<p>hkobb,</p>
<p>I do think the way Izanagi phrased it was a bit calloused, but the fact remains that this young woman was old enough to know better, clearly knew better as evidenced by her post, and selfishly risked the lives of other people on the road anyway. I feel for her family and I understand there is a physiological fact that teens’ prefrontal cortex aren’t fully developed. And this causes them to sometimes make risky choices. In that sense I have sympathy for her.</p>
<p>Is it narcissiistic ? Well that is a psychological condition. So, I can’t say that. But it is a bit self-centered IMO to be tethered at all times to a phone or other gadget. The world got along fine without them and this constant need to be in touch with people at all times is a bit much. I’m sure if there were an emergency in the gym, students would follow standard evacuation procedures and I’m sure an adult in charge could call for help. The priority would be to get everyone out and having people scrambling on their phones only slows that down.</p>
<p>Are phones nice to have in an emergency? Sure. But, other than that, people really need to give it a rest. Something at Tim Russert’s eulogy always stayed with me. He always carried a rosary, but didn’t carry a cell phone.</p>