Isn’t it the thing to do when you are in an awkward situation? Picture this, you are walking from your lecture classroom to the library and you see someone that you know approaching you from the other direction. Chances are one of you is either checking the time, texting, or on a pretend phone call.
Or picture this one: you are waiting for someone to pick you up from a coffee shop. Instead of looking like a weirdo doing nothing but staring at people (which some people openly do and admit it), you pretend like you are doing something important on your cell phone.
Isn’t it awesome? I do it all the time.
Maybe I just feel like I have to be doing something when I am in a crowded place.
I can’t just do nothing (like I do when I’m not around many people). Maybe we just naturally always have to be doing something with our hands. Maybe. Moments when I take out my cell phone without a need to do so:
- Walking from building to building on campus, or around a shopping center – Hey, I mean, it IS possible that someone sent me a text message and in those 3 minutes that I wasn’t looking at my cell phone.
- When I make eye contact with a stranger – I don’t know what happens! My hand just reaches for my cell phone to at least check the time. Well that’s what I tell myself anyway.
- Just to see my home screen/background picture – That’s the only way to call that action. If any of you have an iPhone or any other touchscreen phone, don’t you just like unlocking your phone by doing the little sliding motion thing on your screen? I do that thing just for the fun of it.
Next time you take out your cell phone, pay attention and notice if you are doing it because you want to, or if it was a reflex to one of the above situations. Oh yeah, and it’s awkward if you get caught. C’mon, let’s say that you are actually talking to yourself pretending that you are actually talking to someone when suddenly your phone starts ringing.
Exception: On the FML app on my phone I had a long time ago, I recently read of a man that actually bought a Bluetooth so that he could talk to himself while he was in his car so that people wouldn’t think that he was crazy. That’s not crazy, I’m sure a lot of people do it. Right?
I’m the opposite! I’ll walk down the hallway trying to get your attention…I like to smile at people and I’m sure they find me odd all the time. I always figured people were really busy with their phones, and now you just made me realize they “pretended” to be busy? (gasp!)
I hate the ones where they appear to be smiling at you and say “Hi!” and so you say “Hi” back and they point to some little itty bitty thing in their ear. Oh, sorry…those things are the worst inventions ever, because You never know when a person is speaking to you. Another time, someone said Hi and I assumed they were on the phone, walked past them without comment, and I heard them say “wow, how rude.” Damn it if you can’t win!
Sandi
http://www.ahhsome.wordpress.com
Hahaha! The infamous Bluetooth! I know how that feels. . now I feel bad, one time I picked up my cell phone while waiting in line at Starbucks and as I said “Hello?” someone turned around and said “hi”. Oops
Edwin
I have to admit I do this ALL THE TIME when I’m waiting around for something. This also reminds of when you happen to zone out and it turns out that while you were zoned out you were accidentially staring at someone. They then proceed to look creeped out or they ask you why you were staring at them…
You gave me an idea! It gets pretty awkward when you zone out . .!
So true.
Like when you are waiting in line at the DMV to renew your license along with the other 1500 people there for miscellaneous reasons. Fortunately enough I now have a smartphone so I can actually be doing something…like playing Angry Birds, right? WRONG. What’s more awkward than a silent room filled with 1500 people and only 4 chairs? Playing Angry Birds and forgetting to turn the sound off. Yep. Guilty as charged. I’M PLAYING ANGRY BIRDS. Now go back to pretending you are all doing something productive on your cell phones too.