You're walking down the Bryan Center walkway, the oncoming tide of students rushing towards you. You hear the beginnings and endings of conversations--the girl breaking up with her boyfriend, the kid down your hall talking to his mom. Seemingly every last one of them exhibits an identical stride; the sauntering swagger consists of a dead-ahead stare, a backpack slung over an arm while the other arm, bent at an awkward 45-degree angle, presses a cellular device up against one ear.
When you see your friends, acquaintances and professors, you excitedly greet them, but they only pause long enough in their engrossing conversations to give a brief "hey" or perhaps they just stick up their hand and briefly wave.
Indeed the idiom of Verizon, Nextel and Cingular has invaded our normal conversations over the last several years and these devices have created a mass cell phone culture on campus--sometimes serving convenience and entertainment and sometimes just providing disruption.
Theresa Thames, a resident advisor in Randolph Dormitory and a Divinity School graduate student, first got a cell phone for the guaranteed ease and reliability of communication. As an undergraduate in Washington D.C., Sept. 11 personally affected her life when the phone lines went down. For Thames, it was the time to go cellular, and while she hasn't looked back since, she still sees problems with the technology use in the every day.
"In public places, people feel they have to scream and you really do hear their entire conversations," the AT&T Sony Ericsson-user complained. "I think it's become an unnecessary obsession, like if you're in a conversation and you pick up your phone. The person that you were talking to will start dialing as well. It's infectious."
Echoing similar sentiments, visiting associate English professor Lisa Freeman said, "It's very rude behavior when [phone users] are on the bus and talking into their phones."
Although in class she makes sure to remind students to turn off their phones, when outside, she can't avoid being surrounded by ever-conversing cell users. Freeman, who herself is a user, explained that this cell phone culture which limits face-to-face interaction has not just affected one or two people, but rather has metastasized throughout the entire community.
"If you walk across campus, you'll see how many students are talking into their phones, instead of to each other," she said. "They're in their own world. They're not interested in one another, only their small group of friends in their phonebooks."
She referenced a common occurrence when she cited a talk she attended Monday, where a familiar ring interrupted the lecture.
Junior Viviana Betancourt agreed. "[Cell phones] can get annoying for the fact that other people have no consideration," she said.
While she does her part by keeping her Sprint phone silent in class at all times--vibration causes too much noise and drains the battery--Betancourt also realized the necessity of being reachable at all times and admitted a tech-addiction.
"I can't live without my cellphone. Literally, I don't think I could survive. I carry it everywhere," she said. This sentiment seems to be widely shared, as her quick switch from landline to cell phone mirrors the choice of many others. "I know very few people who don't have one now," she added.
She attributed the technology's popularity to not only its portability and convenience, but also to the way it minimizes possible time expenditures and at times can increase the safety of a user. "The last time my car tire went out on me, if I didn't have the cellphone with me, I wouldn't have been able to call AAA, and I would've been stranded."
While senior Brian Stewart also cited the helpful function of cell phones during times of crisis as a compelling reason for purchase, he soon found the lure of ever-present communication to be irresistible.
"I got it for emergency purposes," he said, "It turned into way too much phone time for me though." As evidence, Stewart mentioned a $400 Sprint PCS phone bill.
While Stewart may struggle with using his phone economically, he does focus use on just the calling function and not for newer, more expensive features like text messaging and wireless internet. A major reason why he chose cellular service four years ago was the ability to keep his own area code so that family and friends back home could call without suffering long distance charges.
Indeed, the factors why students choose specific plans vary greatly. For some, it's the increased safety, others need the international service and still others just like the free nights and weekend minutes. This array of reasons all demonstrate the varied roles cell phones play in the every day lives of students--from communication and emergency options to even play things.
Students like junior Meredith Levy represent those who see the function of cell phones beyond its communication base, but as a fun accessory. A devoted text messenger who discovered the capability while abroad, Levy selected Verizon service mainly because her entire family uses the carrier; what she was more interested in, however, was the complimentary gadgets. While Stewart chose to limit extra features, Levy instead went for one of the new picture phones--but she has yet to try it out.
"It's a really cool novelty," she said. "I just know there's going to be a time when I'm going to need to take and send a picture."
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