Addicted or Connected?

One of the major culture shocks at the beginning of my time in Spain was the smoking. It seemed like everyone smoked cigarettes everywhere they wanted to. I never really did get used to the fact that smoking is allowed in most establishments and that the separation of smoking and non-smoking in restaurants is just for show. Since then I’ve discovered another addiction that seems just as widespread. The use of the telephone. When my host-mother is home she carries the house phone and her cell phone with her at all times and it’s a rare occasion that she isn’t talking on one of them. Other students in the group have confirmed that it is the same in their houses. After reading in the book for our Seminar class that cell phone use in Spain is more expensive than anywhere else I was even more surprised by how much the Spanish use their cell phones. Everywhere I go it seems like people are talking on their phones. At the beach, on the bus, in the park, while driving, in restaurants, in bars, even in the theater. And if they aren’t talking on it, they are texting or listening to music. Are cell phones just as addictive as cigarettes? Or are the Spanish just better connected with their friends and loved ones?