NHM: Thank [Whatever] For Smartphones...

Darwin averts his eyes in disapproval...

I'm not a Luddite: I love technology!
I have a modern smartphone and find it entertaining, useful, and convenient. I like being able to read the news or an article when I've not got a book and want to read; I like being able to find the answers to questions online; I like having something to fiddle with when I'm stuck somewhere with nothing to do; I like being able to check emails on the go...

What I don't understand, though, is sitting on the steps of the NHM* with all that the museum has on offer, and turning to a smartphone. Is that the most interesting and entertaining thing to do? I understand that they're (probably) waiting for someone, but why not look at the exhibits in the central hall, or the monkeys and birds that adorn the arches, or the unique terracotta panels that adorn the stairs, or the "Treasures Gallery" directly behind the dark windows above their heads (a flight of stairs away). I bet they haven't done most of those things. This is what they'd see if they just looked up (and shimmied over to the midline...)!
Or, if they want to stay in exactly that spot, why aren't they nattering about whatever it is that they did see at the museum? Maybe they're Tweeting, or updating Facebook; perhaps they're following each other's Twitter or Facebook and can communicate in that way.

Now that I think about it, it seems obvious.

p.s. I took many nicer photographs today, but this one says the most to me...

*There are (multiple) signs on the steps saying "Please don't sit on the steps; leave them clear so that everyone can use them" (or equivalent). Rebels.