While having a conversation with a group of people recently, someone mentioned that instances of people driving down the road with their eyes focused on the wrong thing have increased. That thing? A cellphone.

They were operating a vehicle, but not looking at the road, which is where every driver’s focus should always be. I see it everyday, too. While waiting at a red light it’s appalling to see how many passing eyes are fixated on a brightly lit screen instead of the road ahead.

This is not just a problem for people while driving. I recently received a call from a concerned citizen. She said while walking in a store not too long ago, she was almost hit by another shopper more intent on a cellphone screen than where they were going.

While her example is not as dangerous, everyone should keep their eyes on where they are going while in motion, even if it’s just walking.

The thing is, we are now stuck with cellphones and what these devices will evolve into. Once a device has been invented, as the old saying goes, “you can’t unring a bell.”

In fact, we can expect the involvement of cellphones in our daily lives to increase. With each new generation, more features will be added in an attempt to convince us that we can’t leave the house without it.

But we have lived without them. It was tough, but somehow we all lived. Everyone of a certain age remembers a time when cellphones were only for the super rich.

And back then, they did little else than make calls.

In those prior decades, instead of worrying about social media feeds, text messages and the latest fitness tracking app, we all kept our eyes on the direction in which we were headed, whether that be by vehicle or by foot.

Sometimes I long for those days. That is until I remember how cumbersome it was to find a payphone when my car broke down.