People of the Hook?

By Eta Kushner

RINGING IN YOUR ears? Any visitor to Israel cannot help but notice the proliferation of cell phones. Wherever you go, whether on a walk downtown, a bus ride, a business conference, or the beach you will be sure to hear someone's cell phone ringing. It's not as if all the cell phone carriers are business executives. It just seems that from teenagers on upwards, people feel a great need to stay connected. You might think that Israelis are starving for conversation. It seems that the People of the Book are turning into the People of the Hook (or should that be "Off the Hook")?

What I want to know is, who are all these people calling? I can understand that for people in certain professions such as health or emergency services -- or possibly bank robbery -- a portable phone can be a real boon. But why would anyone else want to be so connected?

Personally, although I appreciate its convenience, I hate using the phone, particularly answering it. It seems I will soon be part of the Silent Minority.

Perhaps if it did not ring so shrilly, but announced in calming tones, "Eta, it's a friend on the line with a quick question, would you please answer me?" I wouldn't mind so much. Although in general, this interferes with my philosophy of never doing now (or ever) what can be put off until later. I would also like the option of say, unplugging without answering if I hear a message like, "Hi, I'm calling about that check of yours that bounced yesterday...anybody home?" This of course cannot be done with a cellular phone connection. No one can claim to be not home when "you" are the phone's "home." True, you can turn off the phone, but if you do that, why carry one? An answering machine is no answer here either since you are still left with the unwanted message on file and it's hard to argue that you did not get the message. I have a friend whose email signature is "There is no problem so big and so complicated it cannot be run away from. -Linus." Answering machines interfere with this approach to life.

It's not that I am anti-progress. I realize, for example, that if ET had had a cell phone, a lot of his problems could have been resolved much more quickly--although the film industry would have been a few million dollars poorer. It's just that I don't see as progress the added stress of always being available to the telephone's beck and call.

On the other hand, I don't mind listening in on other people's phone conversations on the bus. I think it really adds something to the ride.

Weirdness. I'm waiting for the day when someone on the back of the bus dials a number and a passenger in the front answers. But doesn't anyone remember real telephone booths where you could close the door for privacy? They weren't designed only so that Superman would have a place to change. People used to mind if others eavesdropped into their personal conversations. Maybe it's the "let it all hang out" attitude of openness in society that has allowed for the cellular phone to achieve such popularity. If openness is a virtue, is privacy a sin? Or perhaps it's something even more ominous. If you don't care what the next person thinks, does that mean that you really don't care much about the next person altogether?

Perhaps the best place to discuss this would be over the telephone. In a crowded bus --- so that we can get a consensus. But don't call me. I'll call you.