HOFFMAN: A digital world makes it harder to disconnect
In a world that is becoming more digital by the millisecond, common communication etiquette is changing.
When I was a kid in the 1990s, cell phones were not commonplace. They weren't found in everyone's pockets, purses, holsters and hands. Back then, we had car phones — large, black, atrocious-looking things that were bolted to the floor of the car.
The etiquette for how we as people communicate has completely transformed since I was a kid. Back then, if I wanted to get a hold of someone, I'd have to call a landline from a landline. And there were restrictions.
Even though cordless phones were around, people still could not leave the confines of their houses or backyards at best. People were not walking down the streets talking on the phone. When people left the house they were almost unreachable.
I miss those days. I miss when it was rude to call someone past 10 p.m. or before 9 a.m. I miss the days when I could leave my house and not be reached by anyone.
I know you're probably thinking, "Just leave your phone at home, dude." And I agree, I should. But therein lies the problem.
As much as I want to disconnect and just go for a walk or to the store without being able to be contacted, I don't do that. Because what if something happened?
I have this incessant need to know what is happening every minute of every day. That's why it's hard to pry myself away from Facebook, Twitter, et cetera, because there is an infinite amount of information at my fingertips.
The advent of cell phones (and now smartphones), has only made this need worse. I am not even interested in obtaining meaningful information most of the time. Usually I get bored for a few moments (something that rarely happened when I was a kid) and I text someone, "What's up?"
The ability to contact someone on a whim from anywhere is one of the best and worst things about smartphones. When I think about it, it overwhelms me: There are more than 200 people in my phone that can text me at any moment.
Disconnecting is much harder than it used to be. Most people, myself included, have no problem with calling or sending a text message at 12 or 1 a.m. This would have been unheard of 15 years ago, unless there was an emergency.
I suggest that we bring it back to 1998, when it was OK to unplug once in a while. And please, stop calling me after 10 p.m.
