December Meme

[la_samtyr]

Today's topic: telephones (also: cell phones, etc.)

I used to love talking on the phone but in recent years I developed a moderate hearing loss, so I rely on email and other forms of online communication. It's so much easier than trying to hear over a poor connection (to say nothing of dealing with a screeching Chihuahua. Yeesh!) I do have a cell phone, even though it's an older one and rather 'dumb'. But it serves me well and I can't complain.

I have thought about getting a newer cellphone but there is very poor reception where I live -- something of a dead zone, for lack of a better word -- and so I doubt if I will ever get one very soon.

I am fascinated when I see the old telephone ads that feature rows and rows of operators. Who would have guessed how much -- or how rapidly -- things would change. I know I sure didn't and it wasn't that long ago when I still occasionally used landlines and pay phones. These days I see a pay phone here and there but they are increasingly rare.

Comments

[elfscribe5.livejournal.com]

I also don't hear as well as I should over the phone. For some reason it's worse over the phone than it is talking to someone in person. Changes in technology have been almost too much to keep up with even just in my lifetime (I'm resisting paying for a data plan for a smart phone). And think of all the jobs lost when those phone operators were replaced. In the past couple of weeks I've had to deal with the endless press 1, press 4, etc. of automated tellers for things that are complicated and require an actual human to deal with. In many ways the changes haven't benefited us, I'm thinking.

[samtyr.livejournal.com]

I agree. I hate the automated menus because I always seem to get lost and all too often I never quite manage to find the right button. Life was simpler when you could rely on an operator for help.