Call me old fashioned, but the way we've become attached to our iPhones or Samsungs makes me pretty nervous. The human-phone attachment has gotten out of hand.
No answer
There used to be such a thing as 'no answer': someone tried to call you and you weren't there. The phone would ring twelve times and then the other end decided to try again later. I don't think anyone cared about that back then.
The misery started with the answering machine. Mine had a red light that could flash dangerously. Nine messages when you came home late at night. Nine things you had to do something about. My mother's voice in increasing stages of irritation. A telephone salesman from the Algemeen Dagblad who kindly announced that he would call again. An admirer who became more hopeless with every message. A lot of noise from which I could more or less conclude that my friends were in the pub and shouted that I had to come too. Nine things I didn't want to deal with.
Phone break
I don't understand the eagerness with which everyone dives into their phone after a meeting. Of course I also expect an important message now and then: a quote that may or may not be granted, a redeeming word from the real estate agent or a text message from a new love. However, it seems as if everyone I meet with these days is constantly in the middle of exciting sales processes, real estate deals or steamy affairs. Recently a chair suggested taking a phone break instead of a smoke break. For the sake of form I started reading the accountant's newsletter, secretly wondering what important things my fellow meeting members were doing on their devices .
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Photo courtesy of Fotolia.
Very important
And yes, I get messages all the time too. Runkeeper nagging me about my fitness goals. Nu.nl brings breaking news: Ajax is national champion. How important. And in the middle of the night my phone meows through marrow and bone: it turns out to be a hungry tamagotchi app of the children. Before you know it you are sitting up in bed to feed something like that virtual donuts and hot dogs.
Nowadays, when you eat with someone in a restaurant, the togetherness is constantly interrupted by incoming phone calls, text messages and Twitter traffic. "Sorry, the hairdresser, accountant, printer," such a person gestures. "Important matters cannot be postponed," I smile back. If that person also goes to the toilet with his phone, I always hope that he washes both his hands and his phone after going to the toilet.
Big fine
There are situations in which it is strictly forbidden to sit on your phone. If you do not call, use Facebook or use WhatsApp hands-free in the car, you will easily receive a fine of 230 euros. Can we not extend that line to other moments? To the queue at the checkout of Albert Heijn, for example? That if you are standing there in a traffic jam because you are with your nose in your smartphone, that you will then have to pay a hefty fine to the branch manager?
I regularly speak. When someone in the front row is frantically busy with their phone armenia mobile phone number list I always flinch a few inches. I lose my temper a little. But I don't dare say anything about it. I'm far too afraid that something like that would undermine my authority in the same way as the threats of Mr. Van Wingerden, our old religious teacher. If he squeaked that something mustn't happen again, we would be unstoppable. I'm afraid that during a performance, such a room will immediately turn into a pack of unpleasant teenagers if I start talking about phones.
No phone was no phone once in a while? No ringing, no vibrating and no marimba. Just leave the device deep in your handbag, leave it on the table at home or forget to charge it.
I did it once recently. I was unreachable for a few hours. The office was furious. My mother had called 911. And the Tamagotchi turned out to be dead. But it was more than worth it. No one, no app that wanted anything from me. Old-fashioned bliss.
wtf
'Wtf is wrong with this dude? What is he looking at? The world?' (Source: internet, this photo 'virused' on the web some time ago)
Désirée Battjes wonders every week on Frankwatching.com about online etiquette . Or rather the lack thereof. Because Facebook may be celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, but do we all know how things should be on social media? How should things actually be done in the virtual world? Time for some online etiquette , with a large grain of salt. Do you have an opinion too? Bring on that opinion, it will only make the internet better.