For some reason, the most vital discussions in any cellphone relationship take place in areas with very bad reception. We’ve all been there. In a moment of thoughtlessness, you say something in a misleading tone of voice with every intention of explaining. But at that precise moment you enter a “dead zone” and what could have been clarified by a few minutes of dialogue now simmers into full-scale bitterness as you sit and wait for reception again. Even worse are those forty-five minutes of dropped reception that imply (inevitably) you just don’t want to talk, when in all reality you’re trying to work things out.
This can also work the other way around. Finding yourself particularly upset with someone while on the cell? Simulate a “dropped call” and turn off the phone before your upsetter can call you back. Of course, this brings with it some basic ethical questions, like: Is a hang-up immoral? Is the sin in the hang-up or in the lie following the hang-up? Perhaps the answer to these questions seems simple. Perhaps pressing “end” seems the unpardonable sin. But these basic questions steer us to some thornier ones: Is it wrong to imply poor reception (blowing into the receiver, making static noises with your mouth, cutting words out of your sentences)? Am I a sinner for pushing to antenna down, hiding in the corner of my basement and covering myself with a lead blanket?
Tough questions indeed.
