Taking a stand against cell phones
Randy Striegel
CHICO, Calif.
A recent study by researchers at Arizona State University identified the electronic plastic growth that connects the hand to the ear of 50.1 percent of college students across the country — cellular phones.
But as cell phone usage increases at North American colleges and universities, so does a sense of intolerance among non-users.
Perhaps the technologically inept "have-nots" envy their cell phone wielding counterparts, as suggested by the 57.4 percent of the non-owners who said they wanted to buy a cell phone.
But cell phone users are often perceived as elitist, pretentious and lazy. Why? Because they're prepared in the event of an emergency? Because they've created a constant link between themselves and their loved ones?
No. Because of the smug grins that adorn their faces as they stroll contentedly past public phones, cell phones in hand, en route to wherever it is they're going — a crowded movie theater, the Meriam Library during finals week or anywhere people might take exception to the abrupt, incessant ringing cell phones are known for.
But if it's not the ringing, it's the talking.
Recently while in Las Vegas, I heard a man talking on a cell phone from a stall in one of the restrooms of the New York, New York Hotel and Casino.
"Guess where I am?" he said excitedly, his voice echoing off the linoleum floors. "I'm in Vegas!"
Simply put, the line separating appropriate and inappropriate locations to use cell phones has grown increasingly vague.
And while an argument can be made for the theoretical importance of cell phones — to call 9-1-1, or to report an accident on the freeway — most people take exception to the ways cell phones are used.
37 percent said they used their cell phones in the past three months to order takeout, and 21 percent to participate in radio contests.
Worst of all, however, is the sense of vanity associated with cell phone usage. According to the ASU survey, 14.8 percent of cellular customers "believe that cell phones make them look stylish."
Some would argue that cigarettes serve the same purpose — and likewise alienate those who don't use them. But where cigarettes pose a legitimate physical threat to non-smokers, cell phones create a less immediate, though equally disturbing, backlash.
Cell phone users, quite simply, perceive cellular phones as status symbols. More than 20 percent of those surveyed said so, which then begs the question: Are cell-phone users better people than non-users? Do they deserve more respect or prestige simply because they have accepted the financial burden of cell-phone usage?
Of course not, but don't tell them. They might make the mistake of calling someone who cares.
This column first appeared in the California State University-Chico newspaper, The Orion, on August 23, 2000, and is reprinted here courtesy of U-WIRE.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
All Viewpoint Stories for Friday, August 25, 2000
