Like most people in today’s world, I own a cell phone.  The number is on my answering machine so that customers can reach me when I’m out taking a hike in the woods with my dog, enjoying a leisurely lunch with my husband, or just away from my office.  I don’t have the number on my websites and I don’t hand it out freely.  Why? Because I don’t want to be a slave to the cell phone.

 Every day I see people walking around, looking like they are talking to themselves until I notice the tiny cell phone held to their ears.  Or, just yesterday, when I was standing in the checkout line at Walgreens, a woman who I had seen talking non-stop on her cell phone the whole time I had been in the store, was still chatting away as she paid and walked out the door.  She was so busy with her conversation, however, that she left her package on the counter when she left. 

Cell phones have brought freedom to many people throughout the world who would never have the opportunity to connect with a land phone.  Mine has brought freedom to me by allowing me to escape the mundane routines of my business while still staying in touch with customers.  But cell phones have also brought rudeness and disrespect to the world.  And the ability to text message has made it even worse.

Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I like to have the full attention of someone that I am talking to or conducting business with.  How can a clerk practice her smile and positive customer relations when the customer is ignoring her while chatting away with someone else.  Teachers deserve the attention and respect of their students while trying to teach.  And, yes, even the minister in your church deserves your attention while he is preaching to you.

My cell phone provides the opportunity for my customers and family to reach me.  But it is not an entertainment vehicle.  I don’t even know (or want to know) how to take pictures, send text messages, download games, or all the numerous other things that it is apparently capable of.  When I was searching for my latest cell phone, because a new phone was cheaper than a new battery, it was impossible to find one that was “just a phone”. 

Yes, cell phones are great.  But a slave to a cell phone is not something that I am or that I will ever be.