Cellphones are Redefining What It Means to be Polite in Society - Essay Example

Cellphones are Redefining What It Means to be Polite in Society When cellphones first came into the mainstream consciousness of the public, it did so with the promise that it would improve our lives and social functions by keeping us in constant communication with those people who are of vital importance to our daily lives. Christine Rosen, a senior editor of The New Atlantis chose to revisit the way that cellphones have managed to keep up with that promise now that it has become an integral part of our daily lives.

In her article “Our Cellphones, Our Selves”, Ms. Rosen argues that while cellphones have managed to keep its promise of instant communication, it has in the process, redefined social norms and expectations -- and not for the better. Rather, cellphones have created an insulated, self-centered, and devoid of real social contact society that chooses to stay within a social group in such a manner that they can “opt out” of the group anytime as well. These are social theories that will be amply supported by evidence from past and present sociologists Ms.

Rosen herself quotes within the pages of her essay, as well as examples and explanations from Ms. Rosen herself. She discusses points in his arguments that point to “subordinate activities” which can clearly also be seen in crowded settings where people are expected to have their attention on a single activity and yet manage to get themselves out of it while still remaining engaged in the activity in a certain way. As Ms. Rosen Points out: Within social space, we are allowed to perform a range of these secondary activities, but they must not impose upon the social group as a whole or require so much attention that they remove us from the social situation altogether.

The opposite appears to be true today. The group is expected never to impinge upon — indeed, it is expected to tacitly endorse by enduring — the individual’s right to withdraw from social space by whatever means he or she chooses. (Rosen, Christine “Our Cellphones, Ourselves”) As Ms. Rosen points out, these days, people walk around seemingly talking to themselves in public, which was formerly a setting that was only seen in insane asylums. She refers to studies by sociologist Erving Goffman as reference for her argument.

An interesting point of reference considering that Mr. Goffman lived in a era long before the dawn of the cellphone age and yet managed to deliver such an interesting foreshadowing of how man would eventually conduct his daily business, similar to that of a situation in a mental hospital with disembodied conversations carried on with unseen and unheard people. By nature, man comes from a highly sociable class of creatures. That is why we enjoy engaging in spectator sports and other crowd grouping activities.

However, not all of these activities can be fun for its participants all the time. That is why people turn to other modes of entertainment as they wait for a chance to re-engage themselves into the game. The technological cold shoulder offered by the advent of the portable DVD players, Ipod, cellpones, and PDA's have allowed people to create a new social space solely for themselves in an already existing social space, something that could not be done in the past. However, the secondary social space created by these gadgets have also changed the way that people deal with one another in such a setting.

Sadly, people have now redefined what it means to be in “polite” society because their needs as the primary participants in the secondary social space must be given priority over the previously existing social space. This has caused a disconnect in the real time relationship of people and has resulted in tempers flaring and a totally new social strata for people to adhere to. Goffman was said to have defined this as an “occult activity” that allows him to disengage from his current activity and transfer to one where he feels more connected and necessary at the time.

This participation however, is not without social backlash. As Goffman explained; When an individual is perceived in an occult involvement, observers may not only sense that they are not able to claim him at the moment,.but also feel that the offender’s complete activity up till then has been falsely taken as a sign of participation with them, that all along he has been alienated from their world. (qtd. in Rosen) These days, the mobile phone is used as a symbol of our existence in real time space.

Conversations carried on in public indicate the importance of a person and his status in life. Anyone who is not using a mobile phone in public can consider himself demoted in status. Therefore, the cellphone is a selfish tool that promotes self importance above the needs of others in public. It is used as an announcement of the way we want the public to view us by redefining how “polite” society acts in public. As the French sociologist Chantal de Gournay explained it ; “At work, in town, while traveling — every call on the mobile phone secretly expresses a message to the public: ‘Look how much I’m in demand, how full my life is.” (qtd. in Rosen).

It is therefore easy to see how man has managed to evolve his social involvement and politeness in society using his technological gadgets. Sadly, Ms. Rosen successfully pointed out that the society we have created did not evolve but rather, society devolved due to the self-centeredness and disengagement that these gadgets have come to offer people who wish to remain “sociable” at all times. We have truly become people with full yet empty lives. Works Cited N.A. Christine Rosen: About. The New Atlantis.

thenewatlantis.com n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2013. Rosen, Christine. Our Cellphones, Ourselves. The New Atlantis. thenewatlantis.com. n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2013.