When phones were phones and cameras were cameras

By Mike Bollinger

I have a smartphone, to be exact an iPhone 11. Yes, that’s a few models behind. In my defense, I am also a few models behind.

I am enough models behind to remember when phones weren’t all that smart and they certainly weren’t portable unless you were lucky enough to have a phone jack in more than one room and could move it around.

The first phone I remember from my childhood was the one that sat on the table at home in Suffolk, Va. When it rang, you actually had to answer it to know who was calling. In order to use it, you had to put your finger in the appropriate hole in the dial and dial the number. For some reason, I distinctly remember that our phone number was 539-2002.

At some point, that phone was replaced by a touch-tone model, but you still had to answer it to know who was on the other end. Instead of using a dial, we now punched buttons to dial it. This change, I believe, occurred after we had moved to Lawrenceville, Va. I thought we were all that with this newfangled device.

Then came the cordless phone. As long as it was kept charged, you could walk all over the house, and maybe even outside, and talk on the phone. No longer were you tethered by the length of the phone cord. What in the world kind of sorcery was that?

Next came the cell phone. My first one was a flip phone. Texting was not a thing for me because you had to push the number/letter buttons multiple times in order to do so. I finally got one with a slide out keyboard, and into the world of texting I went.

Finally, I was convinced to move into the world of the smartphone. My first one was an iPhone 4. I had to learn that in order to do all the stuff I was told it would do, I had to download these things called apps. Welcome to the modern world.

And, of all things, it would take pictures! Who ever heard of such a thing? Taking pictures with a phone? No way. And, you could search the internet with it. What?

When I first got it, I was scared to wipe off the screen with a moist cloth for fear of killing it. I finally realized the things are a little tougher than I thought.

I chose an iPhone because I am a devoted Mac computer user, and the iPhone pairs with the Mac. I never thought I would want or need to pair a phone with a computer. Since getting the first one, I have moved to an iPhone 7 and then to the 11 I currently have.

The 11 has face recognition in order to unlock it. Pro tip - if you wear glasses and have them on when you set the recognition software, the phone will not know who you are if you don’t have your glasses on.

Apple is now up to the iPhone 14, with the 15 likely scheduled for release in September. A quick check of prices for the 14 indicates I will not be upgrading any time soon. Depending on how much data storage you want, some of the 14 models cost, I would be willing to wager, more than one of the cars in my driveway is worth.

While I enjoy the convenience of being able to check all my sports news in the morning on my phone with a couple of those handy app things, I wonder sometimes if all these advancements are for the best.

I think we, a lot of times, spend way too much time and rely way too much on our phones. Social media apps may be, in some ways, one of the worst things we have. Instead of talking to each other, we text each other.

As I mentioned earlier, I am for sure a couple of models behind. I guess that’s why I do miss reading the paper in the morning to catch up on sports. I guess that’s why I do miss conversations with people instead of texts. I guess that’s why I do miss the excitement of waiting for film to come back from the processor to see what my photos look like.

Progress is inevitable, and there are many, many benefits to the new technology available to us. So, I’ll continue to adapt and roll with it.

Now, if I could only pick my phone up off the table without touching something and getting stuff on my screen that I have no idea how it got there or where it came from.