Random Thoughts on a Plane from New York

It's hard not to become reflective when you're surrounded by a teeming mass of humanity in one of the world's larger cities. You start to speculate as to how it all works, or indeed, how it doesn't for so many. There are just too many people.

What did people do before they had the security of incessantly and self-consciously checking their mobile phones? Were they left floundering under the gaze of fellow-travelers or reduced to staring vacantly around them? Now, the ubiquitous Smartphone has become the 'comforter' of the masses, the permanent companion of the solitary and the obsession of the constantly connected. Surely, all those texts and calls are not so earth-shattering that they can't wait? What happened to reflective time, the ability "to stand and stare?" Phones should be kept well out of sight when engaged in conversation as one of the key features of listening is being completely there, in the moment. Checking your phone is like checking your watch when someone's talking to you -- just rude -- and having a cell phone conversation in others' earshot is like laughing uproariously at a comedy on a plane when you're the only one with the headphones on!

Technology doesn't have to mean the erosion of manners and courtesies, but, uncontrolled and unfettered, it can surely hasten their demise. If all human sensibility is based on awareness then that is what we have to promote. Be aware, stay aware and make aware, may just be three of the most important features of the civilized society that we have come to value.