Post #792019 by mikehooker on Sat, Dec 22, 2018 3:38 PM

On 2018-12-22 10:13, tikiskip wrote:
Just went to the grocery store for Xmas dinner stuff.
And we went to a store where rich professors from OSU go to, slow clueless people blocking the isles staring blankly into their phones.
Just kinda out of it and slow.

We next had to go to marcs a store with the other end of the economic side of life.
slow clueless people blocking the isles staring blankly into their phones.
Just kinda out of it and slow.

So why is it like this?
I thought with the rich types it was a I don't care about others and won't worry about being in the isles.
And the economically challenged were just slow because of heck who knows being dropped on their heads maybe.

But Damn they both had the same clueless states of being.

THAT would be a great study of human nature, the why the heck are people so clueless study?
Phones have made people way more unaware of what is going on around them.

Good observation Skip. We're definitely living in a society where people have no regard for others. I don't enjoy any social interaction anymore. Even a mundane act like going to the grocery store is frustrating when you don't see common decency from other shoppers.

Driving is a nuisance when people are routinely not paying attention to the road cuz they're checking their Facebook or Instagram feed or they're obliviously talking or texting away. And then you have those drivers who believe they have more important destinations to get to than yours which gives them carte blanche to drive like maniacs (hell, yesterday in my neighborhood at night, someone tailing my wife passed her in the oncoming traffic lane cuz she was going the speed limit and they were too impatient to drive respectfully).

I'm fairly observant of my surroundings and whenever I look around, whether it's at a restaurant or a stop light or waiting on line at the post office or somewhere, inevitably 90% of the people around me have their heads planted down into their phones in that zombie-like state. Heck, people can't even go to the bathroom without bringing their phones with them.

I honestly think smart phones and texting has stunted people's ability to communicate with one another or enjoy their surroundings. If you're texting every moment of your day to your significant other, you have nothing to talk about when you get together. It's amazing how many times I've seen couples sitting across from one another at a restaurant with their faces buried in their phones. Hell, I've been to some beautiful places and seen people take selfies of themselves in front of a national treasure, only to immediately walk away. They didn't even stop to take in their surroundings. They just captured the moment in pixels to share on social media in a desperate plea for likes.

And you notice at concerts, or any event for that matter, no one is even enjoying the moment. There's just a sea of cell phones in the air recording, and you know no one is ever going to look back at it again.

Anyway, I'm not saying I'm not guilty of some of these offenses, but I do consciously attempt to "disconnect" from the phone when I find myself in that zone. Certainly we could find better uses of our time.

I guess this isn't much of a Christmas rant. I truly love the holiday season.