.
2-. Battery waste mode. Just as there is a "Battery Saver" mode, on those occasions a "Battery Waste" mode will be activated, which means that every time you manipulate the phone it will consume your battery power quickly. What anguish! You'd better do what you're going to do quickly.
3-. Exposed gallery. Whoever takes your cell phone will see the photos from your gallery appear on the screen of the room. Wow! So many selfies and screenshots, right?
Would some of these things be a violation of privacy? Maybe, but come on! For a cop catching you fiddling with your phone while driving you're going to have to put your hands in your pocket, right? Well, there's a price to pay, what's your opinion? I'll read them in the comments. Thanks for read. See you next time!
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Language: Post written in Spanish and then translated into English through DeepL
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Thank you for the tips. Nice idea.
Hey! Thanks for that. Regards @fixyetbroken
Welcome. 😊
Wahala ooo, I better don't use my phone than face battery drain.
Seriously, using phone while interacting with others can be so disrespectful.
Thanks for sharing this amazing and funny writing with us
I laughed a lot writing it. Thanks for your feedback. Regards @hivedeb
Quite brilliant suggestions. If such could be implemented, I'm sure many would rather just stick with staring at one another. I get disgusted when I communicate with an individual and their focus is in their phones. Good script here
I think it would be intimidating when someone's cell phone rings. Scary! Thanks for stopping by. Regards @jjmusa2004
You're welcome
I confess, I do play on my phone more than I should, but some people are always on their phones. It does prohibit relationship-building. We should be mindful of how often we let technology get in the way of relationships, and make a change.
Thanks for posting on this topic.
I think there is nothing wrong with playing. I have my game on my phone too. It's like you say, keep everything in its place. Regards @allentaylor