Peer Pressure
Insidious and pervasive, Peer Pressure drives much of the American economy and an even greater percentage of the youth economy. If your friends are doing it, it must be good, right? You don't want to be an outlier, do you? So it is with smart phones: If you have one, you are in constant communion with the holy grail of social activity, your beloved friends. Young people who can't afford to get dental care will opt instead for a cell phone, just because to be without one will effectively isolate you from the rest of the world.
Drug dealers, of course, make excellent use of their cell phones.
Who Are the Peers
Oddly, peers aren't exactly who you might think. Certainly if you're a twenty-something or less, your peers are other callow twenty-somethings. But there are plenty of other sources. Here are a few:
- TV and other forms of entertainment constantly display the use and desirability of having the latest and greatest gizmo or gadget.
- Ride any form of public transportation and you're surrounded by people intently scrolling through their email as though the fate of mankind depended on what they find. If everyone else is doing it, it must be a “good thing,” right?
- The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and indeed most American newspapers and periodicals promote the use of smart phones by devoting lots of space to free advertising in the form of consumer advice columns about the latest in cell phone technology. These columns almost uniformly portray the devices as something desirable and sheik. Some are more desirable and sheik than others.
- Drug Dealers and Gang Members.
Who Are Peers Not?
I know of two outliers in the sea of consumers that worship at the altar of the cell phone tower:
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel uses only a small flip-phone saying it gives him everything he needs: a phone. Emanuel rides the CTA’s Brown Line to the office about one day a week. He stands in the doorway (ignoring the CTA admonition to avoid blocking the doors) and will openly engage anyone in conversation. Surprisingly, few people avail themselves of the opportunity. He does not, however, bury his nose in a smart phone oblivious to the world around him.
Everyone’s favorite POTUS, Barak Obama, doesn't even have a cell phone. He’s not allowed to have one. Instead, he has aids that carry cell phones as well as the guns that he thinks the rest of us shouldn’t have to protect ourselves. Of course, when you’re the President, there are many things you can’t do for yourself. Chicago wants to put his library somewhere in the city. I think that’s okay as long as taxpayers don’t have to pay for it. Mr. Obama doesn’t care about Peer Pressure. Ask any taxpayer and you’ll see why what other people think doesn’t matter much to Mr. Obama.
Where Did I Stray From the Path of Reason?
All of that being said, why did I do something like commit to a large sum of money for all the wrong reasons? I guess I was either stupid or the victim of old age. I make no excuses. The principal fault is mine, and mine alone. It was a very dumb thing to do.