I wish people would put their phones down

Were the great Sir Terry Wogan still alive I’m certain he would welcome me as a TOG (Terry's old geezers or gals), someone who has a slight bewilderment about the modern world. Currently, I've been scratching my head in perplexity at people who are obsessed with smartphones. They bury their heads in the screen and drift into their own little worlds, oblivious of what is going on around them. This is best summed up in a meme of the three wise monkeys, that’s doing the rounds: In the picture there are four, and one is using a smartphone. Above them are the words: “Finally the fourth ape! He is the sum of the first three: He sees nobody, hears nobody and speaks to nobody”.

I’ve just come back from a short trip to London and was stunned by the amount of zombie-like people who zoned out of planet Earth as soon as they engaged with their phones. A few sights were farcical and a little sad at the same time. In a café, one morning, a couple sitting on an adjacent table were having their breakfast and barely a word passed between them. Both were engrossed in their phones and both missed their mouths on more than one occasion when trying to eat. Perhaps they were texting each other.

On a bus, a schoolgirl greeted another with a hug but kept her eyes on her phone as she wrapped her arm around her friend’s neck. And everywhere I went there were people wandering around the streets tapping on their devices. Was it wrong to pray fervently for them to bump into lampposts, fall down an open manhole or crash into two men carrying a sheet of plate glass?

These types of distracted walkers with their eyes fixated on a tiny screen and minds elsewhere must make it extremely difficult for drivers. As well as looking out for cyclists who own the road but don't obey traffic signs and signals, they must be vigilant for those who are so engrossed in their phones they put their lives on the line by crossing the road without looking in any direction. I am surprised that our biggest cities aren't littered with the bodies of flattened pedestrians. The keen eyes of drivers and the braking power of cars are marvels to behold.

Whenever I meet with a particular group of friends for a coffee, you can bet your bottom dollar that at least one person will put their phone on the table even though they’re not expecting any important calls. Every now and then, they’ll pick it up probably to check Faceache, play Candy Crush or message someone while the rest of us carry on talking. This can be a little difficult through gritted teeth. What's worse is that when one person in the group is eyes down into their phone it opens the door for others who think it's socially acceptable to check theirs.

According to some estimates, users check their phones more than 100 times a day. What is the world coming to when staring at a small screen is preferable to human interaction? OK, some humans aren't worth interacting with, but you get my point.

Being groovy and down with the kids, I am aware that the term for someone who ignores the real people around them because they are concentrating on their phones is phubbing (a combination of ‘phone’ and ‘snubbing’) and they do it because they suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out). It is an epidemic, and it is out of control!

Smartphones and other handheld digital devices do have some advantages. They keep noisy children quiet in restaurants (although parental discipline would be a good idea) and they make dull commutes pass by quickly if you don’t have a newspaper or a book (do they still print those?) with you. They also prevent you from having to talk to the stranger sitting next to you in the tube carriage. In this regard, the smartphone is a good idea because that person is probably an axe murderer.

Some people’s lives are so consumed with their smartphones that they’re lost without them. But when they constantly stare at the screen they miss out on so much - the beauty of nature, the company of loved ones, the present moment and the edge of a cliff.