How the Loss of the Landline
Is Changing Family Life
Atlantic,
by
Julia Cho
Original Article
Posted By: StormCnter,
12/12/2019 1:55:54 PM
My tween will never know the sound of me calling her name from another room after the phone rings. She'll never sit on our kitchen floor, refrigerator humming in the background, twisting a cord around her finger while talking to her best friend. I'll get it, He's not here right now, and It's for you are all phrases that are on their way out of the modern domestic vernacular. According to the federal government, the majority of American homes now use cellphones exclusively. “We don't even have a landline anymore,” people began to say proudly as the new millennium progressed. But this came with a quieter, secondary loss—the loss
Reply 1 - Posted by:
DVC 12/12/2019 1:57:48 PM (No. 260153)
I keep my land line. It will still work when the power it out. ATT has separate gensets and large 48 volt battery systems to keep it all running independent of central power.......or at least they did. Maybe they have ripped it out.
18 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
mc squared 12/12/2019 2:15:15 PM (No. 260174)
Hurry up - they're calling long distance....
31 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
Videodrone 12/12/2019 2:21:22 PM (No. 260176)
The only thing that downs a properly designed "POTS" (Plane Old Telephone System) is a major earthquake - too many open circuits, during the PG&E PSPS Cell sites started to shutdown - I still have a land line.
13 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
RayLRiv 12/12/2019 2:22:56 PM (No. 260178)
We still have our land line. Don't use it but it's good to have in case the power goes down.
15 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
ho72 12/12/2019 2:27:01 PM (No. 260181)
When we moved three years ago we had a landline installed in our new home. If I think I'll be on the phone more than a few minutes, I'll reach for the landline because I much prefer the sound quality: no drop outs, no garble, etc. Alas the nuisance calls were unrelenting. While there are ways to deal with those blasted auto-dialers, none were completely satisfactory and we eventually had our cherished landline shut down.
Both Verizon and ATT despise the old technology and want it to die. I'll bet they each own a few auto-dialers of their own.
8 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
allofus 12/12/2019 2:28:41 PM (No. 260184)
All of the Junk Calls coming over the Land Line Phone is what has killed that system. For the last year we have had all the ringers turn off on all of our extensions. Until then, the phone would ring constantly. We only used the Land Line for some outgoing calls. So just last week we converted to full streaming internet and completely discontinued Land Line Phone Service.
8 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
NorthernDog 12/12/2019 2:44:19 PM (No. 260200)
No love lost. I hated when the land line was tied up by one family member. Or you had to hang around the phone waiting for an important call.
6 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
hurricanegirl 12/12/2019 2:44:40 PM (No. 260201)
We still have a land line mainly for security: On numerous occassions we have picked up cell phone conversations while listening to the radio. Perhaps technology has improved enough to prevent this; perhaps not. But if I have to give out sensitive information over the phone, I never do it on my cell.
10 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
chumley 12/12/2019 2:46:24 PM (No. 260202)
I still have a land line exclusively. Cells don't work in this valley. I don't want one of those electronic leashes anyway. Outside the house I'm on my own, but I prefer it that way.
14 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
StormCnter 12/12/2019 3:03:36 PM (No. 260215)
We've kept our landline, too. But, I've lived through so many years of telephones that I remember when the phone company was a family in town and the wife handled all the incoming and outgoing calls. Then, a few years later, at the farm we had an 8-party line and one sweet neighbor who was known to listen in on everything. My mother cautioned us to bear Mrs. Hays' listening ears in mind when we talked. Our signal was a long and two shorts.
12 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
legalart 12/12/2019 3:10:28 PM (No. 260219)
For over 26 years, I cared for my cancer-patient mom; she was resilient and positive. But I took no chances, and always called her often in the day. Years ago, on a winter night in Texas, my mobile phone died --- the phone, the tower, the signals, all dead. It was a holiday week and I had been monitoring my mom. Thankfully, the landline was working and I was able to reach her. Since that episode, I refuse to get rid of it. Although I don't answer it much, it's a back-up, and better for my peace of mind.
15 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
JHHolliday 12/12/2019 3:25:10 PM (No. 260229)
We still have ours as a back-up. Never answered due to the nuisance calls unless it's someone we know. That's rare now. Like most of us, of course, I am getting robocalls on my cell phone now so I am not sure where all this is going. If it's not stopped then 80% of our calls will be sales calls.
11 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
helibobber 12/12/2019 3:51:39 PM (No. 260244)
Still have a landline but all extension phones are muted due to the many spam calls we get. I use an answering machine and can screen all messages if any are left.
9 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
mean Gene 12/12/2019 3:55:35 PM (No. 260247)
Our landline (yes, we're "boomers") is only ~$20/month.
BUT we do have quite a nice net worth/
These young people who will make fun of landlines and boomers are dirt poor even tho they pay a lot for their phones and service.
I'll take that trade off.
10 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
lazlototh 12/12/2019 4:05:48 PM (No. 260256)
Astonishingly, cell phone service mostly remained functioning in Manhattan on September 11. I now live farther north and the power goes out a few times a year because of trees hitting lines. The cell phone system continues to work. The discussion of landlines is enjoyable nostalgia but I don't miss being tethered to a wire or having to wait in a specific location for someone to call me or paying astonishing amounts for long distance or even more astonishing amounts for zone calls within the state.
7 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
mc squared 12/12/2019 4:21:51 PM (No. 260269)
#15; We lived about 55 miles west of Manhattan on 9-11. I couldn't get a dial tone for hours on the landline - no cell service for me then. Not because of any downed wires or failures, but because the phone system is designed by probability that not everyone will go off-hook at the same time and require the line equipment.. It's uneconomical to engineer for a worst-case scenario all the time.
2 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
coldoc 12/12/2019 4:30:57 PM (No. 260277)
I was the first I knew of to disconnect my landline when bag phones first came out. Endlessly getting slammed, spammed or wrong numbered. Got tired of it. Now we have one flip phone between us which I never have in my possession. Life is good.
4 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
Philipsonh 12/12/2019 4:42:58 PM (No. 260285)
Family life was altered far more when BOTH parents needed to work to pay the bills; also. by ONE parent families.
11 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
snakeoil 12/12/2019 5:25:44 PM (No. 260318)
I kept my land line for several reasons. One, if you have to call 911 your address pops up in the 911 system with a land line. With a cell phone you have to give them your address and their GPS might take them to the wrong place. Second, there is a recorder on my land line where doctors, drug stores, etc can leave messages. I want to minimize the number of voice mails I get on the cell. Third, I like having toys. The land line costs $ 50 a month but I've got the 50 bucks.
8 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
Strike3 12/12/2019 5:52:53 PM (No. 260354)
Adults can easily justify giving their kids cell phones by having the kids available for communication at all times while away from home but the downside has been devastating. Some kids never put them down, either engaged in useless chatter and texts with friends or watching Youtube videos created by vulgar British teenagers. Phone-addicted kids don't read any more which will severely detract from their adult lives. Limitations should always be used but they can easily be ignored. I have one grandson who sneaks the phone into bed and can't get up in the morning due to lack of sleep. I have a five-year-old grandson who lives with a phone one foot from his face all day long. That can't be healthy.
7 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
caljeepgirl 12/12/2019 6:34:43 PM (No. 260397)
Not to worry, #1! Recent PG&E power outageS during our California winds/firestorms only confirmed that my good old landline was functioning just fine! (When I was alone in the cold and the dark, I could at least still talk with my sons.) I don't plan to ever give it up during my lifetime.
7 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
kayworthy 12/12/2019 7:35:04 PM (No. 260445)
I picked up my cell phone the other day and waited for the dial tone.
2 people like this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
Mushroom 12/12/2019 7:42:10 PM (No. 260450)
My landline is IP based. No choice in the matter. SO, if the interface card goes down I'm out of luck. At home I have to use a microcell..no longer supported by AT$T. My cell phone, although up to date, can not load the digital voice AT$T requires. Point is, LL doesn't have any special meaning anymore.
0 people like this.
Reply 24 - Posted by:
Omen55 12/12/2019 8:26:31 PM (No. 260485)
Still have my landline.
It's like the spare tire.
6 people like this.
I hated to give up my land line but it was too expensive with all of the outrageous taxes and fees.
2 people like this.
Reply 26 - Posted by:
doctorfixit 12/14/2019 2:19:35 AM (No. 261661)
The Atlantic? What the heck are they doing here? To hell with the Atlantic..
0 people like this.
Below, you will find ...
Most Recent Articles posted by "StormCnter"
and
Most Active Articles (last 48 hours)
Comments:
Just for fun (and probably just for the older L-Dotters, too)