Tuesday, April 25th is National Telephone Day
When is the last time you actually spoke with a friend or family member by telephone?
Wished them “Happy Birthday” or just called to hear their voice? You can play Instagram-tag all you want and like as many selfies as your little digital heart desires, but nothing’s going to replace hearing somebody else’s voice — and especially when that voice is saying something expressly for you to hear. Sadly, we’ve embraced a world of texting versus talking and have morphed into cellphone-addicted zombies who can’t walk down the sidewalk without running into someone or something.
Maybe it’s time to heed the advice from AT&T’s 1987 commercial and “Reach Out and Touch Someone”. Corny? Of course! But texts don’t show emotion or feelings, they are just words interpreted by the state-of-mind of the recipient at the time. So why not “reach out and touch someone” today?
When is the last time you completely shut down your phone, and not just put it in airplane mode?
Admittedly, I use my phone as my alarm clock, so it’s just about always on. But recently on the weekends, I’ve been powering it off for a few hours at a time. It’s such a freeing feeling to not hear the tone of an incoming email or text and feeling the urge to run over and see who has sent what. It has helped me to better focus on projects at home, as well as letting go and fully relaxing. Why not give it a try?
What would Alexander Graham Bell think about how his invention is used today?
In 1874 the essential idea of the telephone formed in Bell’s mind. As he later explained it, “If I could make a current of electricity vary in intensity precisely as the air varies in density during the production of sound, I should be able to transmit speech telegraphically.” Two years later he applied for a patent, which was granted on March 7, 1876. On March 10, the first coherent complete sentence—the famous “Mr. Watson, come here; I want you”—was transmitted in his laboratory.
Bell Telephone Company was founded on July 9, 1877, and the first public telephone lines were installed from Boston to Sommerville, Massachusetts the same year. By the end of the decade, there were nearly 50,000 phones in the United States. In May of 1967, the 1 millionth telephone was installed.
Don’t be a zombie.
Walk with your head up, eyes open and focused on what’s ahead of you. Breathe the fresh air and take in the sights, smells and sounds of your surroundings. Engage in conversation with someone versus texting random thoughts to your address book. Give it a try for a few days and see how it makes you feel.
