I remember a life when we wouldn’t have dreamed
….. of being on call 24/7
there was only landlines
some had an answering machine
to record those missed call messages
where the Jetson’s rode flying machines
and spoke to a person on a screen
ridiculous cartoons we thought
would never come to fruition
the phone box my regular teen haunt
a deaf mother meant no landline
would chat for ages at a fixed price
until a neighbour stood near
would cut my call as manners were dear
then slowly technology digressed
humungous hand held phones
and a weird invention called the internet
instant communication for the jet-set
both phones and costs shrunk
even Indian beggars all have one
can’t imagine life without that net
now visuals with that phone chat
but I still refuse to be on call 24/7 …
I also remember a time pre cell phones. Life was better. People didn’t call you at any time of the day or night for work matters. The line between work and private life has blurred to a point where it hardly exists anymore. It is not a good thing for families.
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i think it’s super unhealthy so my phone stays at home whenever I go out and I turn it off at night about 8pm … unusual but nothing is that important!
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True.. At present it hardly exits.
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True that! I still have a landline and though I can’t turn off my phone due to hubby’s nature of work, I don’t pick it if it rings after 9pm!
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Those were the days!
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Love your title, photo, AND poem!
So true! and I agree with you! Thank you for the smiles and giggles! 😀
HA! I remember rotary phones with long cords (so you could take the phone in a closet and talk to your boyfriend and your siblings couldn’t hear your conversation. HA!).
I remember pagers.
I remember answering machines.
Ha! I’m still waiting for that “conveyor belt”…remember, George or Jane Jetson would get out of bed looking disheveled and stand on the belt and come out the other side looking perfect! HA! 😀
HUGS!!! 🙂
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lol yes I so remember that now you’ve mentioned it! They had such a utilitarian futuristic life we thought it could never happen and except for the conveyor belt we’re almost there 🙂
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24/7. I love this poem, dear Kate!
I think that we are always on call 24/7… it’s just a game called life.
Have a productive week ahead! 🙂
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lol I’m not, I so appreciate my me time Katherine … some seem locked into it …
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True, true Kate and life was so beautiful and simple. Today the technology has made all of us mad and you rightly said even a beggar on Indian streets will have a mobile phone. Nice poem
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Gone are those days.
Now people have less time for face to face talk.
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screen obsession seems to be the main form of communication … but I really enjoy talking to real people face to face 🙂
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I have a land line that I only answer numbers I know…
My cell is on only when I want it on. I may take it with me and still not turn it on until I need to.
Smart phones and smart watches – knowing ones every move – not mine.
I can not imagine or abide by those in home devises that are hooked up to your voice and at your beck and call. I won’t even have a medical portal! Pay by your phone… not me. How advanced can technology stay ahead of hackers? Do I really need a camera in my refrigerator? Or a stove or faucet with voice control. No not I.
And yet I do like to have net access to stay close with my friends around the globe 🙂
Moderation. 😉
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You should never be on call 24/7. I turn my phone off one day a week for shabbat and often enough don’t have my phone on me. I’m way too attached to answering when I do have it on me, although with messages I’m really not great at replying. I’ve been taught by people being insulted that I’m meant to respond to messages even if they’re short and don’t need a reply. I’m still learning phone etiquette. I don’t think anyone should be attached to it, because they’re on their phones so much that they’re not engaging with people in real life and they’re missing out on the awesomeness of the world (that was another post you wrote recently). I feel like I’m rambling way too much today.
Sending sunshine and sparkles
Love, light and glitter Kate. Take care of yourself today.
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no you’re not rambling … just telling it as it is! Kudos to you, being controlled by the screen is a real addiction issue. We need to use them in moderation and for our convenience.
One movie director I met told people that they should turn their phone off at least three hours a day and especially an hour before bedtime so they can unwind.
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Nie jestem przywiązana ani uzależniona od telefonu i od sieci. Nawet komputer otwieram na krótko.Żyję realnym życiem, a nie w sieci.
Pozdrawiam
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Ha, Kate! Perfect! Though I’m no Luddite, I still have been known on occasion to “forget” to reactivate my ringtone when I return from the office. It’s one last thread of defiance – independence from these awful (and wonderful) machines!
Other things I remember, and which those born after 1990 never will experience: changing the channel by turning a knob, composing (or receiving) a handwritten letter, licking a postage stamp, using the library to find a fact, etc. etc.
Great, now I feel like I’m, what, 112? “Back in my day…”
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lol it does date us Keith but it’s awesome to look back at how we have adapted these new devices into our life … but I feel we use it to empower ourselves where some are so addicted they’ve been brainwashed by their screens …
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I’m born after 1990 and still have to lick some stamps – though I’m unimpressed when I have to – and send handwritten letters to people – I try to if there is an occasion or if I haven’t spoken to them in a while.
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nice motivation as we all love to receive snail mail 🙂
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How fortunate for those in your circle, Eliza! And with that, my faith in this whole “humanity” project grows.
That “after 1990” comment probably makes me sound even more ancient than I actually am. Just practice for the day I shake my fist at the sky and complain about “kids these days!”
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How old are you? In some ways I’m way younger than my peers, in others, like the way I use technology, people wonder what era I’m from.
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Gen X…old enough to remember watching “Growing Pains” every Tuesday. Old enough to remember Gen X being the up-and-coming thing. Now, not so much (sigh).
Of course, Eliza, please don’t tell Kate, as I’m pretty sure she believed me when I told her I was 160.
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oops caught out, I was listening in seeing that you decided to chat on my blog 😎
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Growing pains aired between 1985 and 1992 (thank you google).
Also according to sir google Gen X’s are between 40 and 54. I never knew the generations were named, of all things. What Gen am I?
I’m sure you have this info on your blog somewhere!
Who did you watch growing pains with?
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good question Eliza … I eagerly await TAs response 😉
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I’ll sit with you… do you think we’ll get the honest answer?
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doubt it … he enhances my posts with wise responses but remains an enigma!
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Hear that TA? You’re awesome.
There must be enough clues that I’ve missed…. 160 indeed.
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old enough to be both our grandfathers 😎
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Those were indeed the days! I turn my cell phone on silent after a certain time in the evening, because I too refuse to be on call 24/7 🙂
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ALWAYS refuse to be on call 24/7, Kate! That is no way to live, despite the enormous pressures we feel to do so. Sometimes, in order to live fully, we have to go against current wisdom and practices.
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lol I’ve always bucked the trends Ann and am finally meeting like minded people 🙂
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These days with all sorts of E tech, I cannot avoid being contactable! 24/7 has been my lifestyle since 2000 as I worked through so many timezones! Good piece! Happy weekend Kate.
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The changes we have seen in our lifetime, eh, Kate. It’s good to have some downtime. Most of us don’t need to be on call 24/7. Good choice.
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nothing is that vital …
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Technology..sometimes good and sometimes not. I turn my phone off at night and down a good deal of the time. It’s a simple, older phone anyway. 😉
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yes I just use mine for calls and texts 🙂
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Absolutely, what a great thought!
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