May I have your attention, please?

Whatever happened to the good old days when a conversation between two people was just a conversation between two people, and everyone actually had time for a life?

These days, when I call someone, I can often hear the clicking of a computer keyboard in the background.  I've been known to work on the computer while on the phone, as well, so I, too, am guilty as charged.  Still, the delayed responses of a person who's clearly listening with only one ear can be disconcerting--it's sometimes difficult for me to tell whether the callee has heard me or not. 

Then there's the business owner and/or private practitioner (including one who will remain nameless) who answers phone calls during dinner.  Nu, must everyone answer every call immediately?  Isn't a person entitled to take time off to eat (not to mention to talk to the spouse and/or child[ren] over dinner)?  Isn't that what answering machines and/or Voice Mail are for? 

And what's so great about Call Waiting?  If I'm already on the phone, why must I be put on hold so that a later call can be answered and attention can be paid to someone else?  What's so polite about that?  Whatever happened to "first come, first served?"

Most egregious, in my opinion, is answering or making a phone call while in the middle of a conversation with someone else (and, worse yet, forgetting to hang up).
 

Nowadays, it seems that everyone is expected to be an expert multitasker who responds to any form of communication immediately if not sooner (as the saying goes), no matter what the price in terms of quality of life and/or relationships.  Sadly, giving anybody one's undivided attention seems to be a lost art.  :(