Wired.com has a list called Five Antisocial Gadgets That Should be Banned. While I don’t necessarily agree with the final two items – e-books and satellite navigation – I definitely agree with the first three: speakerphones, Bluetooth headsets, and custom ringtones. Custom ringtones, especially.
Enough already. We get it. You like bad music. I’m all for melodic variations on the standard ring-ring sound, but let’s stop short of actual songs. It’ll never, ever happen, though, as long as there are A) kids in middle school and high school and B) wireless companies that care about turning a profit.
A case could be made for the usefulness of speakerphones and Bluetooth headsets, I suppose, and it’s up to you if you want to appear to be talking to yourself like a schizophrenic and/or broadcast both sides of your conversation out loud in public.
What about you, dear readers? What gadgets would you add to the list?