Just the other day I was speaking with a friend about wireless phones. He had just quit a bad job (good for him) and was expressing relief over the fact that he had to give up the mobile phone his employer had provided. I have to agree. The phone always seems to ring at the most inopportune times. Don't get me wrong, I think they are one of the (but not the absolute) greatest communication devices ever made. When they work correctly, one can instantly receive or deliver the needed information when the circumstances leading up to that need are at the forefront of the mind. The problem lies in the fact that, unless the recipient of a call is being paid to wait for and answer calls, he/she is not at all expecting the call and is not likely to have his/her mind on the subject of that call. I find this rather distracting and irritating when I am trying to focus on the task at hand.
My dislike of phones is compounded by the fact that I often do not communicate in words, unless those words are written. When I write, I (like many, I would suspect) explore various words and sentence structures before settling on one. Then, as I proofread, I make additional changes. This is not possible when speaking. While I may stall in an attempt to do so, it is never as effective. The stalling often includes gestures and facial expressions to indicate that I have more to say, but more often, to replace the words that I can't seem to find. That is impossible to do over the phone and I often fail miserably in my efforts to communicate by phone.
As the saying goes: “A picture is worth a thousand words.” That being the case, I can see the value of video phones. However, while they would certainly lessen the frustration with communication, calls would become even more invasive and untimely. One of the beauties of the phone is that anyone can present themselves in a professional manner no matter what the actual circumstances are. Imagine the possible ramifications of jumping out of the shower (or any other potentially embarrassing or unprofessional situation) to answer an important business call with a video phone.
That leads me to one of the things I love about the Internet. Communication is written (ok, typed), not spoken. In most cases, one has the opportunity to review said text before the recipient has any access to it. Sure, one does not always get an instant reply with email, especially when mailboxes are filled with junk, but that only mirrors the effect answering machines and voice mail have had on traditional phone usage. Of course, instant messaging is another step forward. With either technology, the person on the other end will be more forgiving if it takes 5 minutes to formulate an answer. And, as the mobile phone continues to merge with the computer (think PDA'a and so-called Smartphones) things will only improve. Messages will be received more quickly and responses will be more easily provided, regardless of what we are doing or where we are.
Yes, things are looking bright! And that, my friend, is why I yearn for a Treo.
