Do You Really Have A Cellphone?

"I'm going out with some friends from school tonight."
"What are you doing?"
"Hanging out, maybe catch Independence Day at the Dansberry."
"Okay, be back by 10 this evening, or you'll be grounded."
"Yes mom."
"And take your jacket, it might rain."
"Yes mom."
"Oh my friends are here, they just pulled up, bye!"
"Remember, be back by--"
*door slams*
"-- ten."

Does that sound familiar? Okay, maybe you could not be caught being seen in theaters watching Independence Day, but hey, Will Smith was popular back in the 90's.

Fast forward a decade.

*your pocket vibrates and a catchy series of tunes plays*
"Hey."
"Hey."
"What's up?"
"Want to go catch the newest Pirates movie?"
"Sure, who's going?"
"The gang, the usual people."
"Cool, meet you down there at eight or so."
"Cool, later."
"Later."
*stuff phone back in pocket*

Does that sound familiar too? If you did not catch the difference, that was the difference between when we had cellphones and when we did not have them. Perhaps your conversations played out cooler than that, but probably not.

Many of us, where 'us' is defined as graduates from high school around 2002, got our first cell phones near the end of high school or the beginning of college. It was convenient and nice to be able to make phone calls anywhere, if you had signal. But, cell phones have morphed (think Power Rangers and when they fight the big monsters, except the opposite direction) into a device that does 100's of functions. But the underlying function still remains, calling people and receiving calls. We rely so much on cell phones, that landlines are becoming unnecessary, with in-calling, free nights and weekends, and enough anytime minutes where we do not need the extra fee of a telephone at home.

However, are cell phones really the convenience that we are lead to believe? No... no, no, no! But why 'no'? Well, let's start with the misnomer 'cellular phone', which to most people means a phone that is small enough to carry around on one's self. When someone tells you to call their cell, you immediately think that they will have it with them, and that you can reach them easily. That is a false image for most people anymore.

I know people that are nearly impossible to reach, even though they have a cell phone. Either they never pick-up, they never listen their voice mail, or they choose to screen the call. When I am not trying to reach those people, I often get to call a group of people that rarely pick up on the first call. They either have the phone on silent, on vibrate, or it is simply not on them. Then there are a few that actually pick up most of the time, those are rare of course. And no, I am not calling in the middle of the day. It is often evenings or weekends when they should have their cell phones with them or nearby.

What is the purpose of a cell phone when you do not pick up, you do not keep it on you, or just do not bother to care to answer calls? Sure, you can be in a movie, or otherwise busy, sometimes. But for those who rarely pick up, is your life truly busy that much that you cannot spare half a minute? I doubt it.

So my rant moves to advice. Your cell phone is there so people can reach you easily, keep it with you as much as possible, or have it on a loud ring if you leave it in the other room. If you ignore or think that you will call someone back later, then think what the other person feels, when they call time and time again, unable to reach you, without them knowing that the person sees their missed calls and listens to the voice mails? What if they have a good story to tell you, or some tragic news, or some funny incident to tell you that happened at work? When you call back three or four days later, that person will be like, "Oh yeah... never mind." and bam, you have inadvertently burned someone. Perhaps you can try answering and ask if they can call back later, it takes less than a minute, and if it is the night or weekend or in-calling it will be free. Or if you have a text plan, have a Quick Text of "Saw you called, will call back soon." and it takes less than 20 seconds.

Bottom line: You have a cell phone so that people can reach you, stay mindful of that.