There is a theory that claims that if texting came before the telephone, everybody would be amazed at the fact that we could actually talk to one another; I believe Ian Bogost would agree.

 

In Bogost’s article, “Don’t Hate the Phone Call, Hate the Phone”, he argues that millennials have developed such a hatred for phone calls that it has become a phobia, or “telephoniphobia”, to be exact. Bogost states, “when even initiating phone calls is a problem—and even innocuous ones, like phoning the local Thai place to order takeout—then anxiety rather than habit may be to blame…” Today, there is not only a dread that comes with making phone calls, but an anxiety. Bogost says this is because of social media’s ability to allow one to “intricately craft every exchange” which makes simple, live conversation seem like a burden. Another reason that factors into this phobia of the telephone is the fact that cellular networks may be to blame for their unreliability. Bogost suggests that their “unpredictability” is what leads individuals to veer from making phone calls.

 

Personally, I do not think this is the case. The telephone clearly is a monumental invention that has impacted us greatly, but since its introduction, there have been countless advancements with the telephone. Telephones today, or cellphones rather, have much greater uses that go beyond a simple phone call. With social media on the rise and other advantageous developments, like ordering food online, editing photos, or applying to jobs, the telephone has been altered and changed drastically. Today, a simple text may suffice for many opposed to a phone call that may seem rather time consuming, and that is perfectly fine. I do, however, believe that newer generations that are exposed to the accessibility of cellphones and the dependence on social media can lead to a kind of “phobia” when it comes to phone calls. Many individuals, even some that I have encountered, shy away from something as simple as ordering a pizza over the phone, as they don’t feel comfortable speaking.

 

Another problem that Bogost brings up is that telephones have shifted from private to public. Bogost states that, “the mobile phone in general and the smartphone in particular are designed to be carried first, and spoken into second”. The issue that he brings to light here is that the environment in which the telephone is used has been altered, which then alters the use, and the necessity, of the telephone in general. He mentions that phones were only placed in closed off environments, such as a bedroom, a kitchen, or an office. He says, “in these circumstances, telephony became a private affair cut off from the rest of the environment”. He compares this to telephones in public as well, which also had some sort of booth or walls to confine. Essentially, there was a level of privacy where noise could not interfere and the sound could remain intact. Today, however, is the complete opposite. Bogost argues that phones are carried everywhere, which means that whenever they are used it will most likely be an environment where the sound will be compromised. Whether it may be city streets or coffee shops, the sound frequency combined with signal loss from poor wireless signals takes away from the telephone experience entirely. Bogost states that, “not only are phone calls unstable, but even when they connect and stay connected in a technical sense, you still can’t hear well enough to feel connected in a social one”. Ultimately, mobile phones take away from the reliability that telephony once possessed. Bogost is convinced that the design of mobile phones in this modern day has only fed to the unreliability and the awkwardness of telephony. Perhaps he is right, but it is not surprising that advancements such as these have led to such a change in the basic concept that was once the telephone.