How Did We Ever Cope?

This is a question I sometimes ask when I see just how many people are glued to their tech toys while crossing the street, walking on the sidewalk, standing in line, sharing a café table with their friend, having a day out with their kids (whom they studiously ignore) , associate, significant other, on the bus...

If we were to suddenly empty all public space of people stuck on their phones there would be almost...

No one.

People don't talk to anyone these days unless they happen to be on the other end of their phone.  I don't know how much it is appreciated, or cared, how this further separates and fragments us from one another.  Especially younger people have become so oblivious to the people next to them in public that there seems to be little occasion for basic civility in the way they interact.  Those lame-ass communal tables so popular in hipster cafes really show this for what it is.  You will see as many as a half dozen strangers seated side by side, completely unaware of one another while totally focussed on their phones or laptops.  This is co-existence at its most basic, most reptilian level.

What did we do before our tech toys?  How did we ever cope?  I think people tended to recognize more that they weren't the only ones in the universe.  I also seem to recall more civil, polite behaviour between strangers, even friendliness. 

I have decided to hell with it all and I make a point of greeting at least two, usually more, strangers every day, even if they are absorbed in their phones or personal listening device.  I am pleasantly surprised at how many actually respond, and some even smile.  Perhaps they are relieved that there is someone out there who cares enough to not let them feel completely alone and isolated.

I am concerned that in the event of a natural disaster, of how utterly useless most of us will be, since we have had almost no training or exposure to noticing and caring about the stranger next to us at a time of crisis when we will really need to pull together.   I really wonder if, as well as earthquake preparedness drills, we might also benefit from public compassion drills.  Just a thought.