At reunion, none of us really had to make plans to see each other, because we'd all just keep in touch by cell phone. Time to go to the hoagie place for lunch? Make some calls, wait for critical mass to appear, and hit the sidewalk. It made me wonder what it would have been like to have a cell phone during college. Even at the last reunion, five years ago, I think most of us didn't have them have yet. I didn't get mine until August or September of that year.
But can you imagine? No longer all the constant stress about whether all the inhabitants of your floor were off having fun without you. You could just call one of them and find out. But then I suppose that would raise a whole new set of issues: if, say, D.Fre isn't answering his phone, does that mean they're all sitting around looking at the caller ID and laughing at me? If I call J.Vo and go over there, will it turn out she's hanging out with someone I can't tolerate and I'll have to leave and it'll be all embarrassing? I mean...I was awfully awkward at 17. (...18...19...28....) I can't imagine navigating all that stuff on top of the basic insecurities.
What do you think? How would college have been different with cell phones?
3 comments:
Clearly, we would have had a code for "this person you hate is sitting right next to me," so you could beg off gracefully, and thus avoid the awkwardness.
Your assumption that anyone uses their cell phones to call people anymore is showing your age! It's all about the texting with kids today. (Which probably helps avoid some of the situations you propose!)
Ohhh, you're totally right! Ok...so then I guess I'd worry everybody was standing around laughing at my text. But you're right, the not having to talk thing does make it a bit easier.
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