"True friends just call... they don't text to see if it's ok to call." - Julie Herman
About a year ago an article was brought to my attention about
the Death of the Phone Call by Clive Thompson. Statistically phone calls are getting shorter and we are making less of them. While I can't deny the facts in the article, I can't say I'm happy with this either. Take a few minutes to read the article and come back... it's worth it.
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Ok you're back... so the phone call
deserves to die? Really? I seriously don't agree.
I understand that I'm arguing about how technology is advancing through a form of technology. My point of view is that things can co-exist and we can have different mediums that are for different things. And with all of that being said my blog has become a wonderful place of communication without replacing actual face to face communication. I am more than my blog & while I embrace technology... it isn't everything.
Here are a few examples of how technology has changed communication in my life.
Example #1
Recently my parents were in California visiting with my brother, SIL, & the kids. One day my dad was on the phone with me when Elijah came in the room. He said "Do you want to say hi to Aunt Julie?" I heard Elijah say "Yes"... and then I heard him say "I can't see her." It was then that I realized he has never talked to me on the phone. Our conversations occur through Skype and Facetime. He just assumes that when he gets to talk to me he'll see me at the same time. Initially this thought was crazy to me, but he's grown up in an all digital world with parents that are very techno savvy. He knows how to work an iPad better than I do! {Since everyone always asks for updates when I talk about him... he is doing ok. Treatment is going as expected and his counts have been good enough that he has been able to have some friends over. If you are new to my blog & wondering what I'm talking about you can
read E's story.}
© Photo by Karin Herman - Please do not remove & repost this photo.
Example #2
Last night
Rachael called me to talk. She didn't check first to see if I could talk by texting me or sending me an e-mail. We didn't pre-arrange a time to talk... she just called. If I had been busy and missed her call the world wouldn't have ended. I would have called her back when I could. Sometimes you just want to talk to someone and should be able to call without arranging a call. True friends get that.
At the end of our call she joked about not having to text before calling. That is when I said if you ever text me to ask if you can call I'm saying NO! Later I thought...
"True friends just call... they don't text to see if it's ok to call." The idea to write this post came to me after talking to Rachael. Had she not called last night who knows if I even would have blogged today?...
Example #3
I took off work on Tuesday and spent the day at a water park. My phone went in a locker upon arrival along with everything else I didn't want soaked. It was hours before I was back at the locker. E-mail, phone calls, text messages... all waited till I got back to the locker. Nobody was mad for waiting and the world didn't end. Sometimes we all need a break from the constant beeping of alerts. In addition I got to enjoy a giant rainbow ICEE.
I don't want a phone that shows my status and tells you when to call.
I don't want to leave video chat open all day.
I want to embrace change while still feeling like I can make last minute decisions, do things without asking first, and not have my life work off of a schedule where technology tells me what I'm supposed to do.
I want to have the ability to have a Skype or Facetime call while still having the ability to have a voice call.
I enjoy the ability to send a text message during a concert or baseball game when it may be too loud to make a call, but don't expect me to have a text message conversation with you!
Side Note... If you ever have something important to tell me... don't do it through Facebook or Twitter. Send me an e-mail or give me a call. While I use FB & Twitter regularly... I find that they aren't the best for remembering to reply to things and get things done. I use them for casual conversation and sharing good blog posts.
So what do you think?
Should the phone call die?
Do you talk less?... text more?
© Blog post written by Julie Herman
For more information visit http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/
