A Telephone Milestone

I grew up and experienced the transitions in the home telephone.  There were times I had none, others when I had a “party line” which was shared by several neighbors, and finally did have a unique connection.

I remember when you picked up the phone and talked to an operator to place the calls.  Of course, I remember the rotary dial phones and thought the push-button phones were a marvelous technological advance.  All of these were wired with those spring-like cords that somehow always got kinks in them.

As I look down at my desk I still have a wired phone here in the office, but as it rings it almost instantly rings my cell phone.  So, it really doesn’t matter if I am out of the office … my cell phone rings.

Well, at the end of 2019 we passed a milestone on all this.  We have now crossed the 50% point in telephone use in this country.  Less than 50% of our homes have landlines.  According to The Atlantic, the impact on our family life is significant.  Frankly, I had not thought much about it.  Read The Atlantic article.

I am beginning to wonder what we will define as family relationships as this digital age continues to innovate.

 

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