all aboard
Following my rant the other week about our continuing love affair with distracted and distracting technology I was delighted to see the (almost) universal condemnation of some 26 year old chavvie no-mark, Jo Clarke. Said paragon of high society, whilst queuing at her local supermarket, was busy communicating the high points of that day’s Big Brother, when she noticed her purchases were not being ringed through by the cashier. What was the problem, she asked and on kicking up a fuss over the cashier’s apparent lack of manners was subsequently awarded a £10 manner by the store manager for any inconvenience and offense caused. God help us. Unappeased and not unlike a modern-day Oliver she wanted more, and confident she would be vindicated, went public with her outrage. Aha, that was her undoing and to a man, the general public at large has seen her for what she is: ignorant and ill-mannered.
To completely ignore someone whilst you are face-to-face with them is downright rude, doubly so when the person is trying to serve and help you. The real issue is however the fact that we are completely in thrall to our phones. Next time you’re out and about just have a nosey around and wherever you look you’ll see people clamped to their mobiles, tapping on their smart phones or downloading on their tablets. Exactly when did the person on the other end of the line become more important than the person you’re out with or interacting with? In an increasingly faceless, automated, indirect and, yes lonely world, it’s a sad state to be in.
