Home Phone Advantage…
Like his peers, my millennial son grew up with YouTube, smart phones, the internet, and social media. So, when he told me he was thinking of getting a home phone, I asked, “WHY?”
He remembered that before cell phones, if he called a friend, the mom or dad usually answered the phone. They would chat for a few minutes, and he felt a connection to the whole family. It was a good memory that is non-existent today. We talked about how technology has displaced or eliminated many ordinary, everyday personal connections, leaving a vacuum. in people’s lives.
Don’t get me wrong. Technology is a marvel. It provides instant access to information, research, resources, knowledge, and perspectives on any topic, from around the world. It provides sports and entertainment. It is a tool for business, science, and the arts. It allows me to communicate with you on the internet through this blog, on my website. We know that technology is indispensable, but we need to be smart, savvy, and curious consumers so that we use it without letting it use us.
The biggest drawback is that technology silos us from personal connections and feelings of community. Even on Zoom or FaceTime, we are only disembodied faces with no grounded sense of place, talking at each other from separate screens. Yet, technology seduces us with its speedy ability to communicate information.
So, consciously or unconsciously, we are letting go of the things we used to do to stay connected with each other.
How many times have you dashed off a text or email to a friend because you didn’t want to spend a few minutes in one-to-one conversation? Or given a perfunctory response to someone’s text or email with a few emojis added? We have also depersonalized special occasions with e-vites for just about everything. The reason is hard to dispute: an email blast or group text is faster, less costly than personally addressing and mailing invitations. It is not the same.
I love getting birthday and holiday cards in the mail, seeing someone’s handwriting on the envelope, and reading their message to me inside the card. It’s fun. That is why I send them to my family and friends, but most of them no longer send either. One exception: Wedding invitations. Their importance is such that they still arrive in the mail, personally addressed, at least for now.
We don’t write letters anymore. Letters are history’s treasures because - through the intimacy of penmanship - they reveal the heart, mind, and personality of an individual. documented against the backdrop of a particular time and place. We don’t put pen to paper for much of anything anymore.
This is not a diatribe against modern technology. Nor is it wishful thinking for the “good old days.” Like modern appliances, my computer and smart phone make my work and my life better, easier. So, this is not about trading them in for a typewriter or a landline. But it is a moment to take stock.
I have come to believe that some of the isolation we feel is self-inflicted. Whether my son buys a home phone is not important, only that he knows why he wants to. We have choices, too. To let our personal ties disintegrate in the 5G ecosystem, or to keep them strong and resilient. So, push the lid off your silo and connect. Make a phone call rather than send a text; mail a card instead of an e-vite. Not all the time but often enough so that you feel happy about yourself and know that the person on the receiving end will be happy as well.
Sharing ourselves is the real home advantage. And I would like to share my poem set to music, “The Heart Before Christmas” along with my wishes to you and yours for a joyous holiday and a healthy, fulfilling New Year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRmoK9boDQI&ab_channel=MerleSchell
Answer to Unpacking Education, No. 25, Question of the Day:
The correct answer is a) Babylonia. A 12-day festival, called Akitu, marked the start of the spring planting season. During this time, Babylonians made resolutions of loyalty king and to repay all debts. They believed the gods would reward them if they kept their pledges and punish them if they did not.