Journal 6: "Cell Phones and Social Graces" response essay On a Cellular Level

Marquise Nurse-Williams
Dawn Blunk
HU090, Section A211.11.10
                                                             On a Cellular Level
                          In the essay “Cell Phones and Social Graces” Charles Fisher speaks of the many cases he witnessed a continuing cycle of rudeness from cell phone users and the “slavish” dependency, as he put it, human beings today have to stay accessible at all times. He begins comparing his traditional phone to the new cell phones pointing out the cons of cell‘s, like the roaming charges, or how people are charged when others call them, and how cell phones are often gargled or unclear when the user is in a certain area. Fisher then goes on to remember another moment of bad manners as a woman walking quickly, talking on her cell, walks past him ignoring him entirely. Fisher doesn’t bother to share salutations as she doesn‘t pay him any mind or acknowledgment that he is present. He goes on to talk about his own family’s trespasses as they have had a cell go off in the middle of a funeral eulogy . Along with this, Fisher spoke of a time a young man gave absolutely no recognition to the dean whom handed the young person his diploma on stage in front of hundreds of people as he graduated because he was too immersed in the conversation with his friend as he walked the stage. Cell phones can be a pain sometimes especially when they go off during formal settings, but personally an individual answering their phone in front of me isn’t discourteous, it may be important. In fact, cell phones keep me in touch with people more often than without one.
                             For one, with a cell phone it’s much easier to get in touch with friends than without one. In retrospective, when I was a child I had a companion named Shannon I lost contact with years ago when my immediate family and I left Germany for America. Seventeen years later Shannon contacted me on my cell phone. I found out she and her family moved to Ohio a few years after mine did. She looked my name up on the internet one day and found some of my fan art displayed on a comic book web site. She obtained my contact information from the site owners and called me out of the blue, I would have never imagined that happening to me in a million years. To this day we stay in contact on our cell phones as well as Facebook.
                     Next, cell phones keep me in contact with family and in the loop for family functions. Every holiday my family has a get together at either my aunt Linda’s house or at the Murry household. Me, I don’t remember any of these dates for family functions, and forget nearly every year. To remedy this my sister gives me a call as she has always been into “family togetherness” and staying in a close knit. Without her and her cell updates I would probably have been yet another stranger to my family by now.
                   Lastly, my cell keeps me in touch with my colleagues, and classmates keeping me in the loop and informed at all times. For instance, when my co-workers and I need each others help, input, or to relay information, we use our cell phones as we are normally separated through out the day. A simple phone call on the fly can remedy the most important moments of the day, like letting the people I am responsible for know what time the next meeting is, or where to meet at as information changes without warning most of the time.
                  As mentioned before, cell phones are a pain when they interrupt an important moment in the day , although, they are very convenient on multiple levels. People are very busy and I understand Fisher see’s cells as a nuisance, but for me, I would have missed out on some great opportunities without one. Like family events, or long lost friendships. I would never want to trade those moments just to sit at home alone starring at the ceiling, wondering where Mya went.