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wednesday,may2,2001
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8A
cell phones
beyond convenience or annoyance technology is bringing private life into public space
he cell phone is on.
by clay mccuistion kansan senior staff writer illustrations by kyle ramsey kansan design editor
The female figure at the chessboard table outside Wescoe Terrace listens intently. She speaks happily, oblivious to the dozens of students streaming by her.
the faces of me "I was so excited! He made me breakfast. She pauses. Taps her fingers on the gray and red squares.
"Yeah, I thought he was going to kill me."
More students pass, talking to themselves. She stares ahead into air about two feet from her face.
"hey listen, I have to get to class. Gotta go!"
They're everywhere
And seemingly, everyone has them. Cellular phones, not too many years ago a price novelty, have become an integral part of the college lifestyle. The constant chattering and ringing of the tiny phones has wormed into the daily lives of all students — whether or not they actually own a cell phone.
"You literally are accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week," says Howard Sypher, communications studies professor. "People expect you to keep your cell phone on."
Mike Leeper, Tonganoxie freshman, doesn't own a cell phone. But he wants one.
"If I got one," he says, "I'd just start dialing people at random to see if I could make friends."
Dwindling personal space
Leeper stops people at random to use their cell phones. While walking on Massachusetts Street, the 6'5", spiky-haired, seven-earringed Leeper asks people deep in conversation to share their talk.
"It a fun little game of embarrassing people," he says. "If you're going to be ridiculous enough to talk about your ex-boyfriend's freaky mole, I'm going to embarrass you about it."
But the embarrassment
usually is short-lived. One girlfriend Leeper talk to her boyfriend for five minutes before she said she had to go.
"Most people are pretty cool about it," he says. "There's only a very few people who are really freaked out. Cell phone folks tend to be pretty laid-back."
Leeper admits he's jealous of people with cell phones, though.
"On one hand, it's really ridiculous," he says. "On the other hand, I really want to do that."
"I was driving back and forth from Lawrence every now and then, and my mom freaked out and decided I needed a phone in case my car broke down." Robertson says.
Kim Robertson, Lenexa senior, owns a cell phone. She insists it wasn't her idea.
But Robertson has noticed her personal space dwindling since she started carrying the squarish, black Audiovox digital phone.
Since then, Robertson's 11-year-old Toyota Camry has broken down twice. She was glad to have the phone.
*Honestly, don't you love it.*
She's noticed people talking about personal issues on their cell phones and says she tries to avoid doing it.
"The cell phone is not for serious talks," she says. "It's controllable. It's like the TV, you can turn it off."
"It ites irritating because you can't really get away from people," she says. "You just don't have any place you can go."
Easily exploited
The phone is on.
It's clasped firmly in the left hand of a student walking very quickly into Watson Library, Talking very loudly.
"It's on the fourth floor in the Governor's Room, OK?"
The briefest of pauses.
"Be sure to bring all your stuff with you, girl."
She disappears into the library. Another woman sits on a concrete bench outside,
"Are you OK? Are you OK? What's your wrap?"
talking seriously and intently.
Her head bobs up and down.
"Did you stay up late last night?"
图
Jenn Johnson, Leavenworth senior, actually works for a cell phone company. She doesn't want to say which one, as she's not a fan of the phones.
She says it's easy for people to be overwhelmed and financially exploited by cell phone technology. Unlike home phone charges, cell phone bills include incoming and incomplete calls.
"It's like a credit card in disguise," Johnson says. "I've seen more people get into trouble with cell phones, honestly, than I've seen people get into with credit cards."
Johnson bought a cell phone for her mother—but doesn't carry one herself.
"To me, it makes more sense to have a home phone," she says. "I don't know if the small amount of convenience is worth all the extra money you pay for it."
She says she's heard cell phone users have loud, intimate conversations. But she's hesitant to put the blame on the phones.
"It's more a matter of different people using their cell phones in different ways," she says. "I've seen people on pay phones do the same thing."
Howard Sypher specializes in new communications technology. He says cell phone use in the United States has grown in the last five years as phone companies increase competition and the phones become cheaper. About 25 percent of Americans now own wireless phones. And the technology is still developing.
we rejust in the beginning," he says. Sypher has owned five different cell phones throughout the years. He keeps his current model on "all the time."
"The biggest luxury is not to answer," he says.
Cell phone usage
About 25 percent of Americans own cell phones, while about 75 percent of Europeans own them.
About 20 percent of American teens own cell phones. More girls own them than boys.
The standard for digital cell phones was established in Europe in the mid-1980s — more than a decade before the phones became popular in this country.
Third-generation wireless phones now in development may include video conferencing, calendar functions and multi-player games.
Source: HowStuffWorks.com
able to put your phone out and keep it on all the time," he says.
—or perhaps allow others to find them
The next generation of cell phones could include technology linking them to global positioning satellites, Sypher says. Such an addition would allow users to find themselves
"Some people have an issue with it in terms of privacy," Sypher says. "It's a node in a huge network that's becoming increasingly sophisticated."
The history class is winding down.
the professor finches and continues
The phone is, for now, off.
A tune actually.
The phone is on.
The professor describes the reading assignment for the next day's class, shuffling sheets of paper on his podium. His voice bounces around the Budig Hall auditorium.
It's nearly drowned out by a noise from the lower left side of the room.
A time, actually. "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" plays for a few seconds, as a student fumbles to silence his phone.
The phone is, for now, off
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