I’m not old by most standards. I’m solidly stuck in the middle of my forties and I’m okay with that. I can remember life before touch-tone phones, answering machines and cordless phones. I remember when long distance was based on how far you lived from someone, so if you had to call someone out of state, you only hit the highlights in your conversation. I’m glad I have flat rate long distance now. I enjoy being able to call my friends near and far and not have to worry about how long we talk. I’m glad I have a cordless phone. I can’t imagine getting anything done if my phone was tethered to the wall. I do most of my talking while gathering up a load of laundry, sweeping the kitchen floor, making a meal. If I was stuck in one place I would have to decide between housework and socializing. I don’t want to imagine which one would lose. As far as those old rotary phones are concerned, I don’t miss those either. It seemed like everyone had all nines in their number when you were in a hurry. All that said, there is one thing about phone technology I could completely live without… cell phones.
I hate cell phones. When did we become so important that we couldn’t be away from the phone for a couple hours? I periodically forget to stick my phone in my purse, and usually when I do it is either off or the battery is dead. It used to bother me. I was plagued by “what if there was an emergency?” I’m not discounting emergencies, they do happen, but most days go by without one. When I turn my cell phone on after several days I usually have a missed call or two but they are almost always from a number I don’t recognize or a telemarketer. On a very rare occasion I have an actual message. Never of the emergency variety.
One of the reasons I don’t get many calls on my cell phone is that I don’t give my number to very many people. My husband has it, the boys’ schools have it, a few friends have it. I don’t give it to my dentist, or hairdresser or anyone else who doesn’t need it. I have a home phone with unlimited local and long distance, why do I need to use up minutes on my cell phone verifying I have an appointment?
Texting? Don’t get me started on texting. I don’t get it. My children don’t have cell phones yet, and I’m told when they do I will find texting the best way to keep in touch with them. My parents didn’t have texting and I was always where I was supposed to be, when I was supposed to be there. Parents, physicians and educators are wringing their hands because it seems our youth can’t communicate effectively, are unable to spell and their social skills are atrocious. The answer is obvious to me. Am I the only one? Furthermore, our children are getting slaughtered on the highways because they are trained to believe they can’t miss a single text from their friends. What’s it going to take?
Do cell phones have place in our lives? Yes, of course they do. It is comforting to know I can reach Glenn when I need to. But could we live without it? Sure. Before we got our cell phones we had an 800 number. That’s how Glenn called me when he was on the road. It worked great for a number of years. I think it’s important to step back and ask the question “Am I too reachable?” Maybe our children would learn to make decisions if they couldn’t call and get our opinion at a moments notice. Heck, they might even become more independent and responsible too. If they are tasked with remembering where to be and when to be there without a reminder, they might just surprise us.
That’s my rant for today. It’s been building for quite some time. Whew, glad to get it off my chest.
