Tuesday, June 6, 2023

PHONE PROGRESSION and PERSONAL EVOLUTION

 

The Israel I was born into had few personal/private phones. At that time, only physicians and government officials had a phone at home.

 

I was four when we got a line at our apartment, and we had to share it with a neighbor family. That meant any time the neighbors used the phone, ours would be dead. My father complained that their daughter was a teenager, and that meant (you guessed it) she was on the phone for hours. But who would this teenager be talking to when few families had phones?

 

Being the first two families in the building with phones also meant a line of neighbors at our door in the evenings asking to use our phone and each paying us the cost of a local call. It was a fixed equivalent of ten cents. In those days, one would never turn down a neighbor’s wish to talk on the phone to one of their relatives who were also lucky to have a phone. This meant we perennially had neighbors in our living room waiting for their turn. It was just fine.

 

About a year or two later, more lines popped up and we even got the neighbors with the teenage daughter off our shared line. The country was growing, and now most people had landlines into their homes.

Then came the modular phones, which meant a phone in every room. You’d think this provided privacy, but it didn’t because it was a single line and the dreaded click of a parent listening to my conversations (by then I was approaching the teen years) meant it was in fact less private.

 

Then came answering machines, and we didn’t run to answer the phone anymore because the machine would get it. Eventually the first mobile phones appeared, then the many lines to a single residence, and, you guessed it--- the smart phones. So smart, that they not only track us but listen to us.

 

By then I was living in the USA and our family was among the last to switch to smartphones. We were forced to when Verizon shut down the 3G network. I witnessed others who got a head start on these brilliant gizmos, carrying these little buggers from room to room, even sitting to dinner with their phone next to their plates.

This is exactly what I didn’t want to do or become. Me, a slave to my phone? No thanks.

 

We’re all caught up for the moment with phone conveniences. But I have learned a thing or two in the few years where others surfed smartly, and I stayed basic. I learned what I didn’t want and find that I now use my genius phone the way we used our first landline way back when. Ninety-five percent of the time it’s in a fixed place. It’s never “on me,” and definitely never ever at the dinner table. My phone is turned off every night. I disabled almost all notifications.  

 

Because I want to own a phone that doesn’t own me. I remember the days when life was richer because we were not awash in the phony (pun intended) notion that without a phone life’s bells cease ringing.

6 comments:

  1. A woman (without a cell) recently told me she doesn't like the lack of commitment texting allows for - now, if you arrange to meet somebody at 10:00 am, and they're running late, they can text that info. Hence, nobody's ever on time anymore. Hadn't thought of that angle. I do love my WhatsApp that allows me to keep up with family from a distance.

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  2. I use my smart phone very little compared to most people. I do appreciate that it's there for emergencies. And I can text friends and family to let them know I'm thinking of them without interrupting whatever they're doing. Most people close to me know that my cell phone is usually muted and that I only for sure check it first thing in the morning and when I go to bed, so if they have something timely they need for me to know, it's better to use our landline.

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  3. I'm embarrassed to admit my kids had to teach me how to use the smart phone. I'm still suspicious of it but I do love some features besides being able to talk on the phone, like maps. Still I keep the Rand McNally book in the car. And on a road trip a few years ago, it's that map of downtown Atlanta that saved us, not the phone (the signal was too weak--maybe tall buildings interfere with it?). I think the smart phone is making me dumber. I don't remember things as I should. All for convenience.

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  4. I agree with you. I find it annoying that, when out hiking/walking with a friend, the phone pings and she stops to deal with it right then instead of later on, not being fully present for our conversation. I see parents dragging along their kids while on the phone, etc. I didn't use one for a very long time, then my husband passed along his to me and he got a newer model. At first, I left it in the car only, in case of emergency. Once, in the middle of Hwy 101, I desperately needed to call AAA. For years, I didn't give out the number--didn't even know it --and no one called, so there were no interruptions. Gradually, however, the phone has wormed its way into my life with apps. When I'm out hiking and don't remember the name of a wildflower, I use an app. When I hear but don't see a bird to be able to identify it, an app recognizes the bird by sound. When I'm driving long distances, I am able to listen to an audiobook instead of popping in CDs. I find all this quite miraculous. Nevertheless, I shut my phone off sometimes during the day and always at night.

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  5. I, too, have friends I value who choose to answer the phone as we walk, and talk even when there is no pressing matter.
    This reminds me of a feature our landlines began offering years ago, Call Waiting. It embodies the principle "Last come-- first served." With the exception of businesses who need to pick up calls and say they are putting you on hold, this seems very rude for personal lines. I never installed it. If I am talking to *you* then you are the one I am talking to. ;)

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  6. I hate call waiting, too. It does seem rude.

    My (well, M's) funniest story about cell phones happened in 2013, when we were in Amsterdam celebrating our 20th anniversary where we had our honeymoon. Of course we took our Blackberries with us on the trip; they were our cameras.
    While we were eating dinner at our hotel one night, M's cell phone rang. It was his doctor, calling to confirm an upcoming appointment!

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