Contact

On one of our many rambles today, Jodi and I recalled our first contact with the mobile phone. She remembered the big bag phone out in the paddocks and the chunky phones afterwards. Our conversation veered off onto some other tangent, but it got me thinking about the differences between now and when mobiles first made ‘contact’.

Adrian and I didn’t have a phone ( of any type) when we were living in the shed. We didn’t have a bathroom ceiling or a toilet floor and the howling icy winds didn’t let us forget that fact – but that’s another matter. So we invested ( and it was a pretty big amount) in a mobile phone. Its almost laughable now. A huge suitcase of a bag with an arial sticking out – the size of a ruler and as thick as your thumb. I stuck googly eyes on one side and gave it a nose and a collar and called it my lapdog. My phone now is so small I constantly lose it in my pocket. My handbag swallows it up completely and its been lost for days there.

I remember before this when we lived in Brisbane, we used to make plans and keep to time frames when we went out or met friends to go to the movies or out to the pub. If someone was late – you waited for them. Everyone had a watch. I don’t now and you don’t see too many with them on their wrists – we all look at our mobiles for the time….I remember my first road trip out to Blackall. We kept in contact with the three vehicles traveling – using a home base – someones mum answered the home phone and relayed messages every town we hit. It was exciting and mysterious – but on the large we survived with out a mobile….Nowdays you wouldn’t dream of going anywhere without a mobile.

Everything is so ‘now’ these days. If someone doesn’t have a mobile phone, you stat to think they are a bit strange. Look around you – count how many people have a Bluetooth set; count those who are texting, count the conversations had in cars and on buses and even in the loos. There is no peace anymore. You can be contacted and got at – everywhere. One of my peeves is when someone answers the phone, butthen says they are too busy to talk… Why answer it in the first place – let the answerphone or message bank deal with it…really.

Most phones now take better photos than many peoples digital cameras. They have so many gizmos attached to them you can just about cook a 3 course meal on the thing. I have to admit I enjoy the convenience of texting messages and being able to notify someone if I am running late – but I also deliberately turn it off or not to answer calls if I am busy or talking to a real person – like face to face.

Yet one thing irks me. Everyone is so contactable now days. But are we really? I would have thought the community spirit might have grown. People felt more connected with each other and those around them. Look around again – people on the phone, staring into the distance not really connecting with anyone around them. It’s a false connectivity. We are more available – but not emotionally. I think the technology allows us to take a step backwards, into our caves and allows us to put that extra piece of covering over our hearts.