Saturday, May 10, 2008

sunday scribblings - telephone


I was sitting by the phone,
I was waiting all alone

Ring, ring, why don't you give me a call?
Ring, ring, the happiest sound of them all
Ring, ring, I stare at the phone on the wall
And I sit all alone impatiently.
(ABBA - Ring Ring)

Can you imagine the social changes the telephone brought to society? I'm sure some people thought it was the work of the devil and were frightened by hearing the sound of another voice at the other end of the receiver, just like television was feared. It must have been a tremendous change.

Nowadays we're going through a bit change as well, with the introduction of the Internet and mobile phones, except we're probably not noticing the substancial changes. It was ten years ago that mobile phones were owned by almost everyone around me (except me, I resisted until 2001).
If you look around you the subtleties of using mobile phones are everywhere. It has allowed us to communicate with others quickly, immediately and without disturbing them (sms), it allows us to talk to others wherever they are in the World and we and them don't need to be still. Have you noticed how you don't make plans the way you used to? Imagine you're meeting someone the next day. Whilst before you carefully scheduled a time and a place, nowadays you say an approximate time and place and when you get there you phone/text the other person and ask where they are.

The list of these tiny things could go on and on. Notice also how songs like the one I quoted above don't work anymore. It was a frequent image for the lovelorn to be standing by the phone waiting for it to ring. Now you can take the phone with you and wait while you're doing other things. lol
Mobile phones and the Internet are still not completely integrated in my imaginary though. For instance, I rarely feature them in whatever I write. Text messages are not very romantic nor dramatic, I don't care what people say. ;)


More phone-rings on Sunday Scribblings.

15 comments:

Granny Smith said...

Change creeps up on us in such small increments that we usually don't notice it. You have expressed it well.

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

I agree about not including texting and cell phones in my writing! But funnily enough, I DID include one in the Sunday Scribbling piece I just wrote. It's set back in time, when cell phones were big, cumbersome, expensive, and not quite ready to catch on yet. But it's there, and the gag wouldn't work without it.

Lucy said...

great post! I love the comparison of the lovelorn before cells and after! I never thought of how those little things have change. so true. :)

danni said...

great insights - but i do need the real deal - i MISS the people

kimananda said...

I'm a bit of a phone-a-phobic, and love the sms...it means that I don't actually have to talk to anyone! But I agree that it isn't the most romantic way to communicate (well, depending on what you say in your text message, of course).

It is remarkable how much it has changed our social world, as you discuss here. We might not even make a fast appointment, it's more, 'well, I'll text if I'm in the area, and if so, then we can maybe meet up'.

anthonynorth said...

Yes, there are many advantages, as you say. But do they outweigh the disadvantages, I wonder?

Niall young said...

I particularly remember this guy getting his mobile phone out in a restaurant once back in 1987 I think it was..it was one of those 'Brick' type ones and i remember thinking how cool it looked!!lol. I managed to resist until last year ( ! )..I do think they're an amazing development, but I hate the thought that I'm always available to others..that someone can pull my string and make me dance any time....so I keep it switched off.....

You know...maybe the mobile phone is the reason ABBA have never made a come back?

GreenishLady said...

Interesting the changes you point out. Incorporating the mobile phone into writing would be wierd in ways. I remember noticing when they started to appear in soap operas. - Not very exciting having a character pick up their phone and read a text-message. And not very realistic having characters wondering where someone is... Just phone!!!

Violet said...

I miss the pre mobile era, I rarely use mine. I don't like being contactable, and talking on the phone without without seeing someones face as I talk. But they're useful to text message and to take photos in unexpected times when you wouldn't be carrying a camera.

Anonymous said...

Good points… That we’re so used to technological wonders and advancement these days that it doesn’t phase us anymore…to the point that many of us could be considered jaded. And especially good, point- and style-wise, was bringing our attention back around to the irrelevancy of the ABBA song that you presented at the beginning. That’s the subtlety that says it all.

Miladysa said...

I resist the mobile as much as I can they are such a flipping nuisance. It really bugs me when one goes off on a train or in a restaurant etc.

I love that Abba song, I love Abba!

Great post :-D

Christopher D. Bate said...

Right on.

Personally, I hate mobiles. Always have. Everyone knows where I am all the time. It's like being tagged.

Dr.John said...

I have the mobile phone my dsaughter gave me but I never use it.

myrtle beached whale said...

I really must be a dinosaur. I have no idea what an sms is.

Devil Mood said...

To everyone who commented: thanks, I really enjoyed reading your views on this :)