Cellphones have dug their electronic tendrils deep into all of our brains. The devices are programmed to ding and buzz all the time and keep our attention. A world of information is always right there in your pocket, and the temptation is so great to constantly look at it is almost impossible to resist.
Various ways have been tried.
Going cold turkey — not owning a smartphone — is not really an option for modern business and communication. If you’ve got to play the game, which anyone who works does, smartphones are an increasingly essential part of it.
But I was heartened this week when interviewing the local participants in the recent American Legion Girls State held at the University of Southern Mississippi that they are not allowed to have their phones during the day. They get them back just before going to bed to catch up with family and friends.
Out of the all the lessons that program taught those teenagers — which include courses in government and leadership — how to survive a week without a cellphone was surely the most valuable. Yes, it truly can be done.
I recently tried a version of that when I came home after a long day, turned off my phone and laid it on my dresser. I found I was more relaxed and attentive to my family. Of course, when I turned it back on just before going to bed there were a bunch of work-related texts and emails that I began to worry about and respond to when I should have been sleeping. Such is life in the modern age.
Of course the most dangerous usage of phones come when texting while driving. Let he among us who is without sin cast the first stone. We’ve all done it, and even if you don’t text you’re looking at your phone for directions in many cases. I used to have a standalone GPS, but the smartphone has replaced that device. The problem is the GPS was mounted on the windshield or top of the dashboard where you weren’t looking down. Also, there wasn’t as good of a touchscreen where you would constantly fiddle with it and make adjustments to the route.
Such distraction no doubt poses a hazard to ourselves and our fellow drivers. To that end, Mississippi passed a law banning texting while driving in 2015. Violation carry a $100 fine.
The problem is that it requires a civil penalty, rather than the normal criminal one for traffic violations. Officers who write a ticket for texting while driving would have to go to Justice Court and file an affidavit against the driver. That makes it unnecessarily complicated, and there have been very few efforts statewide to enforce the ban as a result.
Perhaps a tightening of the law could increase safety on the state’s roads.
I will say that in my opinion the best highway safety measure developed in my lifetime is also perhaps the simplest: Those rumble strips along the edges of highways. The loud noise jerks you up from your phone before you careen off the roadway. Once put down, it seems they wouldn’t require any maintenance. No telling how many lives they’ve saved.
Car makers are also getting into the business, especially some of the more expensive foreign companies that specialize in safety. I read in the Wall Street Journal this week where Volvo plans to roll out eye-tracking technology. Cameras monitor the driver and send an alert if his gaze is diverted for too long. And Mercedes-Benz and Nissan are using sensors that monitor fatigue or inattention through steering patterns.
Let’s see ... We’re developing advanced new technologies to save us from the advanced technologies we’ve already created. How do you think that will work out for mankind?
Charlie Smith is editor and publisher of The Columbian-Progress. Reach him at (601) 736-2611 or csmith@columbianprogress.com.
