The other day I was sitting in the doctor’s surgery waiting to see the nurse (men my age often are, blood test, prostate exam, blood pressure check, you get the picture), and a mother and her daughter came in.
Insularity – the state or condition of being an island. Ignorance or lack of interest in cultures, ideas or people…
definition
They said not one word to each other, but sat down, got out their phones and started tapping and scrolling. This went on for several minutes without them exchanging a single word or look, they didn’t interact with each other in any way, they were totally absorbed in the thin little box of electronics in front of them.
I went and saw the nurse who extracted a little blood from me quite painlessly and off I went. As I went out, there they still were, riveted to their individual little screens like a couple of addicts.
This little scene played over and over in my mind over the next couple of days. Before there were mobile phones, mother and daughter would have sat and chatted about why they were there, what they were going to do afterwards, how the dog was and so on. In short, they would have interacted with each other, there would have been dialogue, maybe an exchange of ideas, possibly even a funny story. But there was none of that, just tap, scroll, tap, scroll………
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti-mobile at all. They absolutely have a use in modern society, and for some they are an absolute lifesaver.
The cost though, is insularity. That mum and her young daughter illustrated the point perfectly. While conversation hasn’t died, it often takes a back seat in favour of that insistent tapping sound which is now part of our everyday lives, where people are lost in their own little world.
I sound old, out of date and probably grumpy, but let’s not make conversation a dying art. One of life’s greatest pleasures for me is sitting and talking about just about anything. Like everyone else when I’m in conversation I’ll probably have my phone in my pocket, but that’s where it’ll stay, on silent and not allowed out.
Note from the editor – Fraser has written for the blog before and his previous post is one of my favourites. Please do take a read, by clicking on the button below:
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