I periodically read articles with titles basically saying, “It is the end of the Telephone!” It is attention-grabbing for sure, but it is just wrong. Well… I guess it depends on what you mean. I think there are readers of this blog who have never even used a telephone like I have in the picture here, let alone maybe even seen one. Yep, when I grew up, we used to have to use this. And then we got push-button dial pads 😊 And we saved a lot of time. So yeah, it is true if you mean using this kind of phone. It has been the end of that for a while.
But when I see titles like that, it is more trying to say people are not using telephones anymore to call people. And yeah, I don’t have a kitchen telephone anymore and have not for some time. But I still have a smartphone, and while we do other things on the smartphone, we still TALK. And I do that for personal calls and for business calls.
Let’s delve into both topics since that also colors the “End of the Telephone” conversation.
So, let’s start with personal calls. Texting, for sure, has replaced some of the phone calls. As has social media since you can “catch up” using social media instead of using phone calls. But I still use the phone to make and take personal calls, as I’m sure you, as readers, do. I’m talking here about smartphones. Not landline calls but talking over a cell or Wi-Fi network. So, if we use the telephone to mean that kind of phone in the picture, I get it. But it is not the end of the phone.
Which brings us to business calls. And this is where it gets really interesting and dicey to me. And where I find it just plain wrong. Read my next blog to find out why.