Question for those always on their cell phones

As the title says....what exactly are you doing on that thing all day?

This isn't a knock on people or anything, I get it, times change and with the invention of cell phones that are like 10x as powerful as the computer in the Apollo Moon Lander people are going to enjoy using them. But I see people on these things ALL THE TIME. Not exaggerating but literally ALL THE TIME.

I stop at a stoplight, look over, girl is face down on her phone. I goto the store to buy beer, the cashier is face down on her cell phone when I walk up. I drive by the bus stop and people are all face down on their cell phones. Goto the waiting room at the doctors office, everybody is face down on their cell phones.

My question is what are you actually doing? Are you browsing the internet? Are you texting people? Are you on the Facebook thing? I guess some people might read a book on it but their thumbs are moving all around and swiping and stuff so I don't think thats what people are doing.

People routinely get mad at me when I don't answer my phone as if it's a huge stretch of the imagination that I don't have my phone with me. I lose the damn thing in the house half the time then Ill find it later on and see a few missed calls and angry text messages from people like where the hell are you. I try to explain to them that I don't keep the thing on me in the house...then I'm met with responses like "It's a cell phone! How is it not with you?". Or itll just be dead like it usually is because I forget to charge it because I likely can't find it nor do I put very much effort into looking for it.

I'm just curious as to what exactly you guys are doing on the phone all day? And better yet, what would you do if you lost that thing for a day? I've seen people lose their freaking minds when they couldn't find their phones. It was basically stop everything, we HAVE TO FIND THIS THING NOW. I've seen people jump up and grab the phone every time the thing buzzes or beeps or something. I've seen a guy at work mope around all day so bad that I thought his parents died or something only to find out that he dropped his phone and it broke outside and it was going to take 2 days for the new one to arrive.

What the hell?

Maybe I'm just old lol? My philosophy is simple. Call me, if it's important enough then leave a message. If it's THAT important then you know where I live so come knock on the door. If I don't answer the phone, or the text message, that means either I can't find the phone or it's literally out of arms reach and I don't feel like getting up to get it. I'll get it the next time I decide to move which by that time I usually forget someone buzzed me so I'll proceed to sit back down and the cycle repeats.

I just find it a bit comical in my book. I've stolen coworkers cell phones before at work and watched them run around the office for hours panicking like they lost their new born child in the store or something.

It's just a bit sad to me I guess, but perhaps thats just how the world is now. I can't remember how many times I've been sitting at the bar and seen young folks on a date sitting in the booth face down on their cell phones. I'm like what the hell are you doing? How are you two going to be on a date when you're both sitting there on your phones lol? How are you going to get to know each other? How are you supposed to enjoy the football game when you're stopping every 30 seconds to type something on your cell phone?

What the hell are you guys doing on these things lol?

It seems like these phones are ruining peoples ability to interact with each other in real life. I've went back to my hometown to visit friends and family recently and my good friend and I went out to dinner. She too was glued to her phone pretty much the entire time. Sitting over there laughing at random stuff telling me hey look at this picture, hey look at this video, haha wow read this post this person made, hey lets take a picture together, hold on let me take a picture of the food before we eat, etc. We're holding a conversation while shes simultaneously all over the phone.

I'm sitting there like uh...have you considered I dunno...talking to me? Haven't seen you in a few months how are things lol...I thought maybe shes just not interested in talking to me which I knew wasn't true because we've been great friends for the better part of 15 years...then I look around and see that EVERYBODY in the restaurant was on their cell phones swiping and thumbs rapid firing doing the exact same thing...

Sometimes I wish I was magic so I could just snap my fingers one day and knock out all the cell phone towers for like an hour. Watch everybody born after 1990 spiral into emotional breakdowns and start panicking and rioting and all that funny (*)(*)(*)(*) lol.

 

That's what I figured, I just wasn't 100% sure.

Facebook is another thing I can't stand and people look at me wide eyed and crazy when they ask if I have a Facebook page and I say no. It's like they can't believe I can function in 2016 without an internet profile of myself lol.

I had one years ago then I promptly got rid of it because I personally thought it was stupid and way too intrusive for my liking. The people on there act like they can't do ANYTHING without letting all of the other Facebook people know what they are doing at any given time.

Going to work? Gotta take a picture and say "Off to work!"
Going to the gym? Gotta take a picture and say "Off to the gym!"
Going out to dinner? Gotta take a picture and say "Off to dinner!"
Going to eat your dinner? WAIT!!!!!! Gotta take a picture of the meal before you eat it.
Going on a family hiking trip? Gotta stop every 20 mins to take a picture saying "Hey we're on a family hiking trip!"
Going to bed? Gotta stop and write in the status thing telling everybody "Goodnight all, going to bed!"

It's insane to me.

Now they even have the location tracking thing on there to where it gives like GPS coordinates to wherever you are. It's like "Hey Susie just checked in to Starbucks on 3rd St". What the hell? People are actually ok with that?

I mean like I said perhaps I just don't understand this whole social media thing? But I sit here honestly wondering...who in the hell CARES? Do people actually care that you are about to eat chicken alfredo pasta at the restaurant lol? I guess they must care seeing how pretty much every single kid and young adult in the western world is glued to Facebook 24/7 and glued to their phones to use Facebook all day.

 

Yeah seriously, I never understood that. I mean seriously what is THAT IMPORTANT that you have to text it RIGHT NOW?

 

I too have noticed the same thing in regards to boys and girls. Even with men and women. I honestly think that with both genders it has to do with the feeling of positive reinforcement. People want others to be proud of them because it makes them feel good which is perfectly fine I guess. Girls send each other pictures and post pictures of themselves on the Facebook all dressed up so that others will comment on them saying they are pretty or they like the outfit or something. It makes them feel good. Same with the guys who will post pictures of themselves at the gym or standing with their shirt off trying to show off their muscles and hard work. They put in the work and they want others to be proud of them and admire them so they show themselves to the world to receive positive reinforcement.

From what I have noticed about the Facebook thing is that people post comments or updates or whatever its called in basically two categories. They have either done something they want others to be proud of them for or happy for them or they are seeking sympathy and post something bad wanting others to show them compassion.

I guess it boils down to the very basic level of positive reinforcement. Social media is just the modern way for folks to get that. Humans are social creatures by nature and we like it when others like us or like what we do so we tell others about it so they can be happy for us or proud of us or sympathize with us because a lot of people NEED that in their life.

 

I think it's doing society a bit of a disservice to be quite honest. It's like people are now forgetting how to even interact with others in real life. No longer is it "May I call you sometime?" it's now "Can I text you?" Even a phone call nowadays is too much interaction, people want to take the real time communication aspect out of it and just type words to each other instead.

And hell thats even if they get far enough to even talk to each other. Hell look at all of these internet dating websites they have now. People won't even go outside and meet each other anymore they want to meet people via an internet profile now. Guys nowadays are deathly terrified to even approach a girl and speak to her in public. Guys are afraid to even CALL a girl on the phone now. My good buddy is like that, he really likes this woman but is too afraid to even call her on the phone so he texts her all the time then asks me how I think she feels about him. I'm like I don't know man why don't you call her and talk to her? How are you going to get to know somebody via stupid text messages? Ask her if she'd like to go to dinner tonight, CALL HER and ask her if she'd like to go to dinner tonight. Hell she'll probably be thrilled that you actually called her to talk for a change rather than sending funny pictures to her flirting like a 14 year old...

We had a party and those two dorks sat there and texted each other while they were literally 5 feet away from each other...I'm sitting there rolling my eyes thinking you have seriously got to be kidding me right now...even when you two are physically together you still won't talk. Instead of talking to her and getting to know her he instead goes on her Facebook profile page thing and reads all her stuff and looks at all of her pictures to get to know her instead then tries to interpret what kind of person she is.

He tells me later on "Hey man, so she has a lot of pictures of her dog so I know she likes dogs, she also seems to like dolphins I think, and she likes hiking I see pics of her hiking". Then I said "Yup, her dog's name is Buster, she does enjoy hiking and camping, she also has a pet cat named Snowball, her favorite sport is Hockey, she's single, she grew up here then moved here at age 25, she likes to read these kinds of books, her favorite drink is a Cosmopolitan, her favorite food is pizza, and she enjoys going to the movies and hasn't really been on a date in about 3 years and would like it if someone asked her to go on a date"

He says "What the hell? How'd you get all of that out of those pictures?"

.........

We went to lunch one day and I TALKED TO HER....For the love of God man....lol. He says "What? How'd you get her to go to lunch?"....I walked up to her and said "Hey, would you like to go to lunch?" She smiled and said "Sure, I'm starving". Mind blown.....

Remember the days when you say an attractive woman at the bar so you approached her and spoke to her? Maybe offered to buy her a drink and ask to sit down and chat? Sometimes she said yes, sometimes she said no, but thats what you do....

Oh social media generation....what are we going to do with ya'll lol

 

LOL, my good buddy did something like that. We were all going out to lunch and he was walking behind us doing something on his phone and all we heard was BAM!!!

We turn around and all we see is him grabbing his forehead cussing up a storm. He was too busy typing on his phone and failed to notice a huge ass telephone poll with a huge red electrical box on it, he walked directly into it and cracked his head wide open.

Of course us being the great guy friends that we are instead of offering him assistance we all just proceeded to point and laugh at him for the next 10 mins and throughout the duration of our lunch. He had a huge Looney Tunes style knot on his forehead for like a week. It was hilarious.

See, put the damn phone down for 10 seconds and pay attention, or you will manage to walk directly into a very conspicuous and large telephone poll and have your friends make fun of you for days to come for being an idiot lol.

 

Don't get me wrong Im not saying the internet dating thing is bad by any means but it just seems like the younger people of today are relying 100% on that and that alone. I guess it's just the whole being unable to interact with people in real time that has me raising an eyebrow.

It's like people are afraid to talk to each other face to face but have no issue with asking whatever questions and talking via text messages. Don't get me wrong, I'm far from Mr. Casanova over here. I'm far from a super outgoing guy who will just walk up anybody in a bar and talk to them, but I will do it on occasion. You're right some people do look at you funny, but others actually appreciate it, or at least it seems to have been that way in my c case.

Like my buddy and his girl crush I mentioned earlier. If I wanted to I could snatch her up from under him. But I won't because Im not an ass. But I know exactly who she is and what she is looking for because instead of stalking the girl on Facebook and texting her all day I talk to her and know exactly what she is looking for. She too is a bit shy, but she enjoys it when people call her, she enjoys being asked out to lunch and wants to go out on a date. She lives alone and does a few things alone but doesn't like to, she wants to go out to dinner with somebody or go hang out. But all of the guys who talk to her do it via random flirting or funny text messages or something. The guy who has the courage to actually ask her out on a date will be the lucky guy who gets to go out on a date with her, plus she isn't super formal or anything she just wants to hang out. I know all of these things because I actually talk to her. Meanwhile my buddy is still stuck trying to "figure her out" as he says.

No issues at all shooting her text messages, but when it comes to face to face talking he is terrified that she might say no or something. Even AFTER I told him that she wants to go hang out he still won't do it lol.

It's just that this whole social media thing has created a lot of people like my buddy. He's just afraid of her and doesn't know how to talk to her. He can find all the words he wants via text message but when it comes to real life he doesn't know what to do. Plus all the advice I give him he thinks I'm just being the normal evil friend who is trying to set him up for failure when in reality I'm trying to help him out because I understand what she wants a guy to do...In his mind he just can't wrap his head around the fact that a woman might actually want to talk to him on the phone in 2016. So when I tell him that he thinks I'm screwing with him.

The internet dating thing is fine but it severely narrows people down which can be a good and bad thing. Like I told my best female friend a few months ago who spends all of her time on those things. She just keeps meeting guys on there (well they talk to her because she is drop dead gorgeous) and they go on a few dates then break up. She keeps telling me "I'm never going to find the perfect guy for me that i want". And I always tell her "because you are being way too specific with this internet search thing".

I keep telling her look the guy of your dreams may very well be nothing like they guy you THINK of in your dreams. But by refusing to talk to ANYBODY who doesn't fit your exact criteria then you might be missing out on somebody you might actually like. That's the real issue I see with these internet dating profile sites. People have very specific criteria for who they want and block out everybody who doesn't fit that criteria. That's fine I guess, people know what they like, at least they THINK they know what they like. So they disregard everybody that isn't what they think they like. I keep telling her the guy you fall in love with may very well not be Mr tall dark and handsome cowboy. He might he somebody else, but you'll never know because you refuse to even talk to anybody who isn't Mr tall dark and handsome cowboy. Which obviously isn't working out too well seeing how you've been on like 150 dates with tall dark and handsome cowboys and none of them have lasted longer than like 2 weeks. So.....

I think people would do themselves a nice service if they broadened their horizons a bit which is something the internet dating thing doesn't help with. It's good for some stuff like narrowing down certain criteria in folks before you meet I guess. I just think people might be missing out by being so narrow minded. But like you said those dating sites do work, it eliminates a lot of the BS and the unnecessary dates and stuff and 1/3 of marriages do come from them so I guess they are doing something right.

 

Hell no he didn't he still walks around with that thing glued to his hands. He slipped and busted his ass recently on the ice because he was walking and texting on it and didn't notice a patch of ice on the ground lol.

These folks are insane.

 

I think its an excellent tool for those who are naturally shy at heart. When it boils down to it it's not really any different than something like this very internet forum. People on here throw punches and talk all sorts of trash to each other through the computer screen but the reality is that very few people would actually talk to each other like this in real life. Internet forums, social media, text messages, etc take the "personal" aspect out of the equation. Most people aren't very afraid to express their true feelings via a text message because it's not as personal as saying such things to someone in person.

It was actually a good female friend of mine who sort of kicked me in gear in regards to this. I had a ball to go to for work and needed a a date so I shot her a text message asking if she would like to go with me. We'd never been on a "date" before we just always hung out as friends. Well she didn't respond to me and when I saw her the next day I asked her about it and she smiled and said "If you have the courage to take me on a date in front of your co workers then at least have the courage to ask me in person".

It was funny, but to me she was right, so ever since then I sort of think like that now.