…can bring up some interesting finds. I enjoy people watching, as does pretty much 100% of the population, and for me one of the best places to do this is on the Tube on my daily half hourly commute into work. It’s for this reason I’ve decided share with you all my foray into the world of 30 minutes on the Tube.
Today’s 30 minutes…’When technology fails’
I often spot people casually whipping out their BlackBerry/iPod etc and then revealing one of a few potential faces. I’ve reduced it down to three basic faces:
Happy: Phone is working and all is right in the world
Surprised: Phone is not working much to owner’s surprise
Angry: Phone is not working and this causes rage in the owner of said gadget.
I witnessed the ‘angry’ face this morning. A businessman, aged about 30 I’d say, pulls out his phone to check his emails/text messages so far for the day. It’s a new phone, very stylish and modern. He tries turning it on – but to no avail. He looks around, and tuts, once, very loudly. He tries taking off the back cover, checking the battery’s in there, and starts muttering, probably some form of expletive under his breath. He tries turning it on again. It’s simply not going to work. And then, out comes the ‘angry’ face. It’s amazing how we rely on technology and mobile phones in particular, and when they fail it’s seen by some, possibly many, as an absolute catastrophe. The ‘happy’ face and ‘surprised’ face weren’t present on the Tube today, maybe they got off before I got on? Either way, they don’t travel as regularly as the ‘angry’ face – especially when mobile phones are involved.
Next time
MP3 players and such-like: musical etiquette on the Tube…
Tags: iPhone, iPod, mobile phones, Tube
Leave a Reply