Allow me to explain. If you are one of the few non-Luddite members of the Wash. U. community, you own a cell phone. It’s in your pocket or your backpack, easily within reach, if not already in your furiously texting hand. No matter how loud your Taylor Swift ringtone is, you constantly glance at its little glowing screen just in case you were temporarily struck deaf and (heaven forbid) missed a text message.

Your phone is constantly turned on, just like your heart and liver. If you’re anything like me, your cell phone is an integral part of your being, at least as important as your non-dominant hand and definitely more useful than several of your organs (what has your appendix done for you lately, anyway?). Even if they haven’t been surgically installed into our craniums yet, our cell phones have become such a ubiquitous part of our beings they might as well be already. Still feeling entirely biological?

In his article last month (“Are we addicted to our cell phones?” Nov. 17) Daniel Deibler accurately portrayed the average cell phone user’s attachment to her artificial fifth limb. Though it’s totally badass to be living in the cyborg age (and you thought it would never come!), I have to disagree with his assertion that our attachment to our cell phone is not a problem. Like everything, with the possible exception of methamphetamines, cell phones are perfectly acceptable in moderation. However, most people take their cell phone use to detrimental extremes. The idea that “instead of slowing down our adherence to cell phones…we should ramp it up” is disconcerting.

Though the purpose of cell phones is to connect us to other people, they often accomplish the opposite. It’s always tempting to avoid awkward confrontations or rejection by using text messages. Emoticons are awful at expressing subtlety, and it’s nigh impossible to convey sarcasm. Cell phones are generally distracting. When a text message or call could strike at any moment, it can be difficult to focus on whatever else is happening. It annoys me when “Hello, my eyes are up here” means my face is competing with my boyfriend’s iPhone instead of my chest. I know I fiddle with my phone in class when I should be participating.

Constantly being available for other people is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it’s wonderful to be able to get a hold of people when I want them. On the other, it’s hard not to respond to texts or return a call immediately, even when I know I should be working on a project or talking to the people I’m actually with. There’s a sense of obligation to the person on the other end that’s hard to ignore for long, especially when my ringtone is so darn catchy. Cell phones also facilitate rudeness. If texting in movies theaters doesn’t land you a spot in hell, nothing will. The effect of all this distraction can’t be ignored, despite the benefits of cell phones. According to a recent New York Times article, letting your mind wander rather than fully immersing yourself in an activity or situation has been linked to unhappiness. Cell phones are one of many shiny toys that keep us from being fully engaged in the moment.

Cell phones aren’t evil; like everything else, they’re beneficial in moderation. When we’ve become so dependent on a piece of hardware so as to basically be inextricably linked with it, we should wonder whether we’re too attached. Cyborgs, while undeniably cool, have never had the best people skills. The Terminator would never be my choice for class president. So disengage that phone every now and then. If the world’s ending, a text message won’t be much good anyway.

What isn’t often mentioned is our addiction to cell phones. Maybe nobody talks about it because, unlike Twitter and Facebook, cell phones are such useful tools for everything from friendship to business.

I can’t remember the first time I got a cell phone—it was so long ago at this point—but I can remember the last time I got a new one. I felt like a kid at Christmas, excited that I got to pick out a new phone.

I was given suggestions to do research online and figure out what features I wanted. But unlike a computer or other technological device, some basic manufacturing data wasn’t enough. This device would be close enough to me that I needed to be able to hold it in my hand to truly judge whether or not it was right for me.

You can’t just buy one online; you have to see it in person first. There is no other piece of technology that evokes this reaction from a human being.

Every single person is very attached to his or her phone. Can you imagine going out at night without it? Can you even imagine going through the day without it? Most of us never turn our phones off anymore, because it could cut us off from contact. We just leave it on at night while charging, always ready for that incoming text.

What exemplifies this addiction is the fact that when we don’t have our phones, we become distraught. That period in which your phone is out of battery or (God forbid) broken is absolutely unnerving. You immediately try to find a solution, desperately heading back to your dorm to charge it or fix it. If it isn’t fixable, you might put off a solution for a few hours, perhaps a day, but if you don’t have a phone, ending that dilemma quickly jumps to the top of your to-do list.

It doesn’t always stop someone from going out—we aren’t entirely powerless without our phones—but it gets fairly close. When we don’t have our phones, we just feel uncomfortable and awkward, as though there is something missing…something that just isn’t quite right.

But is it a problem? There are obviously addictions that are terrible on a personal level (drugs and alcohol) and potentially devastating on a societal level (oil), but is it really such a bad thing that we are desperately connected to our cell phones?

The answer is a resounding no. Cell phones are useful: They keep us connected to our friends, our colleagues and the world. One of the most interesting development policies for the third world is giving everyone cell phones. It has been wildly successful.

Instead of slowing down our adherence to cell phones, I say ramp we should ramp it up. The world is becoming more interconnected all the time, and we need it at our fingertips.

The way things are progressing, our mobile devices are going to get good enough that we won’t need anything else— not a computer and not an iPod.

The only way these devices won’t be useful is if society collapses to the point where the Internet and electricity won’t be accessible. If that happens, then we are going to have many more problems than simple cell phone addiction.

Until then, we should embrace the benefits that technology can provide. I enjoy the fact that I can find any piece of information I care to learn and speak to anyone I know, no matter where I am in the world. We have access to so much information and can learn almost anything in such a short time period. Who would want to end that? Who could end that? We might be addicted to our cell phones, but in this case, it is just way too good to stop.

After about an hour of studying and catching glimpses of the text, talk and walks, I began to appreciate how hard it was for people to use their phones and walk at the same time. If they added bubble gum to the mix we would’ve probably needed an ambulance. A few people did display an elegant swagger to talking and texting while they traveled throughout the building, but they were the minority. A few phone pros really didn’t compare to the ones that looked like a bull in a china shop. One young male, who was texting as he got up from his table, clumsily tipped over his coffee. Another girl answered her phone, started digging through her purse and knocked over her books. But the best one occurred when I was getting up to grab a drink. A very tall slender girl was walking at a fast pace from the area of the DUC were the food trays get dropped off. She was texting on her phone with her head down, and before anyone knew it she had crossed through the maze of scattered chairs and tables and walked smack dab into the side of the wall near the bathrooms and dropped everything she was carrying, including herself. She was scuffed up a little, but the meeting between her and the wall really wasn’t that bad. She gazed around the room with the embarrassed look that someone has when they walk into a wall, if there is such a look. So I guess it’s okay for people to be allowed to text and talk on their phones. However, it would be entertaining if they were forced to run while they do it. This way at least the rest of us who are annoyed by them can now be entertained when they crash into things.

Many students use these emerging technologies to communicate with their families every day.

Freshman Derek Sun uses his cell phone and e-mail to stay in touch with his parents. “When people had to write letters, it must have been much harder. It’s nice to know that I can call my family. It’s comforting to have no waiting period,” he said.

Wash. U. is home to many international students. First-year graduate student Firuz Mohamad’s parents live in Malaysia. She has siblings who live in Egypt and Korea.

Mohamad uses Yahoo Messenger, Facebook, e-mail, her cell phone and calling cards to keep in touch with her family.

“The technology here is excellent and it means a lot to me,” Mohamad said. “If you don’t have this technology it is impossible to keep in touch.’

Karen Coburn, senior consultant in residence at the University, is an expert on student’s college experiences.

“Students and parents certainly are able to keep in touch more easily than ever before,” Coburn wrote in an e-mail to Student Life. She lists cell phones, texting and Skype, among other technologies, as ways that students can now communicate with their parents.

Coburn recognizes the extra support that these new means of communication can afford students, but questions the effect that this increased communication has on the college experience.

“While this support is valuable and much appreciated, the ubiquitous availability of communication with parents can inhibit students’ ability to take ownership of their education,” Coburn wrote. “The challenge for today’s students is to immerse themselves in university life—to learn to use the resources on campus as they make decisions and solve problems instead of simply turning to mom or dad.”

Students on campus disagree with Coburn’s point. Sophomore Lauren Evers talks with her parents every day. She also uses e-mail to communicate with her family.

“We just left home, and it’s nice to have your parents close,” Evers said. “[Communication] is not a crutch. It is just a form of support. It’s good to have a support system and to be able to reach your parents if you need to.”

Second-year MBA student Mustali Shah said that his communication with his family has increased as new technologies have emerged. He uses video chat and his cell phone to communicate with his family two to three days each week.

“It’s good to keep in touch regularly,” he said. “Around exams it is nice to have someone you can talk to.”

New technologies, such as Skype, have also provided a means of communication for students who are studying abroad. Senior Sofia Balters, who has family in Chile, used the program when she spent a semester abroad. She says that Skype has enabled her to develop a closer relationship with her family abroad. Balters speaks with her parents several times each week.

“Skype is great,” she said. “I think our communication has been just great.”

Above all, students are grateful for the new technology.

According to Andrew Ortstadt, the associate vice chancellor for information systems and technology, the University has utilized Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) as a solution for improving cellular phone coverage in specific areas of campus. DAS places antennas throughout an area to capture and relay cellular signals. This network connects to several cellular providers’ networks at a single point.

Similar systems have been installed in the Knight Center, Simon Hall and the parking garage of the Danforth University Center (DUC).

“How well these cellular signals penetrate into buildings depends on the location of the transmitter, the construction of the building and the number of walls and floors that are in the way,” Ortstadt said. “It is not unusual for rooms in the middle of buildings, away from windows or below ground to have limited cellular signals. Many of our buildings have heavy stone walls that tend to block radio or cellular signals.”

According to a University press release, all licensed cellular service carriers in the St. Louis area have been invited to become part of the new system.

“T-Mobile has become the first carrier to connect to the system, and T-Mobile customers are now able to more reliably make and receive cell calls inside these buildings,” the statement read. “Sprint plans to complete their connection to the system by the end of the year.”

According to Bill Darby, director of the DUC, construction of the system within the DUC begins this week with hopes that it will be completed by Jan. 2009.

Plans to include more carriers in the system are currently under review. There are no plans to extend the system to other buildings on campus.

“We are talking to three additional carriers about connecting to the system,” Ortstadt said. “I would expect that we will continue to evaluate further implementation in places where there is a need for reliable multi-carrier coverage, but there are no other buildings currently scheduled.”

Ortstadt said he was not able to share the financial arrangements that the University has with the cellular providers.

According to Ortstadt, the initial results of the DAS installation have been favorable.

“The signal readings captured with RF meters and test phones indicate strong signals inside the spaces where the DAS is implemented,” he said.

For those who use carriers that have hooked up to the system, the response has been positive.

“I was downstairs in the computer lab in Simon Hall and I had full service, which is unheard of,” freshman Jessica Lee, a student in the business school and a T-Mobile user, said.

But students who use carriers that have not connected to the DAS have reported that the cellular signal is still poor.

“AT&T phone service here would be a legitimate reason to transfer out of this university,” freshman Sankalp Bhan said. “A week and a half ago, I went to Simon Hall to study computer science and there was no service.”

In addition to installing DAS, the University has been working alongside St. Louis area cellular providers on other methods to improve cellular signal reception throughout campus. In response, many cellular providers have installed new equipment around the Danforth Campus and residential areas.

According to a statement on the Student Technology Services Web site, many new cell towers have been built on the South 40.

“Verizon just completed a new cell site on Mudd Hall, and we have reports of much better reception by those users,” the statement read. “U.S. Cellular is installing equipment to improve reception in the Village House, and also has a tower on the intramural field. AT&T has a proposal for new equipment that is currently under review.”

The construction of these new towers has been effective in bringing about stronger cellular signals.

“When I first arrived on campus, Verizon service was almost non-existent,” freshman Jack Marshall said. “Since the tower was installed, it’s like night and day. Now I actually receive text messages in real time.”

With additional reporting by Lauren Olens