Why Cellphones on Airplanes Suck

I am never against progress. Or almost never. Today I discovered the first technology I don't really agree with - microcells on airplanes.

In fact I am writing this on an airplane, using Windows Live Writer, as I am not connected to the internet. I am writing this after the fifth time I thought of looking something up in my iPhone online and realized I couldn't.

Now I'm not one of those academic/apocalyptic freaks who say we should not rely on the internet for information. On the contrary, I'm building a company based on the idea that we should - and it should be available, context relevant, in the palm of our hands, on a nifty device. So why should I be against connectivity on airplanes?

The reason is fairly simple. I am against cell in planes because I believe that, no matter how powerful and amazing internet devices are, we all need to spend some time disconnected. For example, I don't currently know what the traffic in phoenix is like. And that is a good thing. I can find out when I get there. I don't have the information I wanted to lookup on my phone. Fine. I will have it later.

As a society we have become obsessed with instantaneousness. Instantaneousness rocks, I won't disagree with that. But we don't need it 24/7. We don't need it at all. In fact, it is bad for us. Instantaneousness causes stress, emotional problems, etc.

In short, I love that I can look up information at a press of a button, and be able to find anything I like with amazing ease. I love it. But I also like the fact that, occasionally, I am disconnected from it. Nobody can call me now. That is OK. I cannot email or text message anyone. Fine. I'm not one of those peace people either - this is not relaxing. I'm in a 737 with 6 seats to a row. Relaxation is unlikely.

I do not feel any need to be disconnected. Rather, I think the opposite way - I do not feel any need to be connected, and I pity those who do. Think about it - if you cannot afford to be disconnected for a two hour flight, you are a loser. There is no good reason to be that connected. Period. If anyone can find a reason, please, post it in my comments, and, if it really is a good reason, I'll edit this post. But as far as I know, two hours is not a very long period of time, and there is no good reason why you have to talk to your boss/coworkers/employees/friends/relatives/anyone during that time.

I used to think microcells in planes were the next awesome thing. Any maybe they are still not to bad for a 16 hour trans-pacific flight. Fair enough. But for a 2 hour hop, it is a fail.