Cell phones are destroying the intimacy of everyday life. The relatively cheap cost of sending a text message, as opposed to making a phone call, takes away the personal touch of hearing a friend’s voice. The ease of sending a text message encourages us to keep in touch with friends far away with brief, impersonal messages rather than sitting down to write a letter. The ability to be constantly “reachable” makes setting up face-to-face meetings almost pointless.

I just bought a cell phone today.

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