And Speaking of Community . . .

There was a story in the New York Times travel section, in their special Hotel and Spa issue, about how offering wi-fi is popping up in spas, a practice designed for the spa goer who is ostensibly there to relax but is unable to if he or she cannot stay connected. This is just so weird to me. The reason I’d like to see the practice banished before it gets out of control is the cell phone.


Though the article clearly states that cell phones are still verboten in the spa environment, I liken allowing people to plug in while in the spa to cell phone use in public, which is hands down out of control. Ha! I think I just made a pun.

People noodling on their gadgets, whether it’s blackberries, lap tops or cell phones, are not engaged in their environment, they are inward focused, not participating, present members of a community. This can further create rude behavior and missteps—even if it’s unintentional—not to mention, in the case of cell phones, serious accidents. You’ve seen them on streets, on trains, or worst of all in cars, users so immersed in conversation that they lose all sense of boundaries and treat public space like it’s their personal living room. Or bedroom. (Yuck.)

If being plugged in proliferates as a practice in spas, it will not only cramp others’ relaxation, but in a sense it will be catering to the lowest common denominator—something that politicians do brilliantly. So let’s keep politics out of the spa environment and we’ll all be better people for it.