We know that cellphones enable one person to contact another whenever they wish, but most people do not think of the long-term implications of this. For people growing up since cellphones have been widespread in society, they think nothing of seeing someone calling them late in the evening and answering despite the fact that they would rather not. The learning curve with this new type of technological literacy can still be seen today, with people today who still resist the explosion in technology. In short, there are still people who struggle to operate a flip phone despite the fact that it has become commonplace for others.
With the flood of phone technology, with this new literacy that people struggle to keep up with, there is often the question posed: ‘What if I don’t want people to be able to contact me?’ This question is one that I have heard from people aged 55 and up, as they struggle to reconcile this new form of technology with their lives as they know it. There is little support to teach older people how to operate these new forms of literacy, whether it be through a computer, table, or even a flip phone. In these cases a personal touch is needed and for those without the right connections, they are left behind as this new technology continues to flourish.
I do see your point of disliking the notion that anyone can call you whenever, but there is a simple solution to that problem: don’t answer. I, among numerous other people I’m sure, have hit the silence button on a ringing phone, politely ignoring said phone call by pretending that I didn’t get to my phone in time. Now, this practice is not the most kind, yet it’s still a valid solution to your dilemma. I additionally have also used the block function of my phone numerous times, preventing mainly spam accounts from contacting me repeatedly in the future. I do see that the idea that anyone can contact you whenever is frightening on paper, but I believe the way phone companies have handled this issue deters the problem from becoming detrimental to phone usage. Personally, I think the issue isn’t apparent in my life, but I can see where you’re coming from with this post. Hopefully as society becomes more technologically inclined, older generations will upkeep with the change in technology, maintaining pace to the learning curve that society operates at.