Does anyone remember what a phone looks like?
Before the internet, people actually used their landline phones to make calls. It even got easier when they made cordless phones. You could pick it up and talk from anywhere in the house without the cord getting all twisted up and choking you. Now we have cell phones too. Everyone has one. You can make calls all day long, from anywhere, to almost anyone. What’s the problem? No one is making calls.
There are many people who live alone out there. Some of them may be your friends and family members. Sure they have the internet and can communicate on facebook and by email and instant message 24/7. But really, nothing can replace the sound of the human voice. It can be lonely this time of year, to sit at home staring at a screen and never hear the sound of a human voice talking to you. It just makes a person feel more alone and isolated. Words on a screen are virtually sterile, they have no intonation, no emotion unless you want to include those emoticons like the smiley face.
Even with cell phones, I notice that most people prefer to text rather than call. I guess it’s because you can be texting with several people versus talking only to one. But here again there is really no “human” contact, just cold words on a screen. Technology is dehumanizing us and making us more like automated typing machines that “LOL!” at the end of every sentenced whether it’s funny or not. We do it automatically, without thinking, like breathing, lol.
Remember the last time you were on the phone with a friend and laughed till you cried at some hilarious comment? Or when you were going through a hard time and needed someone to talk to who understood what you were going through and you could hear the compassion in their voice? And what about all the “I miss you’s” and “I love you’s” that don’t quite feel the same when you read them on a screen?
This is really the perfect time of the year to bring back old habits. Drop the technology and make a few calls to people you care about. Talk about old times, catch up on each other’s lives, tell them you love them. I think that would mean so much more than any Christmas card or gift ever could. And it’s early enough that you can get quite a few calls in before Christmas Day.
No I do not work for the phone company! LOL
It could be that people won't be remembering what a landline phone looks like in the coming years, with everybody now using their smartphones and tablets to video call and instant message each other! I'm with you though, there's nothing better than hearing a voice on the phone!
ReplyDeleteMy kids are 8, 6, and 3. One day a few weeks ago we came across a picture of a telephone... one that had buttons on the front, the receiver sat on top and it had a big curly cord (older models had a dial on the front). I asked my kids what it was and NONE of them could tell me. They only know cell phones! It's crazy to me and I'd never thought about it.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I agree we need more human contact... especially during the holidays. We've become so.disconnected. What'll be next? Telepathy?
Whatever is next will be worse. My kids are in their twenties and would rather text than talk. They know what a phone is, we still have the "old Fashioned kind" because I resist change. However, the have a phone "phobia" and I rarely hear them using their cells to talk, therefore we have lots of minutes leftover every month! Anon, maybe let the kids talk on the phone to grandparents for the holidays or other close relatives?
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