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Smartphones’ Competition For
Attention
In the July issue of
PPB
’s “Perspectives”
column,
PPB
Editor Tina Berres Filipski
delved into the faux pas of improper smart-
phone use.
Your latest musings on smartphones
really hit a nerve with me. Smartphones
allow people to turn themselves into
self-involved cretins. In the last decade
since these things have become ubiqui-
tous, I have seen some of the most idiot-
ic actions and behaviors from these peo-
ple. I was behind a very slow-moving
Honda Civic crawling at 22 mph in a
35-mph zone, and watched it steer right
into the curb, jumping the front end of
the car a good four feet up in the air.
Sure enough, the young lady was staring
at her smartphone the whole time.
I don't own a working cell phone at
all. I have one for making 911 calls only.
No other function possible. My wife and
friends have many times noticed a cou-
ple on a date staring down at their
phones for most all of the dinner. Your
description of the family at dinner really
breaks my heart. Not so much the situa-
tion et al, but the fact that the parents
were not taking steps to change this. So
maybe I am just a 53-year-old cranky
curmudgeon, but now I need to take
extra steps to keep myself safe from the
people in the parking lot staring at their
phone and walking right in front of my
truck. Or conversely, myself walking
through the parking lot when here
comes a mom staring at her phone,
charging down the aisle of the parking
lot at 30 mph, oblivious! Your observa-
tions concerning business etiquette and
smartphones were spot on.
Dave Amundson
Print Department
Chappell Office Products
Austin, Texas
UPIC: C499177
This column is right on the money.
I am always amazed at cellphone use.
It’s total insecurity. Thank you for
keeping us on the ball.
John Patterson, MAS
Owner
Total Promotions Group
Grayson, Georgia
UPIC: TOTALPRO
8 •
PPB
• SEPTEMBER 2015
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