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Communication has really changed since I was a kid. Used to be, you’d make a phone call by dialing the number on your rotary phone. The phone stayed where it was. You answered the phone by saying, “Hello?” and you never knew who was going to be on the other line.
When I was about ten years old, we got a red push button phone, and that was a big deal. Those were the days when you could make crank calls. My friends and I would call the butcher shop and say, “Do you have pig’s feet?” The butcher would say, “Yes,” and we’d say, “Where do you get your shoes?” Or we’d call someone’s house and say, “Is your refrigerator running?” “Yes”. “Better go catch it!” Calls like those provided many minutes of entertainment.
When I grew up and moved out, I got an answering machine. It was so much fun to record different messages explaining why I might not be home. I got a keyboard that made different sound effects. One of my outgoing messages began with the sound of a lion’s roar, and then my voice: “It’s a jungle out there. Please leave a message.”
Next came voicemail. I was living with a roommate, and there were different options, depending on whom you wanted to leave a message for. The recording would say, “If you want ________(the person would record her name), please press one. If you want ________, just wait for the tone.” There was a time when I lived by myself but still had the double mailbox option. I got creative. I recorded a voicemail message that said, “If you want… a burger and fries, go to McDonalds. If you want… Alex, just wait for the tone.”
We still have voicemail, of course, and now I live by myself. However, most people don’t call me at home anymore, on my “landline” (I remember the first time I heard the term “landline”. I thought it sounded too much like “landmine,” and I refused to use it. By now, it’s become part of the vernacular, and I realize that nothing’s going to blow up if I answer the phone at my desk). We now also have Caller ID. This enables the recipient to see who’s calling, and whether the phone is going to get answered. I must admit, it’s a feature I quite like, and saves a lot of time and energy. And then there’s Call Waiting, which lets you be on the phone with one person, hear a click when you have another call coming in, and then go back to the first person and tell them that the new call is much more important and you’ll have to call them back.
Nah, It’s Not for Me
The next form of communication came when I was in college, and I was one of the last people on that bus. Everyone I knew had that new fangled thing called “email,” and I wanted no part of it. I held out until the late ‘90’s, but oh, once I got a taste of it, I became addicted. I checked my email every morning when I woke up, even after the first night with my new boyfriend. Cuddle, schmuddle. I needed to see if anyone needed information or had a funny story to tell me that couldn’t wait. These days, no one comes in second to my email perusal; email comes in first, second and third. I wake up each morning as if it’s Christmas, sometimes guessing how many messages I’ll have waiting for me; ten, fourteen, twenty-five? Unlike many of my friends, most of the emails I receive are personal. What a wonderful form of communication.
Then came the cell phone. Oh, I waited and waited to get a cell phone, just like I waited to get an email account. I repeatedly said to my friends, “What do I need a cell phone for? Call me at home! I don’t want to look like those people talking to themselves in the middle of the street. It just looks weird!”
Eventually, I gave in, because my friend and I were going to be in New York City at the same time, and wanted to be in touch easily. I got the cell phone, and…you guessed it, now I can’t imagine life without one. My cell phone isn’t fancy, and I only use it to make and receive calls and text messages, but it, too, is one of the greatest inventions ever made, in my opinion. Even if I look weird talking on the phone while walking down the street.
Leaving Open My Last Option
Cell phones have changed the way we answer phones. No one answers with “Hello?” anymore, because you can see who’s calling, provided you’ve added him or her into your phone. You might answer with, “Yo!”, or, “You said you would call me right back!” or, “Hi, Baby” (this last can get you into trouble if the person on the other line isn’t who you thought it was). If you see just a phone number appear and you’re not sure who it is, you might answer in a business tone: “Hi, this is Alex,” and see who’s on the other line.
And now we come to my favorite form of communication: the social networking site. My two hundred fifty-five “friends” will attest to the fact that I am on Facebook for what seems like twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Through Facebook, I can send and receive private messages, see what’s happening in the lives of people I haven’t seen since yesterday, in twenty years, or have never met in person. And I can chat live with Facebook instant messaging! Why make a phone call when you can say hi for a few seconds (or minutes), with anyone in the world in real time! For free!
However, I draw the line at Twitter, even though I update my Facebook status quite often. No one can convince me that “following” or “being followed” several times a day is entertaining. I have heard that you can share music easily through Twitter, and I do love hearing about new tunes…
Ms. Campbell may be contacted at
campbellalexandra@hotmail.com
