Phones
For every 100 people in Finland, 72.64 has a cellular phone. In Norway, the rate of per-capita cell phone ownership is 70.26. In 2001, it was said that ten percent of China’s population owned a cell phone, which may not sound like a lot, but that equals to 120.6 million mobile phone users, surpassing the 120.1 million subscribers in the United States.
This is certainly the tele-communication age. It’s virtually impossible to be in town for any length of time without hearing the ring of a cell phone or seeing someone talking into one. There are those people that talk on the phone while they drive in their cars, much to the dismay of other drivers. And there are those that insist on making a call while they stand in line, forcing eveyone within range to overhear the excruciating details of their lives.
Personally, I haven’t had a telephone in over two years. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a anti-phonite or anything like that. Some people I know own phones, and I use phones on occasion as well. But the last time I did own a phone, it never rang. So much time would pass between calls, I would sometimes pick-up the phone and check for a dialtone. There were times when I would call the operator and ask for a call back, just to ensure that the phone was in working order.
At some point, I began to wonder what I had a phone for. I certainly wasn’t making the number of calls that would justify the cost. And in a way, it was kind of depressing to never hear the phone ring. A telephone that never rings is like having a constant reminder that I’m alone. I don’t mind being alone so much, but I can do without the reminders.