In America, the writing is on the wall, not in the mobile

You would think that one the world’s most powerful nations would be quick to mobilize mobile. No.

In the past week, I’ve been lectured by a potential romantic partner on the virtues of a phone call over using text messaging, been struck by how immobile the AT&T store staff are when talking about phones or looking into orders, and noticed that if you want information in America, you look up at the wall, not down at your phone.

The One-Trick Pony Mobile Device

I’ve been back in America for about one year. There are only about three reasons why a person in America will look at their phone, regardless of the social consequences. These three reasons are:

1. To read email
2. To check a text
3. To play a game like Tetris or Pong

Unless they have an iPhone. And since I am usually the only person I am hanging out with with an iPhone, it means that I am the one who is asked to look up directions on a map. Hopefully this will change.

Most people find information in America by looking up at signs. Like in Grand Central Station. There is a large antiquated sign that shows train departure times and arrivals. You can see everyone walking into the large atrium of the station. They always look up at that wall. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone check for train times on their phones. I know I don’t. The information is written on the wall.

AT&T Mobile Actually Means Standing at a Terminal Looking at the Internet

And then today, I was struck by something at the AT&T store. AT&T has an exclusive deal with Apple to sell the iPhone.

It didn’t occur to me until I had been in the store for five minutes. Nobody in the store near Penn Station was using a mobile device. All the mobile devices were on display on the walls around the store. The employees all stood behind fixed desktop computers. All of them were reading stories and blogs on the Internet. Not one of them was walking around the store demonstrating technology.

It goes back to how America uses its technology. Right now, the Internet is not so much a process as it is a luxury. People are very used to getting their Internet pumped into a building through wires. The idea that you can be using this mobile device as a sales tool, or as a way of improving the visibility of wireless and its benefits just hasn’t kicked in.

I spent a good five minutes talking to an AT&T employee about changing my data plan for a trip overseas. She did not help me. She had nothing to say about using the phone overseas. She instead told me to call customer service: “They can give you the best advice.” Really? But you sell the phone, and you sell the plan. Do you know what I am talking about here?

I thanked her for her time, and then she wiped her hands of the ordeal, went back to cruising the Internet, and I left.

The Perils of Using a Mobile Phone While Dating

Apparently, texting is a “generational” thing. Recently, I met someone who was about ten years older than me. I invited her to go out with me and she accepted. On the day before we went out, I sent her a text message reiterating that I looked forward to meeting her. I didn’t hear back. I didn’t think anything of it.

Well, the big night came. I called to again check to see that we would be meeting up. She said we would not. Instead, she had made other plans, she said, because it did not seem I was really interested.

My mistake was that I had sent a text message. Apparently, the phone voice is a more valued connection than the text message. One connotes seriousness. The other suggests immaturity.

“It’s a generational thing,” she said. Do you think that’s true? I think that communication is communication, and that the way we communicate depends on the situation we are in. I was at work when I was communicating with her. I didn’t have the time or even the privacy to step away for a phone call to ask her what she was doing later. I sent the message to say I was alert, expecting our date, and would enjoy it.

What is your opinion on the seriousness of data in a dating relationship?