I chose the cell phone as a symbol of our culture. Every where I go I am seem to be in the presence of someone using theirs or I am getting a call myself. I am thankful for the benefits of the phone; getting directions, to let someone know I am running late, checking on the kids, catching up with friends. The dark side of the phone is that it means we are never alone, we are always reachable. My teenage daughters each got a phone last Christmas. I succumbed to the pressure, they were, it seems to be the last to get them. My excuse was that they both play sports and need to contact us when the are back at school after a game. I was embarrassed that they were always borrowing their friends phones to call home. When I was a teen, I was attached to a cord that was attached to the kitchen wall. No privacy at all. Now my daughters don't even have to talk, they text to their friends. It has been a source of much angst at our house. The cell phone is here to stay, like it or not.