Who is the slave and who is the master?

Last week I wrote about addiction and media. It was fun reading your comments on my blog. Those comments led me to another thought—one about slavery. Slavery was and is a bad thing. It is bad for human beings to have to jump when their masters call. It robs the dignity of the people. It destroys any chance of close relationships. Then I thought about cell phones. When the phone rings or a text message is received, people become slaves to it. Almost always, it is immediately answered. If not answered, it is checked to see who the caller was! People stop everything including conversations with people they love, to answer the call. Who is the slave? Who is the master? Is this modern technology making people lose what is really important? Are people losing the art of in person communication? What effect will this have on the ability to form and maintain long-lasting relationships?

Cell phones are here to stay. They are not going to change, but what can change is how we each handle children with cell phones, and our own cell phones. These are my suggestions:

• When you are talking to someone important to you, turn off the
cell phone prior to starting the conversation.
• Take a cell phone and media “Sabbatical” at a special time every
day for at least 30 minutes.
• Find more time for family and friend gatherings. All cell phones are off.
• Have strict rules at school about cell phone usage, and follow through.

I remember hearing once that our greatest strength can also be our greatest weakness. I believe that this saying applies for cell phones too. Cell phones are wonderful. They are a great way for us to stay in contact. They also can be used in emergencies. But when their use is carried too far, it becomes a weakness. Let’s all work together to have cell phones be a strength rather than a weakness.

Have a great day.

Maryln