Sometimes I think the most common sight to see on this campus is the top of someone’s head. And coming from a woman who is five-feet-five-inches on a really good day, this is saying quite a bit. It amazes me that people can walk, talk and even eat while looking down at what is in their hands instead of paying attendtion to where they are going while text messaging.

I admit I am as sinful as the next one when it comes to using my share of monthly messages and then some, but I wonder if maybe students are just afraid of looking each other in the eye, that smiling at another human being is just weird, or some other nonsense to that effect that causes this non-stop text messaging disease.

This came to a head for me, no pun intended, when someone opened a door into my face and didn’t even look up from what, I am going to assume, was the most important text message conversation of their life. As I stood there with both a slightly bruised face and ego, considering I wasn’t good enough to look up from technology for, I wondered when cell phones had become more then just a convenience and another appendage on a college student’s body.

In the world of bluetooth, iPhone, iPods, BlackBerries and other types of cell phones, the act of talking and communicating is reduced to seconds to conserve money, and restricting the number of words allowed in a text. We don’t need to make an effort anymore.

Text messages are great for relaying small bits of information that don’t require a phone call, but I miss people’s voices. I hate getting the, “I’ll text you later!” Why don’t we take the extra 60 seconds and call each other? It’s polite, it leaves an impression and it makes people think that you actually care.

I know that cell phones and the technology craze is not going anywhere anytime soon, but I hope maybe that my face can be saved tomorrow when walking into Dallas Hall.

Rachel M. Carey is a sophomore journalism major. She can be reached at [email protected].