people stuck at an
angle on their phones, not with
us in reality
Adatped from the the article, The ‘pavement vigilante’: why Cameron Roh is naming and shaming bad walking etiquette, by Morwenna Ferrier, the Guardian’s fashion and lifestyle editor, where Ms. Ferrier writes:
Pavement etiquette is “getting worse,” he says, in part due to smartphones. He pauses to point out how many people around us are walking while staring at their phones. “I call these people neck breakers,” he says. “People stuck at a 45 degree angle on their phones, not with us in reality”.
Writing about Mr. Cameron Roh, Ms. Ferrier states:
As a member of gen Z, Roh has always “lived and breathed social media”. Born and educated in Ohio, he got a glimpse of his future at high school, when he had to deal with “hallway rage”. People in corridors, people loitering … “I’m gonna be late to my destination because of you? No way, that’s gotta stop,” he says. “I’ve always been a fast walker, always knowing where I’m going.”
He films people breaking his self-created ‘laws’ of street decorum and posts the videos online – with many viewers expressing their gratitude. So watch out if you’re rushing along on your phone or wheeling a small bag that could be carried …
Given Roh’s reservations about smartphones, the irony that his entire body of work is filmed and parsed through a screen is not lost on him. “The world is so disconnected,” he says. “We’re just consumed by our phones and our AirPods. You think it’s just gen Z and gen Alpha, but it’s everyone now. Age is not even a defining factor. But doing what I do, it’s a way of getting out, an activity, so I’m walking with purpose.”
I admit I hadn’t thought so much about this when walking unless I am Savannah or Beaufort and surrounded by those tourists and the tiny sidewalks.
But driving?
People with the ‘texting gap’ of 50 feet or more in front them while they keep their peripheral vision locked on the road so it won’t interrupt their interaction with their device.
That feeling of knowing where I’m going and they don’t, especially since I live in a ‘vacation paradise’ so you can count on an overly large number of out of town and mostly lost drivers.
I cannot tell you how many times I have been cut off, and I mean dangerously cut off, as someone gets driving directions from their device and ‘have to get over or miss my turn.’
The kicker is WE ARE ON AN ISLAND.
YOU CANNOT GET LOST.
If you miss your turn, you can connect at the next corner BECAUSE THERE ARE ONLY TWO ROADS on this tiny island.
SO there are those.
Then there is my state of mind that says, “I’m gonna be late to my destination because of you? No way!”
That’s what kicks into gear when driving while surrounded by tourons.
Tourons is a term that originated with US Park Rangers at Yellowstone Park to identify those drivers who stop all traffic so they can take a photo of squirrels and other wild life.
I just LOVE being behind tourons when I drive home at night.
We get to the bridges and suddenly cars are going 20mph and swerving back and forth because we are ON A BRIDGE …over WATER!
OH COME ON!
I’m gonna be late to my destination because of you?
No way!
BOY Howdy but Geeeeeeeeeeeee whiz!
Those People stuck at a 45 degree angle on their phones.
Not with us in reality.
People like … me.
No Haiku For You 