When a Phone Was Just a Phone!

These are the phones I grew up with, but both of ours were beige. Mom and Dad had a princess phone in their bedroom and we had a wall phone with a 20 ft cord in the kitchen. That 20 ft cord was a nightmare when it became twisted and stretched, but it was great when you preferred to sit on the couch (or out on the front porch) to talk instead of at the kitchen table. We didn't have answering machines or voice mail and you couldn't call anyone's pants pocket (or wherever you carry your phone). I remember that there was an extra fee each month to be able to use a touch tone phone when they came out, but it was so much quicker to dial :)

I still have that princess phone and wall phone and plan to actually have them installed at some point.

That brings me to my current phone -

 

When I got all of the way to my car this evening, I realized I had left my phone on my desk. This may not seem like a big deal, but if you've ever parked on a college campus, you know it can be a bit of a hike to and from your car. That's when I found myself thinking "when a phone was just a phone..." fairly nostalgically. It isn't the first time it's happened, but my complete thought was "when a phone was just a phone, I would have left it in the office and just gotten it the next day." Here is the problem, now that we carry smart phones that contain phone books, appointments, quick access to the Web and email, and apps that we use everyday, the time has long passed where I would say never mind and just get my phone the next day. And what would I do without Word for Friends!

I've quickly fallen into the trap of convenience and access, and my phone truly is my personal assistant. If an appointment isn't my phone, I don't make it. That was apparent a couple of weeks ago when I got a text from a colleague asking where I was; the meeting had started. Unfortunately, I was at home because I didn't think I had anything that afternoon...it wasn't on my calendar. I'm terrible with directions, so without MapQuest on my phone, I'm in trouble. Unless it is on the charger, my phone is usually on me or beside me. I'm hooked on being able to look something up on the Web at the drop of a hat. If I hear something on a show I'm watching, want to double check a fact, get more information, or just look up the name of an actor whose name I can't remember, I grab my phone. I also compose and answer a lot of email on my phone. I was never much into texting before my iPhone because I didn't want to take the time to rotate through six options for each button; it was much quicker just to make the call. I still don't go over my 200 texts per month plan, but I text a lot more than I would have guessed.

As a tech geek, I love gadgets. The downside is getting dependent on them and realizing when I get home that I've left my gadget at work, or getting to work and realizing I've left my gadget at home - but I wouldn't change it. The upside this time that I also got an extra 1120 steps toward my first day on the Presidential Active Lifestyle Challenge. I can't complain about that.