San Diego man distracted by cell phone falls to death at cliffs
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All these damned kids on their cell phones taking their selfies.
When I was a kid, sitting for hours while an artist painted an Impressionist portrait surrounded by all my riches, in the style of Napoleon I on his Imperial Throne, was the only acceptable method of capture for me.
He was actually from the county in Indiana where I reside.
Aside from the ground giving way, I don't know how you can be that damn oblivious to the fact you're on unstable ground.
I lived in the area for 12 years and used to walk along the cliffs all the time. The parts of the cliffs that are open all have signs stating that the cliffs are unstable. He clearly wasn't paying attention to anything but that phone. Sunset Cliffs are not super dangerous to be around. Millions visit the area and do fine, but they are cliffs, one needs to exercise enough common sense to pay attention and be careful.
No one needs to view the latest duck face pic their friend just posted the instant it's posted on whatever app it is.
No one needs to post a duck face pic while about to walk off a cliff.
Cell phones were great, when they were used for emergencies and on-the-road "get in touch" with your sales force.
I'm Gen X. When my group of good "mom friends" would go out when our oldest kids were 5 (they're 16 now)? No cell phones were plopped on the table at the restaurant right after we settled in to our chairs, no one was checking their cell phone every 5 minutes…just incase they missed a duck face picture of their niece or a friend of a friend of a friend's kid…or their whiner child called them to say, "Johnny just hit me". Kid wouldn't call the restaurant to track his/her mom down for that kind of garbage.
Now? Everyone is afraid they are missing something, so they can't be more than 2 inches away from their cell phone. And kids call away, and for the dumbest of dumb (only cuz their dumb parents let them).
11 years ago I went back to my college for a very specific event over the course of a weekend. It was so sad to see the 18-22 year olds walking down academic row with their noses in their cell phones. Where's the fun in finding your friend/roomie/boyfriend/girlfriend? Get some exercise in between frat parties when you're trying to find him or her. Walk a little, other than to class and the food union. Maybe this is why college kids are so overweight anymore. It's not the freshman 15 any longer, it's now the college smart phone phatty behind.
What is so wrong with those who have their cells glued to their hips that they can't be without them? Your kid might have walked off a cliff in that 60 minute jog you took? Your BFF might have announced her divorce? You missed the announcement and couldn't be the first "Like" or comment on her social media page? Kim Kardashian announced she's moving to Mars? Your kid wants to know what's for dinner?
Life went on and kids/friends/spouses/family members were just fine without knowing every second of everyone else's "feelings", actions, or life changing announcements.
It's not the geezers who "invented" it all, it's those who can't live without being in constant contact with useless information from their "friends".
Completely disagree.
I've posted this before: without question, the absolute worst abuser of the smart phone is my 60 year old father. He and my mom spent Christmas Eve night with us and our 4 kids. We're usually out of town, so this was a pretty big deal to all be together. After presents were opened, the man spent ALL CHRISTMAS DAY ON FB!! Hours. Laying on the couch, reading stupid posts. I kid you not. To make matters worse, he has no clue how to tell real posts from real people from silly "forward" type posts. He thinks EVERYTHING he reads is the Gospel truth, personally endorsed by his "good friend" because said friend re-posted something easily disproven by snopes 5 years ago...
Oh, and I hate phone abuse as much as anyone, but the reason your friends weren't checking their phones 11 years ago, is because no one was checking their phones 11 years ago. Those same friends probably are today (although hopefully have the good manners to leave them in their purses and check them discreetly!)
I well remember the 80s, I was a teen then, and let me assure you--in this respect, it was NOT the paradise you keep hearing about. It stunk being on the roadside with no way to call anyone. It stunk not being able to reach a particular person the entire day long. It stunk staying home waiting by the phone sometimes in vain, because of an important call you were expecting. At the same time, I used to say "I wish they'd come up with an electric map that knew where I was, where I was going, and could tell me where to turn while driving" because I was ALWAYS getting lost.
So was I.
Who said it was a paradise? The hair and clothing were atrocious.
It was the way it is - no one knew and differently or thought it stunk until cell phones didn't cost $2K and weren't the size of a brick. Hindsight is what it is.
It was a lot of fun getting a flat tire at 1am in the morning on a major highway when I was 19 years old and driving back home from visiting friends while on spring break. I drove on that flat until it the tire was gone and sparks were shooting out from the back left side of my car. Finally pulled over on the shoulder, the rim was toast. The night traffic on this highway was full of semi's. Kept whizzing by and shaking my car. I knew that eventually, because the highway was/is patrolled by State Troopers, one would come along. First, however, a car stopped behind me…a man got out of the car and walked on up to mine. I made sure all of the doors were locked and rolled the window down 2 inches when he motioned for me to roll the window down.
He asked me for directions.
I told him that I would tell him where he needed to go if he would take $1.00 of my change and call my parents, tell them where I was and that I was stranded. He did. My father got the call, rolled over and went back to sleep. I still can't believe he did that 20+ years later. About 15 or so minutes after the guy asking for directions drove off, a NJ State Trooper came up behind me. Ended up being two very good looking young Troopers (to my 19 year old self) who, after they heard my story, laughed at how long I drove on the rim. They then flagged my car, called in to "wherever" the called in to and also had my parents called and let them know they were going to give me a ride home. First and last time I was in the back seat of a cop car. On the ride to my parent's house they turned on the lights, put on the speaker and said, "Everyone get out of the way, we've got "Informed Info" who drives her tires down until the go up in flames and fall off…she's trouble". They were great and I laughed along with them. One gave me his card and told me to have the passerby call him the next time….. ��
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Yes we turned out OK and still had great times, but when cell phones came along and now you could call people or be called even when not at home, it was wonderful. When things improved further and now your phone allowed you to look up addresses and directions at any time, it was especially great for a person like me who was always getting lost no matter how hard I tried to learn a sense of direction. It was great that I could read Wikipedia while stuck in waiting rooms etc.
I took a map, plotted the best/fastest route and drove myself from the NJ Shore to Canada when I was 19 - with two girlfriends. No need for my car navigation (or a cell phone) to tell me: "In point five miles, make a left". Amazing.
I have zero sense of direction. I can walk in to a store (busy store, like Macy's or Bloomie's in the city) from one direction and have zero clue which direction I need to head when I walk out. Spatial relations aren't my forte either. I'm just not wired "that way". Still never got so lost that I ended up having my tires swiped off of off my car when I stopped to ask for directions.
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It's not the 1980s anymore. Get your head out of your rear end. Having a phone on you is the NORMAL thing to do, and very easy unless you have something that dwarfs a Galaxy Note. Missing an important call because you deliberately left your phone at home or such is silly and, if you're a parent or a person of high importance at a job, downright irresponsible or even negligent.
It's not about the 80's without cell phones, it's about the 2010's with everyone having their nose firmly attached to one for reasons that have nothing to do with emergent issues. Like those who are unable to not check their cells every 5 minutes for FOMO or some other addiction that makes them need to know every second of what their friends or favorite celebrities are posting on social media.
Or even having to get back to someone immediately because they sent you a text about nothing important.
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Gee whiz sometimes i wonder if some people would have cars abolished and return to the horse and buggy days. Gee, while we're at it, let's forego advances in medicine and alllow a simple infection to cause one to lose a leg--you know, to "improve our character" or some such nonsense. We used to "get along fine "with ice houses, who needs refrigerators? Hey, here's an idea--why record music? People who depend on recorded music "have lost touch with what is important" not learning to play the violin and coming up with their own music. People should stop using computers for typing and use typewriters again, the non electric ones at that. Why stop there, who needs those new fangled newspapers, "we used to get along fine" with stone tablets.
Apples and oranges.
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I may dislike trends such as tattoos and some of these bizarre bathing suits that can't decide if they're a 1 or 2 piece, and I've always disliked ball caps and overalls, but at the same time I realize it's actually not any of my business, people can wear whatever they please.
Again, apples and oranges.
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I keep my phone me all the time, like a normal person. I still manage to connect with people and enjoy a sunset. Regardless, unless I'm crashing into people's cars or lighting up a dark theater, it's not anybody's business. Don't like it? Tough. I don't have the time or patience for Luddites from the Stone Age.
Most people do.
Why do you need to connect with others while "enjoying" a sunset?
The issue isn't about people who want to live in the stone age (a little dramatic), it's about why most folks can't get their faces out of their cell phones for more than 5 minutes.
Does panic set in? Could you go 2 days without a cell phone?
What would you miss? Really, what would you miss that was of any real importance?
I've posted this before: without question, the absolute worst abuser of the smart phone is my 60 year old father. He and my mom spent Christmas Eve night with us and our 4 kids. We're usually out of town, so this was a pretty big deal to all be together. After presents were opened, the man spent ALL CHRISTMAS DAY ON FB!! Hours. Laying on the couch, reading stupid posts. I kid you not. To make matters worse, he has no clue how to tell real posts from real people from silly "forward" type posts. He thinks EVERYTHING he reads is the Gospel truth, personally endorsed by his "good friend" because said friend re-posted something easily disproven by snopes 5 years ago...
Oh, and I hate phone abuse as much as anyone, but the reason your friends weren't checking their phones 11 years ago, is because no one was checking their phones 11 years ago. Those same friends probably are today (although hopefully have the good manners to leave them in their purses and check them discreetly!)
I hear you.
It's not about the age, it's about the addiction.
Which is exactly why my friends weren't glued to their cell phones 11 years ago.
They knew better. They knew what it was like to play outside and wait until the sun set to head back home. They knew what it was like to have to use a pay phone to call someone and leave a message (b/c the person they called didn't have their answering machine hooked up to their hip…didn't exist) and wait for a return call.
Teens and 20 somethings and "the addicted of any age" check their cell phones to find out what time the sun sets, and will like a pic of it instead of seeing it for themselves. No need, someone else did.
They get upset and their feelers end up bent out of shape when their texts are not immediately returned or they don't get more than 200 "likes" when they post what they had for dinner.
Last edited by Informed Info; 12-29-2015 at 01:04 AM..
Okay, the guy made a really dumb mistake... but half of these responses are disgusting.
I only made it to the 3rd page before I stopped reading.
So, what would you have people do, hold a requiem mass for some foolish individual who met with an unfortunate accident because he was hypnotized by his stupid cell-phone? It would seem that most of the people in this world are under the very same influence by the very same device. The only reason that thousands more mindless people are not similarly killed every day is because they're not walking toward the edge of a cliff.
Okay, the guy made a really dumb mistake... but half of these responses are disgusting.
I only made it to the 3rd page before I stopped reading.
IMO, it's pretty typical of this board.
The guy did make a dumb mistake, but the human being that's never made a dumb mistake doesn't exist. It's popular these days to criticize anyone perceived as a cell phone addict, but it's still awful that the man died and his family and friends are suffering the loss right now.
San Diego man distracted by cell phone falls to death at cliffs
I must assume that this clod is a finalist for a Darwin Award.
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San Diego man distracted by cell phone falls to death at cliffs
