For a long time now, I have wondered about the strange phenomenon of people pretending the person on their cell phone is in front of them. As they speak (usually in a loud voice) they smile and frown and gesticulate. They even wave their arms to make a point. But there is no one there! The person is perhaps a thousand miles away probably going through the same contortions as they speak on their cellphone. It is bad enough that you have to hear every one-sided intimate detail of their life and pretend that you are not hearing it, but this interacting with invisible friends gives me the willies. I do admit that it is next to impossible to talk with someone on the phone and not do all these antics. I feel my mouth go into a spontaneous smile or grimace and my arms move of their own volition to make a point. I am not sure if this is just a bizarre American cultural mystery, or is it common to other cultures. I can just see the Frenchman giving a French shrug of the shoulder in response to a comment of his invisible friend. Perhaps I will get some comments on my posting from people in different countries speaking different languages and I urge you to let me know.
But admit it, you must find
this somewhat creepy.
