The easy escape

Texting, it's simply a part of life. It is useful for communicating, for entertaining yourself when you are bored, and of course it is the easy escape from an awkward situation. I can almost guarantee that anyone who actively texts has done it before. I know because I do it all of the time. What I am talking about is the use of a cell phone to exclude yourself from looking alone, unoccupied, or uncomfortable. You know that moment when you are in public and you don't want to feel like a loner so what do you do? You pull out your cell phone and start texting or possibly even just act like you are texting.

Before I was introduced to the theories presented to me in Cultural Studies I would have brushed this act off as a means of entertainment or an active attempt to contact somebody. But after being in this class I see it as a body practice. When people are put into a situation where they feel uncomfortable if they are not actively doing something, they unconsciously reach for their phones. Like when waiting for a bus I almost always take out my phone and do something on it.

This act of using a cell phone to escape is like a sub culture of our culture. It most frequently practiced by those who belong to generation z. This is because unlike other generations they/we grew up actively having and using cell phones. Thus, when we use cell phones in public it gives us a sense of comfort; a refreshing feel of familiarity, something that the baby boomer generation might not get when they use cell phones in public. Since their bodies have not practiced this act, they will not unconsciously use their phones in those situations. It is an act that I believe is most prominently practiced by those in which texting is second nature to their bodies.