While exploring Oxford, I have been doing a ton of people watching. One main thing that caught my eye was hardly anybody here walks around talking on their cellular device. I can understand if tourists are not on it, due to the fact they may not have a phone that works here, but I have only seen a handful of people chatting it up. If someone does receive a call, it reminds me of those Verizon Wireless commercials where the family says a thousand words a minute to cut down the costs. They are on and off again in practically a split second.
In the pubs, bars and clubs, I have noticed the younger Oxonians are also not glued to their phones. In downtown Athens, we are always checking our phones every two seconds to see if we have gotten a new text, and missing the intimate time with our friends present. We are calling our friends to meet up. They seem to be mellower, and are happy with where they are and whom they are with.
I wonder after comparing home to here, if our cell phone use is why people hate Americans. I know a ton of us could barely wait to get to Vodafone and buy our new phones to call our friends and family. We all have downloaded Skype. We have found everyway possible way to keep in touch, and have even added more ways than we usually do at home. I am here without a phone, and although I miss texts from my friends, I am seriously enjoying this new way of life. I wonder if we are losing the sense of face-to-face contact. I’m curious if in Athens, we all followed the Oxonians and hung up for a day, how things would be different.
3 comments:
Abby, I most definitely agree with you about the cell phone thing. In America we always have our cell phones in our hands. And texting is out of control. I must send about 20 texts a day when we are at home. It has been so hard to not be able to text my friends. I have been observing the kids who hangout in front of the McDonald's, they look high school age i would say. But it seems like none of them have cell phones. In a way it is a good thing, but at the same time it makes communication more difficult. I know i wish i had a phone simply to call the people i am friends with here, even though i can just walk over to their rooms. Phones just make communication easier. But one bad thing about cell phones and i don't know if anyone else does this too, but whenever i want to avoid talking to someone i just send them a text instead. What is so great about texting anyways? Except for the fact that you can do it during class. It just makes having difficult conversations with people easier to avoid.
I couldn't agree with both of you more. I have an emergency phone only here and am content with a 5 minute call home on Skype every 2-3 days. I find myself enjoying the fact that I can be truly lost in a city, and no one can track me down asking me "Where'd you put this" or "Have you done this yet?" I can get into a good book without being interrupted by my "mO-bile". :) I hope that when I get back home I can keep up the same level of silence and freedom. In a world that is all about communicating and connecting people, is there such thing as too much?
I didn't realize how truly dependent I was on my cell phone as a means of contact until I came to Oxford. Even though I too miss the text messages and phone calls from friends, it's nice to finally be able to enjoy the scenery instead of babbling away on my cell.
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