I think that the cell phone morphed from a device of convenience to a symptom of a greater evil that has taken over the American working situation. That is the erosion of 'downtime'. Studies show that the majority of American workers don't take the vacation time they have 'earned', and are working longer hours than ever before since the advent of the 40 hour work week. Funny, corporate America doesn't seem to mind either.
It's gotten to the point where businesses that rely on tourism and vacationers have created commercials pointing out the statistical trends in an effort to 'nudge' people back to taking their time off.
I can see the advantage of having a cell phone for emergency purposes. I have to drive old cars and have broken down in the middle of a highway in the past (luckily a tow truck happened to pass by only a few minutes later and promised to come back for me after he dropped his current fare). I have casually looked into having a cell phone for that reason but can't justify the cost for something I wouldn't use except in emergencies.
Tank (who is also irritated by the limitations that many cell phones seem to have)
