Do you own a cellphone?
No. Then you're not leashed—at least in this way. I'm here.
Yes. Is your cellphone sometimes turned on, so that people can get through to you?
No. Then you're not leashed—at least in this way.
Yes. Then you're leashed (during these times). Is having your cellphone turned on part of your job?
No. Then you are leashed by choice; why not admit it?
Yes. Then being leashed is part of your job; why not just say that?
Addendum: A leash has two main functions. The first is to control movement. The second is to control attention. Cellphones control attention. If your boss controls your attention, then you are leashed. There's no shame in that; it's part of why you're being paid. If you allow others (besides your boss) to control your attention, then you are leashed—by choice. Why is that so hard to say? Just say that you don't mind being leashed! Nobody controls my attention (or movement, for that matter). I am not leashed. I refuse to be leashed.
Addendum 2: Steve Walsh asked (in a comment) whether I'm obsessed with cellphones. I'm not. I'm simply frustrated by people's inability to understand what I'm saying. I keep trying to articulate it in a way that people understand. I'm reminded of my claim, a few years ago, that chess is not a sport. Well! I heard from the chess people! But it's obvious that chess is not a sport. Chess aficionados heard this as disparagement of chess. It is nothing of the sort. Sex is not a sport. Is saying this to disparage sex? Love is not a sport; eating is not a sport; building a sand castle is not a sport. This in no way diminishes these things. Thank god not everything is a sport! I have explained as clearly as I can why (i.e., precisely the sense in which) a cellphone is a leash. Is there shame in being leashed? Some people are leashed as part of their jobs. Some people don't mind being leashed. I don't understand why it's so hard for people to say these things.
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 