I feel pretty much in touch with modern society. I’m sure there’s plenty of holes, but I like technology, I like keeping up with pop culture, music, slang, etc. All that stuff is interesting to me, and while I don’t always deliberately seek it out, I also don’t avoid. It helps to have two Generation Alpha kids in the house keeping me abreast of the latest trends, plus a lot of stuff I watch and read is aimed at Gen Z and younger Millennials. (I’m a 47-year-old Xer.)
Now, there are, of course, things that I am out-of-touch with. Like I have no interest in superhero movies, but nobody is going to like or be interested in everything the majority is (or seems to be) interested in.
I also can’t get used to reading eBooks. Just not my thing, for whatever reason. 99% of my reading is on a screen, but when it comes to reading a proper novel or short story collection, it has to be on paper for me.
But, overall, I’m reasonably “in touch” with people and modern society.
Ah. Well, different strokes for different folks. My phone or tablet is literally the only way I’ve watched TV or movies for a number of years. My last “stand-alone” TV died long ago and I didn’t even feel a need to replace it. (It didn’t help that OTA ATSC reception was spotty for me.)
I find a 12" screen is about the right size to zoom out the text big enough to comfortably see while showing the page content that would otherwise fill a mass-market paperback printed at the usual 8pt type.
And that is with my reading glasses. It’s worse if I’ve forgotten them.
My first ebook reader was a Handspring Visor. 2.5 inch square screen, 160x160 pixels (64 dpi). I read probably a few hundred books on that before my first Sony ebook reader.
How old are you? I used to be like you. I can still remember my shock at seeing a full moon for the first time after I got my glasses as a college freshman. But my close vision started to slowly and inexorably worsen around age 60.
Sure. I figured someone would say this. I guess there are the people who go through life figuring that at any moment some tragedy will strike that they need to know of instantly. And that if it does, someone will figure sending a text is sufficient rather than calling.
Show of hands - out of how many texts everyone has received, how many have been “can’t wait emergencies”?
To a certain extent, that depends on who is trying to contact me. If it’s my mother, she will probably call. My husband will probably call. Anyone else will probably text.
Depends on what “can’t wait” means - I’m pretty sure I’ve never gotten one that can’t wait five minutes while I finish paying for my purchases at a store. But I’ve gotten plenty that couldn’t wait an hour or two until I leave the restaurant. Some are from people who are supposed to meet me at the restaurant but forgot the name/location of the restaurant or are letting me know they are running late or cancelling and others were from my kids for things like flat tires and missing keys. But some were to tell me that my mother is in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.
I assume you can tell the difference between a situation where you are out and about intending to meet someone, as opposed to sitting around with the person you intend to meet. My opinion - which many likely do not share - is that many people use explanations like yours to justify their need/desire to check their phone every time it beeps. “Someone somewhere is thinking of me!” “Something interesting may be happening somewhere!”
I thought one of the purported benefits of texting was that it allowed asynchronous communication. Something less immediate than a phone call, but more immediate than an email.
My wife and I will periodically send each other texts like, “Home around 4. Start dinner.” If the sender feels it is urgent, they will call instead. If the receiver knows time will be of essence, they will be alert for incoming texts. But as a general matter, we don’t make any special effort to keep our watches nearby or alerts - other than phone ringer - turned on.
We were playing music with another guy yesterday and his phone kept beeping. He looked at several of them, but said they were nothing requiring immediate responses. After maybe 15 beeps, I asked him if he would turn his phone off, which he did.
I can readily imagine far greater faults in a life partner than wanting immediate responses to their every text, but, nevertheless, I would not care for that.
I can tell the difference - but if i am supposed to meet people at a restaurant ,it’s not normally one person or one couple. So I might be sitting or standing with three people while we wait for four more.
The guy you were playing music with would annoy me - but not because of the multiple beeps themselves. I would imagine that that him looking at the phone interrupted the music and thats what would annoy me.
In my experience, the people who answer every text immediately don’t need an excuse such as " it might be an emergency" - they will sit there and tell me what the non-emergency text they are answering is about.
I just got a text that my beloved SIL’s good friend was in a terrible automobile accident, lost part of her leg, suffers multiple broken bones and is in a medically induced coma.
Of course I didn’t find that out when it was received because I was in a movie theater. I don’t tend to look at my phone when I’m out on a date unless Spouse Weasel goes to the bathroom or something.
But I’m guessing you don’t have small children in daycare or being babysat in which you could get an important text any time of day. Spouse Weasel and I have a running Discord with multiple channels, once of which is just called Scheduling, and that’s where we put all our, “OMW ETA 7:19” or “Can you pick up milk?” texts. But yeah, I would say texting is pretty integral to family life.