Communication

This morning, in an “abundance of caution” due to inclement weather, our church services were cancelled. In their place we had prayers live on Facebook, with our priest (I’m Episcopalian) leading us through some announcements, readings, prayers and a short homily. It wasn’t the same as being in church, but it felt right. I used my phone and held it up throughout the service.

We’re lucky to live in a day and age when such things are possible. I can text my brother when I have a quick question that doesn’t require the bother of a phone call. My doctor’s appointments are also confirmed by text. I use my phone for so much communication, but it’s hardly ever phone calls, except for the daily calls to my mom and the weekly calls to my dad.

I screen my calls, of course. If I don’t recognize the number, I don’t answer the call. Let them leave a voice mail if it’s important. That’s a sharp contrast to the way I was brought up. If the phone rang, you dashed to answer it. There was no way of knowing who was calling, and there was no way to leave a message.

I remember a high school English teacher saying he sometimes didn’t answer his phone calls. We were shocked. What if it was important, an emergency or some such? we asked. He just laughed and said he didn’t like to be controlled by his phone.

Today, I feel like in some ways, I’m too dependent on my phone and its conveniences. I try to set it aside for a day at a time, but it isn’t practical to do so. If I forget to take it to work, I panic. I’m frightened of losing it. I don’t keep any financial information on my phone–what if it ended up in the wrong hands?

And yet, I’m grateful for it. Communication has never been easier. Yes, there are drawbacks. There are scams galore, some obvious, some more subtle. Yet I can easily navigate the airport and my connecting flights. And I go back to text messages, the greatest source of my online communication today. It’s too good to go backwards. I hope we never have to.

Image Credits: Mobile Phone © sitthiphong–stock.adobe.com; Rotary Phone © Feng Yu–stock.adobe.com