Gentlemen, A Suggestion

I do dig new technology.  I think most surgeons love new toys and their various applications, both inside the operating room and out.  It's fun to figure out the new gizmo and try out the various bells and whistles.  It's even a bonding experience and a conversation starter between surgeons and individuals.  Even though I got my iPhone a year ago, I still think it's the best, most useful toy that I own, and we are never very far apart from each other.

At the same time, I have been slightly disturbed by how ingrained into my life it has become.  Because I do everything on my phone, it is always with me--grocery lists, talking, texting, emailing, directions.  But at the same time, I feel like it runs my life a bit, too.  I am immediately accessible to everyone via multiple modes of communication.  Every time I hear that "ding," it's like a Pavlovian reflex to whip it out, check what's going on, and reply.

I have recently realized I don't want to be that accessible.  This has probably occurred over the past several months in which make-up/break-up (who is most definitely a serial texter) constantly bombarded me with texts.  So, I started ignoring the phone--or at least gave myself like ten minutes to finish whatever I was in the middle of.  When I am out with other people, I try to "live in the moment" and only check my phone occasionally and discreetly. 

When I hung out with Freaked Out Single Male Surgeon, however, I noticed that he constantly was on his iPhone.  I even started to feel a bit...well, jealous of the iPhone.  It had such a hold on him he checked in on Facebook while we were hanging out.  Every time it dinged, it killed the conversation, and we would have to backtrack because he had to check his phone. 

And it's not just him.  Multiple times, I have done the same thing in a group of friends or with my family.  Last night, I was out with friends having a drink, and at one point I realized the two gentlemen I was with were both texting on their phones and I was left to converse with my beer.

Perhaps I'm lame because I don't get that many emails or text messages, but really...gentlemen...just a suggestion.  Let's both put our phones away for a little bit and have an uninterrupted face-to-face conversation!