It’s hard for young people to realize that, at one time, the telephone was a device to make and receive calls. Ours was a black box firmly attached to a wall in our kitchen. If you called someone and they were home, you knew they would answer. In a bizarre twist of irony, the idea behind the cell phone was that you could call people wherever they happened to be but that didn’t work out. On the contrary, nowadays NO ONE answers their phones. We have to talk to their voicemail assuming, that is, that their inbox is not full which is the most common scenario. So it has become, NOT a device to talk to people, but rather one to leave messages that no one will likely ever respond to because they are too wrapped up with their social media or some other mindless activity.
Steve Jobs had good intentions in inventing the smart phone but, like Dr. Frankenstein, he didn’t adequately consider the potential negative consequences.
And those old printed and bound phonebooks were invaluable to us back then. They were as much a part of our everyday life as the phone itself and it showed. By the time the new one was delivered, the old one was worn out. And it didn’t contain simply the phone numbers of most everyone in town [some rich folks had unlisted numbers] but also the yellow pages that were the lifeblood of business and an indispensable resource to us in locating and securing the products and/or services of all those businesses. As the TV commercials advised, we let our fingers do the walking.
In some respects, we’ve come a long ways BACKWARDS. Yes, all that information is out there on the interweb but finding it can be a real challenge while exposing us to all sorts of potential evildoers who would like to separate us from our hard earned money and are quite adept at doing so.
So the black phone on the wall and the phone book nearby are obsolete….. damnit!
The Onion reported on kids who found that some creepy old man had a book with the home phone numbers of every house in town. Makes you shudder just to think of it …
SHAKEDOWNVILLE over 2 years ago
“Primitive artifacts”.
scote1379 Premium Member over 2 years ago
Phone Book ? What’s this Phone Book thing ?
The Reader Premium Member over 2 years ago
WOW!
cdward over 2 years ago
The free phone book is the one thing I wish they still had. There are times when I need a number of someone not in my contacts.
Zebrastripes over 2 years ago
How quickly we forget….
hollisson Premium Member over 2 years ago
Sounds like a promotion for IOS 18.
InvertedCow over 2 years ago
Do not forget the tactile feedback interface.
Bill D. Kat Premium Member over 2 years ago
It’s hard for young people to realize that, at one time, the telephone was a device to make and receive calls. Ours was a black box firmly attached to a wall in our kitchen. If you called someone and they were home, you knew they would answer. In a bizarre twist of irony, the idea behind the cell phone was that you could call people wherever they happened to be but that didn’t work out. On the contrary, nowadays NO ONE answers their phones. We have to talk to their voicemail assuming, that is, that their inbox is not full which is the most common scenario. So it has become, NOT a device to talk to people, but rather one to leave messages that no one will likely ever respond to because they are too wrapped up with their social media or some other mindless activity.
Steve Jobs had good intentions in inventing the smart phone but, like Dr. Frankenstein, he didn’t adequately consider the potential negative consequences.
And those old printed and bound phonebooks were invaluable to us back then. They were as much a part of our everyday life as the phone itself and it showed. By the time the new one was delivered, the old one was worn out. And it didn’t contain simply the phone numbers of most everyone in town [some rich folks had unlisted numbers] but also the yellow pages that were the lifeblood of business and an indispensable resource to us in locating and securing the products and/or services of all those businesses. As the TV commercials advised, we let our fingers do the walking.
In some respects, we’ve come a long ways BACKWARDS. Yes, all that information is out there on the interweb but finding it can be a real challenge while exposing us to all sorts of potential evildoers who would like to separate us from our hard earned money and are quite adept at doing so.
So the black phone on the wall and the phone book nearby are obsolete….. damnit!
stamps over 2 years ago
And you couldn’t lose it.
goboboyd over 2 years ago
Also, for an extra by-the-minute fee, long distance calling (ten miles away). But it was cheaper at certain times of the day.
Jefano Premium Member over 2 years ago
The Onion reported on kids who found that some creepy old man had a book with the home phone numbers of every house in town. Makes you shudder just to think of it …
https://www.theonion.com/creepy-old-man-has-book-filled-with-the-home-phone-numb-1847802679?utm_source=TheOnion_Daily_RSS&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2021-10-07