My Cell Phone Still Has Buttons

"How could you not want this?" Owen asks in disbelief, displaying his iPhone in its full-apped glory. 

I began to foment my reply, only to give up when I realized his nodding was sarcastic in nature. "Thank you for pretending to listen to my reasons," I dryly returned. 

I think I am on the internet enough as it is when I am in front of a computer, whether at work or at home. I really enjoy reading, and if I transferred that pleasure to an e-reader I would have to pause mid-book come Shabbos, and I am not willing to do that; the library fulfills all my papery needs. The few times I tote my cell phone about, I find my focus leaching away as my ear automatically strains to hear a potential "ding-dong" ring from my bag. I just don't want to be tempted. It's bad enough trying to keep my portion sizes in a normal range.

I want to be able to keep my attention where it belongs, and a snazzy phone jeopardizes that ability. For instance, while I am tech-free, my compatriots are not. They emit insincere "mm-hm"s as they reply to texts in middle of my enthusiastic retelling of a very entertaining story. If I step away from a table, I come back to find them absorbed on their phone, unwilling to click back to our previous repartee. 

Sometimes I'll be falsely maligned, like when I was fishing through my coat pocket for a tissue while on a date, and the rather impolite fellow across the table had the gall to frostily state, "I thought you were getting your phone." I wasn't, obviously blowing my nose.

It seems I am not the only one to notice that smartphones are a detriment to social outings, as there are now penalties in place, as reported by Caroline Tell in "Step Away From the Phone!"

As described, people are becoming aware that constant connection is causing Disconnect (haven't seen the movie, but it was mentioned in the article). So they lock up the phone in a tin, chuck it into a fish bowl, leave it in the car, so the people before them will get all their consideration. 

It would seem, that I am of the new age of chic: 

But maybe the best way to curb cellphone overuse is by preying on people’s social insecurities. In some circles, being inaccessible is a status symbol.

“Public cellphone use has reached an uncivilized fever pitch, so now it’s chicer behavior to exempt yourself from that,” Ms. Blume said. “You’re not answerable 24/7, and that’s a powerful and luxurious statement.”