Shut Up, Put Up, and Get Some Quiet Back
by Eileen McDargh
Published on this site: November 4th, 2005 - See
more articles from this month
When firestorms raged across Southern California and land
lines were down, having a cell phone to call my family was
a blessing. When I could sit in my ocean front garden and
use both hands while talking to my Mother in Florida, I adored
my cell phone. After getting lost in a jumble of streets,
a cellular call helped me find my client. It's become my everywhere companion
and yet, I am aware that we might just have too much of a
good thing.
We've all become incensed at the loud boors who turn public
places into phone booths where we're bombarded with information
we don't want, don't need, and probably shouldn't know. But
now, we're entering a second stage in the cellular age where
this amazingly portable device can actually disrupt meaningful
face-to-face conversations, the privacy of precious vacation
time or the silence of reverie and deep thinking.
This tiny (and getting tinier) device has become the metaphor
for our 24/7 culture. It has become almost unthinkable to
turn it off or plain not answer. In short, the phone controls
us rather than visa versa.
We live in an age of omniaccessibility according to Fordham
communications professor Paul Levinson. Like Pavlov's dog,
we jump every time the cell phone rings, waving off friends,
family or kids just to answer the call. We hang this device
on our belts, in our pockets, or around our necks, ready to
pounce when it rings. As Levinson states, "the notion of being unreachable
is not alien to human life." That's why there are "Do
Not Disturb" signs and offices with doors. Freedom, he
claims, comes in simple rebellion. To reclaim our private
time, according to Levinson, "there must be a general social
recognition that we're entitled to it."
What would happen if we shut our mouths, put the phone away,
and then concentrated on whatever was before us: a place,
a project, or-even more importantly-a person? Think of the
connection that is made when someone has our undivided attention!
And, miracle upon miracles, what if that person was actually
ourselves? What if we had uninterrupted time with ourselves?
Might we discover a chance to slow down and breathe? Might
we discover a small voice that's been trying to be heard above
competing ring tones?
Try it. Shut up. Put up. I think it will make our next cell
phone call more meaningful.
Named by Executive Excellence Magazine as one of the top 100
thought leaders in business for 2005, Eileen McDargh,
CSP, CPAE authored one of the first books on work/life balance.
Numerous books and articles later, Eileen serves the meetings
industry as a popular international keynoter and on the Board
of Directors of the National Speakers Association. You can
find products and services offered by Eileen at http://www.EileenMcDargh.com
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