Is socializing all that important?

We see people on their cell phones every time we drive somewhere, at risk to themselve and others.

People leave their kids in the pool (or bathtub) to answer the phone - and come back to find that their kid has drowned. Why don't they just let the phone ring? Or they have a pool party, with all that entails, and nobody watches the kids in the pool - by the time they realize one is missing, the child is on the bottom of the pool. Nobody thinks to have a designated pool watcher. The Phoenix area is having a record nuymber of child drownings this year.

Others leave their kid(s) or dog(s) in the car to go into a store or bar; they talk to someone without realizing how long they have been gone and find the kid(s) or dog(s) dead from the heat.

Maybe socializing is more important than protecting their kids?????????

The amount of time that some of us spend alone in a tractor cab with just a radio would kill most modern people. I have satellite radio and listen to talk radio a lot. The "problems" that some of these people have just mystify me. No one is self-sufficient anymore. They must tell 100 people about it, read 100 comments about what they posted on Facebook, and take pictures of everything so their friends can ogle over their sandwich from Arby's.

(quoted from post at 11:02:45 06/30/14) We see people on their cell phones every time we drive somewhere, at risk to themselve and others.

People leave their kids in the pool (or bathtub) to answer the phone - and come back to find that their kid has drowned. Why don't they just let the phone ring? Or they have a pool party, with all that entails, and nobody watches the kids in the pool - by the time they realize one is missing, the child is on the bottom of the pool. Nobody thinks to have a designated pool watcher. The Phoenix area is having a record nuymber of child drownings this year.

Others leave their kid(s) or dog(s) in the car to go into a store or bar; they talk to someone without realizing how long they have been gone and find the kid(s) or dog(s) dead from the heat.

Maybe socializing is more important than protecting their kids?????????

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Cell phones have created a dangerous scenario on the highways. They are inductry big buck items though, so no one is going to tackle that problem. Sad, but it may take many tragedies before the states act on that issue.

Information overload in general helping lead to too many distractions. We've become a society of information junkies.

We even have 24/7 tractor forum!

Spent countless hours on a non-cab tractor and no radio; many with a 3 bottom plow. Learned patience, perseverance, and noticed the slightest animal activity along with finding a few arrow heads.

I think socializing is important, to a degree as it teaches you how to actually interact with others. The problem is that what folks now days do, to me, isn"t as much socializing as it is simply trying to feel important by seeking the approval of others.

Like another post said, many of us spend a lot of time alone, some in the cab of a tractor or, like me, working on the tractors. Personally I much prefer to be left alone, as I need to be able to concentrate on the job at hand instead of looking for someone else to "tweet", etc, etc, etc about exactly what they are doing at that particular moment in time.

Granted I enjoy getting on this site and socializing with others where we all have common interests, but I do it for that reason alone, not because I"m seeking anyone"s approval for what I do. It seems that kids, and many adults, now feel like they should be the "most important" person around,, they need their ego fed, or whatever. Call it what you will, it seems that their main need is to have as many "likes", "followers", or whatever, regardless of whether any of the folks doing the liking or following share any commonality with them beyond seeking the same approval for themselves.

I know that may be a bit confusing, but I don"t know of any other way to put it. Regardless, the way I see it, we need to be teaching out kids that they simply need to be happy with themselves, and who they are, and not worrying about what everyone else feels. I mean with all the "special interest" groups out there now days hollering about this, or that, regardless of whether I condone their behavior or not, I at least respect the fact they have the guts to say "I am who I am, whether you like me or not". It"s not until "who they are" gets pushed into my face in an attempt to tell me it"s not alright for me to be who I am, that I have a real problem. As for me, just leave me alone, and let me live my life. Others may view me as important, but to me, the only one I need to be important to is myself (an of course my family as they are a part of me too).

Thinking back I"ve never been really worried about what others thought of me, but just how insignificant we all are got driven home to me years ago when I was in the Navy. If you ever want to understand your "real" place in this world, go out in the ocean until your about half way between the States and Cuba. Stop the ship, jump over the side, and swim out from it about a hundred yards. Now look back at that ship that seems to big when your standing on the deck and it looks like a dot in the middle of a huge expanse of nothingness.......Now turn around and look the other way. At that moment you realize just exactly how insignificant you really are in the grand scheme of things........

I rarely ever turn on the radio, or A/C in my service truck anymore. I've found it's so much nicer to simply drive and get lost in my own thoughts instead of the thoughts of others. Too I have often seen hawks, deer, rabbits, and other critters sitting beside the road that others routinely miss because they are too engrossed in everything else to pay attention. Not to mention with the window down you also get to experience the smell of honeysuckles, wildflowers...... and the occasional skunk.....LOL

Dick,
No their are just self important idiots.
LOU

I'm with you. I spend hours on the road on the job and I never turn the radio on, and only rarely will plug in a CD.

I enjoy social interaction as much as anyone, but there are times I like to get lost in my own thoughts and let my mind wander wherever it wants.

I don't have a cab tractor, but that's ok with me, I love the sky, the fresh air, the smells, the sounds, I see wildlife. when mowing with the disk mower, I can get the tractor tuned into my left ear, and mower to the right one. Then I can head for the open spaces of Montana and work on my imaginary horse ranch.

I wouldn't call that socializing. Like Lou says,self important idiots. All I can think when I see somebody messing with their phone when they shouldn't be is that they must be awful important. I know there isn't anything going on in my life that makes it necessary to be in touch constantly. If anybody wants me,call me at home and if it's important,I'll call them back. The world won't come to an end if somebody is waiting to talk to me.

The last time I turned on a radio in a vehicle was about 1978. Didn't hear a fire truck coming through the intersection and almost got t-boned. Since then, I tune in to my surroundings and I don't miss the radio or the 8-track.

Sadly cell phones, e-mail, facebook, ect. has become the only social aspect for many folks. Many get rapped up in it so bad they don't realize whats even going on around them. Is what I see frequently is people will go to a real life social event, and sit there with nose stuck to the cell phone and won't talk to the person sitting next to them. Many times everyone in a group will be doing the same thing. I think it is rude, and don't understand why these people even bother about going to a real social event.

I'm rapidly getting that way. I never listen on an open tractor. My old ears just hear squealing over the other noises anymore. Friday,I baled all afternoon with the cab tractor and was about done before I even realized the radio wasn't even on.

Of course,on the other hand,leaving some of us alone with our thoughts for too long might be dangerous too. lol

Geeze, you must not be as important as me...
I used to answer my phone 24-7. Now that I have little kids I let the phone ring sometimes. I dont feel like selling hay or firewood at all hours of the day and night. If its an emergency and I dont answer, they will call my wife next. Then I know to answer it...

Maybe you just need to re train the people who are trying to reach you. If they find out you can always be reached,they'll EXPECT to always be able to reach you.

Getting "rapped up" is certainly NOT a country thang!