We have become accustomed to seeing almost everyone under the age of twenty walking the streets heads down, intent on whatever the small black objects in their hands may be telling them. More disconcerting is to pass persons apparently carrying on conversations with themselves, until one realizes they have tiny telephones somewhere on their persons. (This is still preferable to people carrying on loud, intense, personal conversations--"I've had enough! It's over between us!"--on cell phones while in supermarket lineups.)
At one time, if you passed a person talking aloud to no one visible, you would have assumed that person was (as Hillary Clinton said of Donald Trump) living in his own reality. Of course, it is entirely possible that one of these solo conversationalists may be both technologically equipped and mentally dysfunctional.
The other day, however--and consider this breaking news--we saw a young woman, not more than seventeen, walking the street, head down, reading a book.
A book! With pages! Paper pages! What will come next, in hand-held devices?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Would that count as "distracted walking?"
ReplyDelete