Good news, blog. Today was basically uneventful. Quiet as a mouse. Hmmm. Is that a good thing?
I am feeling a bit low about my phone calling. Returning calls. Keeping in touch with those I care about. Family and friends. I am known in our family as the one who isn't really dependable when it comes to the telephone.
I used to feel guilty about this… until I read an article about the doom of the land-line phone; and the rise of cell phone texting, emailing and instant messaging.
This article reported that within a few short years, the phone will become obsolete, at least as far as the general public is concerned. Whoa, partner. That's huge. But no surprise.
We actually stopped using our land line a few years ago. We each have a cell phone and that's it. It seems smarter. After all, when my honey's mom calls, she doesn't really want to talk to me (politeness aside). She is calling to speak with her son. It's pretty much the same for all callers, me, too. When I call someone (rarely, except for business) I want to speak with the person I'm calling. I don't want to have to go through the niceties of speaking with a family member or a secretary if it is a business call. I want the person I am calling to answer my ring. Now, is this selfish or is this the new attitude for communication? It may even be what people always wanted, but didn't say. Cell phones provide the solution. Perfect.
I'll bet Alexander Graham Bell didn't see this coming. Bell imagined great uses for his telephone, but I wonder if he would have imagined telephone lines being used to transmit things like video actions? Well, maybe. Bell's "electrical speech machine" paved the way for the Information Superhighway. Yes, it's true.
Now, comes texting. It used to be for teenagers. Now, I love texting. I text text text. It's fast. I can write in shorthand and no one thinks poorly of my spelling or grammar. How cool is that.
With a text, you can basically skip over the initial greeting talk that took time and really had nothing to do with what you are calling about.
Keeping in touch is easier, too. Sometimes, there is just nothing new to say. But family members want to connect anyway. A phone conversation about nothing can become awkward. But a text… Well that's always welcome, fun to get, feels good and you can reply or not. That's the best kind of 'staying in touch.'
Not everyone agrees. My honey, for example, often says, "What is so important that you can't finish lunch without answering a call, or wait until you get back home to return a message?" People are seen talking and texting at the dinner table, while shopping and other unmentionable places.
Is this good or not so good? What do you think, blog?
