Landlines Versus Phubbing

40 years ago teenagers would monopolize their family's landline telephone with endless one-to-one conversations. While today with the 10th year anniversary of the Smartphone's preeminence in our culture, a new method for teenagers to communicate with one another has emerged: Phubbing.

According to reliable sources on the Internet:

phubbing. (PHone snUBBING) The constant use of smartphones and lack of human interaction. For example, "phubbers" are people in the company of others who are endlessly texting or checking e-mail.

I have seen this firsthand with my nephew and with a slew of co-workers who believe that being available to an incessant barrage of tweets and messages makes them more valuable employees. In both cases I feel there is cause for worry. This is not my nostalgia for a simpler age. It is more like the declaration of the news anchor from the 1976 American satirical film written by Paddy Chayefsky and directed by Sidney Lumet, Network:

"I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"

I can't say that I will ever reach this level of hysteria though it is disturbing and contrary to all I hold to be good and true. How we ever got to this sorry state of affairs is something I will have to give some more thought to and comment in another post. For now, simply ask yourself if you know a Phubber or are one yourself. If the thought of leaving your home without your smartphone leaves you feeling somewhat disconcerted you might be contributing to this problem.