Cell Phones Everywhere!

As I walked into the Corner Café, I was immediately greeted by the Barista. She was very nice and asked how I was doing. After placing my order and getting my drink, in the middle of the room. It’s 7:30 and there are only two other people here. To my right, and older white man is sitting with a medium sized hot coffee and to my left there is a younger man, college aged, working on homework with a small drink.

            As I sit here and work on my homework, I can hear the quirky barista talking to her coworker and welcoming everyone that walks through the door. Every person that walked in responded to her happily and all joined into small conversation with her. The music is very soft, and the lighting is very dim. It is a very comfortable setting. The music that is playing are upbeat remixes of songs, sort of techno-like, but it is being played so softly that it doesn’t disrupt the calm atmosphere of the Café.

It’s been about fifteen minutes, and another older man has come in and sat at the table in front of me. He has an annoyed look on his face and took out his tablet and a book to read. He has a large drink and is reading his book. Meanwhile, two foreign, student-aged, men have walked into the Café. They also got small coffee’s. They sat in the comfier chairs that were side by side rather than at a table. They seemed to just be there to talk. As they began to carry on a conversation, the old man has closed his book and started doing things on his tablet. He still seems a little annoyed and appears to be getting more annoyed now that there are people talking close by to him.

Now, it is starting to get dark, and a couple that was sitting outside has come inside and also sat in the comfy chairs but on the opposite side of the two foreign men. The man ordered drinks for both of them and came back to sit with his wife. The both got large drinks and they seem to be the only ones that have tea instead of coffee. It is starting to get louder because there are more people in the room. There are also couples and friends that are sitting at the high tables behind me, but they all leave after they get their drinks. As the night progresses, the old man sitting in front of me grows more annoyed. He cannot stay focused on either the book or his tablet. He keeps switching between the two. The couple and and the foreign men are and the man working on homework to my right are now all on their phones. They were all just talking about 5 minutes ago. Now it is pretty silent in the Café and electronics are everywhere. Such as with the rest of society, electronic devices have distracted the people.

As I pack up to leave, I notice that neither the couple and the friends have finished their drinks. Even those with the small drinks, they are only half gone. The old man is also packing up, he finished his drink and the man to my right has also finished his drink. Everyone is still on their phones, no one is talking. Aside from the coffee machine running, it was silent as I leave the Café.