I Am Borg?

For those of you who aren't Start Trek fans, the Borg are an alien race that is part human, part machine. They live in a collective and are incapable of independent thought.

That being said, I'm starting to worry that we are on our way to becoming Borg. The latest tell-tale is the Bluetooth headsets so many of us are wearing. I bought mine because a) my phone is a bit clunky to hold to my ear, and b) I use my phone in the car a lot.

At first I thought it was cool, but the more I see people walking around seemingly talking to themselves I start to worry. These things are maybe not so cool. Especially to the uninitiated. Not only do I hate it when people come up and talk to me when I'm on the phone while using a Bluetooth headset, I hate it when I have to point to my ear and silently mouth "I'm on the phone." Some people still don't get it and continue to chatter away at you, then give you a funny look when you say something totally out of context for the discussion they think you're having with them.

So who's the rude one? The person talking on an invisible phone or the person trying to talk to the person on an invisible phone? I've got to admit it's most probably the person on the invisible phone. And that person is often me. But I always try to let anyone I'm with know I'm taking (or making) a call, just as I would if I were using a regular phone. If the person I'm with still feels the urge to carry on a conversation, I think the shoe's on the other foot.

Whichever side of the fence you're on, more and more people are plugging these devices into their ears. They're light, and some are even stylish (in a geeky sort of way). Mine's so light I sometimes forget to take it off sometimes, which really tickles my wife. Everywhere you go you see people having conversations with the air. And I think the ease of answering calls with these nifty little ear buds makes people forget just where they are and who's around them. In other words, people carrying on conversations about things you don't know or don't care about while you're trying to carry on with your business. Rude?

You've got to admit there's a lot of potential for humor in these situations. I'm surprised there hasn't been more attention given this phenomenon by comics. But it really isn't all that funny to me. I try to turn mine off and put in my pocket or at least take it off my ear when I'm in meetings or in a situation where I wouldn't normally answer a call. Is that proper?

Share your thoughts on Bluetooth etiquette or your funny story about a conversation or situation you've run into.