This is a daily happening in a university classroom: While a professor lectures, each student freely does what he or she wants. Some students take notes, some sleep and some read a textbook. Someone's cellphone rings out and the owner replies as cool as can be. Most people think this is impolite, but it's quite natural if a cellphone is considered part of the body.
People are becoming less and less self-conscious about their conveniences. Many use cellphones on the train even though a cellphone's signal can be life-threatening for a person who has a heart pacemaker.
Usage to this extent is a symptom of addiction, because it says "I am willing to kill others as long as I can reap the benefits of a cellphone." In fact, people who talk on cellphones while driving kill an untold number of people each year.
According to research by Transport Research Laboratory, talking while driving is worse than drunk driving, yet Japanese cellphone companies aren't bringing people's attention to the bad effects of cellphone use, because of their push to increase sales. All of us must think about how we're using cellphones.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.