The fall of the phone

[Matt Deckard]

Morbid Curiosity

It’s a sickly attribute that makes the word “why” the most important in the human lexicon. We're born curious, it’s our duty to ask questions. Those that don’t wonder why the sky is blue or why the paper dollar is worth more than paper haven’t the rhetoric to be worth a conversation so we are gifted with the ability to question. Morbid curiosity is the escape from that shackle that keeps other animals from sharpening obsidian for cutting flesh for food, and making voices travel over a wire.


The fall of the phone

Our spirits travel in our words; from the crackle of the text in a Tom Wolfe book to the cadence of Churchill trumpeting over radios, we have a dexterity of the mind that can be delivered clumsily or anti clumsily to anyone with similar skills anywhere. Instantly through a handset you could call from point to point with little to no interference save the sometimes-ordered “please deposit another 25 cents for the next ten minutes please”

Those were the days. No electro-static halo around you that conveyed your every move to a tower signaling back to a hub that pinpointed your location at all times. There was no way to get a hold of you unless you checked in, and if you checked in it meant you controlled your flow of information without the burden of thinking you were shutting off others intentions to contact you with them knowing it. Just another freedom, some may consider psychologically a choice though a group imperative to many in order to work properly with the functional society that wants to move on.

I walked about four blocks today and noticed the city took out all the pay phones around the blocks… just got me thinking, that’s all.

 

[justaktty]

I hate the cell phone era for its insistence on instant accessibility. I'm old enough to remember non cell phone times, and I deeply appreciate being unreachable when I don't wish to be found. Yes, I own a cell phone, so that my adult kids can find me when they need me and I'm in the car or whatever, but generally I don't answer it unless it's one of the specialized rings the kids have set up to tell me that it's them and they need to talk NOW.

The upside, of course, is that if my car stalls, or whatever, I can reach someone quickly, and I can be reached in utter emergencies no matter what. I still don't like, however, the sense that whoever in the world has managed to get my number can call me away from what I'm doing for no real reason other than to sell me siding.

I quite enjoy having that peaceful time when I am alone with my thoughts. Of course, I've become something of a misanthrope as I age, so perhaps that's the explanation. I just hate being shackled to the rest of the world against my will, though.

Just a slightly reclusive ktty

 

[Paisley]

I don't have a cell phone, but it's been necessary to reach coworkers on theirs when I had to meet a deadline. But if they'd provided complete, legible, accurate instructions in the first place, I probably wouldn't have had to call them.

As for the need to be in constant contact with your peeps at all times...I just don't get it. Perhaps people don't like silence anymore; I'd suffer without it.

 

[Creeping Past]

I use my cable telephone a lot. But you're right, it's a public service that's disappearing fast. Most companies are pushing their web services hard.

I haven't noticed public phone boxes going out of commission as fast as I thought they would, although their clientele is a lot less salubrious these days. I think it's just people phoning their drug connections — and me.

I stopped using my mobile phone — that's the popular name for cell phones here in the UK — about a year ago. Friends were quite vocal against my choice and still regard me as having cultivated an eccentric, antisocial luddite attitude just to be different. While I admit to being deliberately obtuse on many fronts, this is not so. I just don't like mobile phones.

As a consequence of living happily without a mobile, I've also ditched the iPod that I was formerly attached to. But I'm sticking with the internet... for now.

 

[John in Covina]

Cell phones are both blessing and curse. For an emegency it can't be beat, for help it's ready to summon answers and friends.

It invades your private time and interupts important conversations. It makes people into puppets or slaves over phone calls. It replaces intimacy and can become a weapon of invasion. It makes you one of "those people" putting your hand into my face as a silent command to STOP! will I take this call as they are sooooo much more important than you!

Some people don't know when to shut up and they keep talking and talking and talking. I'll be seeing you face to face in an hour and you keep rambling! Save it for later when I can see your face and watch your eyes when you talk.

Put it on voice mail and get to it later when you are not trying to negotiate the local death trap freeway interchange in your giant suv or latest techno tofu racer!

oh by the way they are ripping out those highway call boxes so now you need a cell phone so you don't get "helped" by the Hills Have Eyes family.

Call me!

 

[KY Gentleman]

I don't like cell phones but I can't leave my house without mine either.
I do wish people employed manners when using them, I can't stand eating in a restaurant while listening to others carry on phone conversations...loudly.
Strangely enough though I miss the old pay phone or phone booth. I especially liked the pay phones that had the huge seashell shape. Anyone remember those?

 

[Esme]

I don't use my mobile much except as a way to keep track of people's numbers! I remember when there were no cell phones (yeah, I am older than dirt, deal with it!) and sometimes long for those days. I tell people to message me and I will get back to them when I can. As I am currently a receptionist, and cannot take calls from 8:30 to 12 and again from 12:30 to 4:30 (or so I tell folks) that seems to work well for me.
I hope to go freelance as a makeup and nail artist soon, so I suppose that will change, sigh, but.... I refuse to talk and drive, it is against the law here and folks will just have to wait until I pull over and park. So there.
It is really hot here and I am tres grumpy!! Sorry! :rage:

 

[John in Covina]

Iconic phones in film: the candle stick: fast jazzy snappy banter and reports of gangster activity to the city desk.



and the film noir phone the D202: seductive schmooze, playful love banter, blackmail threats or the worst news of your life.

 

[LizzieMaine]

As for the need to be in constant contact with your peeps at all times...I just don't get it. Perhaps people don't like silence anymore; I'd suffer without it.

This is exactly my feeling. I've always hated the idea that just because a phone rings I have to drop everything I'm doing and answer it, and then devote all my attention to whoever it is on the other end, no matter what else I might have had going on. It's always felt to me as not being much different from walking up to someone who's minding their own business and starting to yammer in their face.

Don't own, have never used, and will never own, a cellphone or any other portable communications device. If the day comes when I have to be "accessible" when I'm walking to the post office or standing in a grocery line, I think I'd rather jump off a bridge. And as far as emergency use goes, I live in a small town. If I need help, I go knock on someone's door.

 

[just_me]

I own a cell phone and I like having one, but I usually don't answer it and I send calls to voice mail (the same with the phone in my house). I am not a talking-on-the-phone type of person and don't like to speak on the phone unless I feel like it or I think the call is important.

I don't speak on my cell in restaurants, movies, theatres, etc., but I like knowing I can be reached in an emergency (elderly mother, daughter, barn where my horse is) and that I can reach help if I need it (I never drive my car or ride my horse without my cell phone).

Years ago, I was in a production of You Can't Take it With You and got to use a candlestick phone. Very neat.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I have a cell phone, but I detest it, and only turn it on when I'm out of reach of my landlines. With aged parents and teenage kids, it's a necessity, but I miss the days when you could actually be out of touch for a while without feeling guilty about it!

And this topic always brings to mind Spencer Tracy's great speech from Inherit the Wind:

"Progress has never been a bargain. You have to pay for it.

Sometimes I think there's a man who sits behind a counter and says, 'All right, you can have a telephone... but you lose privacy and the charm of distance.

Madam, you may vote, but at a price... You lose the right to retreat behind the powder puff or your petticoat.

Mister, you may conquer the air... but the birds will lose their wonder, and the clouds will smell of gasoline.'"

 

[justaktty]

The people who are cutting me off on the road, while babbling on cell phones, drive me nutty. I hate the fact that their self absorption is endangering me. I also wonder what on earth is that important. Soon, that will be illegal in this state, so I'm happy about that.

And yes, LizzieMaine, I resent the fact that someone can take me away from what I'm doing by calling me on the phone and demanding my time. I work the phone a lot when I'm at work, and typically don't want to be anywhere near it when I'm not working.

My children laugh hysterically when I start talking about my cell phone, as I generally take about a call a month from it. The rest of the time I listen to whatever voice mail is on it, kill the voice mail, and ignore it. This is why they each customized the ring from them: so I might actually hear it and actually respond to it.

Oh, I probably also didn't mention that exactly six people have my cell phone number. That helps cut down on unwanted calls, although it doesn't prevent marketers with number generators (or whatever they use) from invading my auditory space. Makes me resent the phone even more.

Ktty

 

[Laura Chase]

There was no way to get a hold of you unless you checked in, and if you checked in it meant you controlled your flow of information without the burden of thinking you were shutting off others intentions to contact you with them knowing it.

I think the above quote beautifully sums it up. Sometimes the constant flow of information really gets to my head and I get what I call the "black shakes" (William Gibson's cyberpunk word). When I get that I just need to unplug totally. It's not just cellphones but also the internet, and Facebook in particular: constant status updates and messages and applications and

But at the same time, I really like being available to my friends, I want them to be able to reach me whenever they need it and I'm comforted by the thought of being able to reach them whenever.

In the end, it's really up to me to put away my phone, shut down Facebook, stop checking my email and so forth. So I'm very happy to have the opportunity to choose to do that - or not to do it.

What would really bother me if that opportunity disappeared. If they start bombarding us with commercials and news while walking outside, in such a manner that it's unavoidable. It's already partially like this, in big cities, at least, but I usually put on my yellow glasses and ignore it.

Anyway, this was a bit of a sidetrack, but I was hoping to put this in a wider perspective, the whole information flow craze that really dominates our society, of which the internet is a huge part of, and of which we, by contributing to this forum, are a a part of. I love this forum, though, because it allows me time to think and process and enjoy, while places like Facebook keep bombarding me with information.

 

[Creeping Past]

If the day comes when I have to be "accessible" when I'm walking to the post office or standing in a grocery line, I think I'd rather jump off a bridge. And as far as emergency use goes, I live in a small town. If I need help, I go knock on someone's door.

Yes, I too object to the compulsory element implicit in cell phone ownership. And like you I do not feel at all obliged to own one.

 

[MissJeanavive]

The Age of Information

I used a rotary phone for the first time; in I can't imagine how long a few days ago...it certainly takes dedication to make a call with one finger, coaxing the little dial around for nine little numbers (long distance call) which than connects you with the world.

Of course if you are actually calling a cellphone the little black beauty doesn't have the ability to press # to choose one of the multiple options to leave a message; just hope you get one that you can leave a message simply by hanging up.

I am a practical princess and do very much appreciate less is more but in my world; I survive by being connected...it is my money maker.

Though I feel my world is actually much quieter than the 'clanging ring' of the rotary phone or the 'ring tone' of the satellite phone since the tech I prefer is email or now days text. Which similar to the rotary phone lets individuals get their communications when they want and to reply in a manner which doesn't interrupt what I am doing since its my choice to log on.

I personally don't like chatting on the phone, the 'how are you', the 'what are you doing'. With electronic communication like text; its to the point. With emails you need the social graces of the day of the 'ink and plume' to phrase words and expressions so they are understood just right. Its a happy medium in my world that I can still write 'instant letters' and share so much more in a click of a mouse.

There is also the monetary benefits; the stand alone satellite service like I have actually works out to be more cost effective/efficient since as was pointed out pay phones are a fading memory.

In addition, as a woman its nice to be able to 'rescue' myself with a single phone call; whether I am lost or am having problems with my 59 Ranchero on the side of I-5 in Coalinga, CA. The satellite phone allowed me to spend 45 mins. in the tow truck to find someone to look at my hot rear; Mustang Ranch worked out perfectly.

A draw back for sure is the phone number recallection that does not come with the use of a satellite phone. I use to have friends and family numbers memorized. Now if I was to loose the cellphone I would have some serious problems.

Another benefit; if one is ever hurt or something and the cops get the phone 99% of people will either have mom / dad or so forth ready for speed dial.

I have a friend who always says if he could access a time machine he would go back...but as I pointed out we are living in a wondrous time in which we get to pick the pleasures from the past and balance them with some of the practical tools of the day...its a matter of defining how we choose to use the tools to create richer beautiful lives rather than how the 'world' sells them to us.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Matt, I always appreciate your morbid curiosity. You still have me thinking from a long ago post of yours about mind control and the internet and how it has changed the way we process thoughts.

I agree that the whole GPS thing is creepy, now that people can be tracked via their phones (but good for emergencies).

I think that with all of the cell phones out there, few are talking, most are texting. I think conversation is a lost art. I know many people who want to conduct all of their communications via email/IMs, etc. Personally I don't place much value on e-friendships because I can't experience all that person has to convey behind a virtual screen. I like talking to friends on the phone. If I can't talk, I'll let it go to my voicemail, or let them know and arrange for a better time to talk.

 

[3PcSuit]

Easiest way to get this "freedom" back: leaved the damn cellular at home!

There are still plenty of payphones around, but you are right: some cities, colleges, malls have made a foolish choice to take out an invaluable public utility.

Why they put in the stupid emergency phones but take out the landlines instead of, ahem ahem, putting in emergency capabilities on standard pay phones is completely beyond me.

One thing I thought I'd never have happen that happened to me a few months ago: I pull off the interstate to place a call, because my cell is dead or I left it at home or something, and, low and behold, I had to wait my turn! I told the girl that when she had grandkids, she should tell them about the chance encounter. . . "When I was your age. . ."

 

[Creeping Past]

The potential for GPS tracking, etc., may feel slightly less of an Orwellian nightmare when you think that ever since telephones were first 'online' any phone call could be monitored at will. Also, items of mail are pretty much open to anyone who wants to have a peep.

 

[just_me]

I have a friend who always says if he could access a time machine he would go back...but as I pointed out we are living in a wondrous time in which we get to pick the pleasures from the past and balance them with some of the practical tools of the day...its a matter of defining how we choose to use the tools to create richer beautiful lives rather than how the 'world' sells them to us.

I agreed with your whole post, but this paragraph encapsulates my feelings exactly.

 

[ScionPI2005]

That's pretty much exactly how I feel. Hardly anyone calls me on my cell phone these days; though I think that's because they view me as antisocial on the phone. Maybe that's because the majority of them call me when they want to waste time talking to me while doing something else (driving, working on something, etc). I can't stand the small talk that arises during that situation, so I generally don't answer.

I turn off my cell at night before I go to bed, and I mute it when in public spaces that call for quiet, or if I'm having dinner with people and don't want to be disturbed. Like John in Covina said, that's why voicemail exists.

Cell phones are both blessing and curse. For an emegency it can't be beat, for help it's ready to summon answers and friends.

It invades your private time and interupts important conversations. It makes people into puppets or slaves over phone calls. It replaces intimacy and can become a weapon of invasion. It makes you one of "those people" putting your hand into my face as a silent command to STOP! will I take this call as they are sooooo much more important than you!

Some people don't know when to shut up and they keep talking and talking and talking. I'll be seeing you face to face in an hour and you keep rambling! Save it for later when I can see your face and watch your eyes when you talk.

Put it on voice mail and get to it later when you are not trying to negotiate the local death trap freeway interchange in your giant suv or latest techno tofu racer!

oh by the way they are ripping out those highway call boxes so now you need a cell phone so you don't get "helped" by the Hills Have Eyes family.

Call me!