There are so many things I didn’t take pictures of on my trip to the Philippines. I had a film camera and I had to carefully ration my rolls of film. Even considering I used rolls of film, I still took far more photos than most people took on vacation. And I still didn’t take photos of things like teens using cellphones for texting instead of talking. It blew my mind then.
It blew mind yesterday when I realized I was scrolling through my Facebook feed. On my phone. While walking around the gym’s track. (Yes, I have mad multitasking/walking skillz).
I remember vividly when I first saw people madly texting to each other; well before we were doing it in the United States. 15 years ago my friend and I were sitting in a jeepney, speeding along to a long since forgotten destination in Manila. Sitting around us, people were madly tapping away, smiling to themselves.
At this point I was also young; just out of college. The difference? I had a brick of a Nokia for a cellphone that I absolutely only used if it was an emergency. It was for calling. Talking. Into the phone where someone else was on another phone, probably a land line (gasp).
Later the same day, my friend and I found ourselves on the second floor of a Burger King with immaculate, sparkling marble floors. There were tables of teens texting each other right across the table. It was absolutely mind boggling to me. I kept sneaking glances to try to figure it out. Were they mute? Were we not allowed to talk while eating in Burger King? I could not imagine texting someone right across from me. It made no sense at all. Why wouldn’t they simply talk to each other?
I came home from my trip full of our adventurous tales, but I always told the story about teens texting each other while sitting across from one another. I sorely wished I had surreptitiously taken photos to show my unbelieving friends.
Since then I have texted someone sitting right across from me many times. I’ve texted my husband from the kitchen (he was sitting in our bedroom) to let him know supper was ready. I no longer have to honk outside a friend’s house to let them know I’m there to pick them up. I’m so lazy I text them from the comfort of the driver’s seat. In fact, I am writing a blog post on my phone while I walk around the track at at the gym. How’s that for a full circle throwback?
You text your husband in the next room to come to dinner? You must be joking. (In Spanish or English?)
Not often and mostly to be funny, but sometimes 😉
On the other hand…it works out very well to text the husband who is on the other side of the couch when the kids are between you and you need to say something that you don’t want the kids to hear. 🙂