Saving Silence from Extinction

A large man enters a coffee shop on his cellphone. He operates the cellphone as if it were a walkie-talkie. He does not hold the phone to his hear, instead floating it in some proximity of his face and ear. Each time he is done speaking, a noise signals. It is the same noise that signals the other caller has finished speaking. This goes on for about twenty minutes, though for the people in the coffee shop who are annoyed by the whole ordeal, it feels like it has lasted much longer.

There was no intervention from anyone. The man was allowed to intrude on the atmosphere of the moment without any consequence to himself. Truth is, saying anything at all would have been futile. Policing idiots on their cellphones presents the same futility as officers who are charged with policing street-corner drug dealers: take down one and another will soon follow. Indeed, after the man left, another, just like him, was soon to arrive. And another. And another. Before long the coffee shop is filled with the sound of one-way conversations of people gabbing away on their cellphones.

That's the assault on the ears. The eyes are a different story.

I'm amazed at what I see in most coffee shops. People who are seated across from one another, who are supposed to be socializing with each other, are instead sending text messages, twittering or doing something else on their phones. Of course, it's not just in coffee shops. When the lights go out at the movies, my eye is inescapably drawn to the dozens of small lights from cellphones in the theater – people who have paid ten dollars or more to send text messages for the next two hours. On the side walk, a high volume of fast and slow walkers look not where they're going, choosing instead to send and respond to a text from a friend.

I am, of course, not the only person to complain about this. The term Luddite describes, not one person, but many. However, the term and the people defined by it, are very likely as misunderstood as the technophiles they criticize. To be sure, Luddites do not reject technology, as is commonly believed. How can they? Is there really any middle-ground that allows for such rejection? If one should flee from modern civilization with absolute resignation of any of its gadgets, then where does such a person go? To live with the aboriginals? The Massai? Or perhaps the Na'vi? Not likely. Luddites drive cars, use refrigerators and maybe even own a television and microwave. Luddites own a computer. Maybe even two of them. They send email. They own a phone. Maybe even a cellphone. Again, Luddites do not reject technology.

They concede to it.

By conceding they use the crap. But they don't abuse it. They understand the value of a specific piece of technology, but likewise they question the indulgence of it. They prefer to punctuate, not populate, their lives with gadgets. Most importantly, Luddites have stopped playing with toys sometime during their adolescence. Okay, maybe they still play with sex toys, but that's about it ;-) www.sniffcode.com