The telephone completely changed how humans communicate with one another, and was the first invention of creating a realistic presence of someone being with you when they are not physically there. Over time, the telephone has reshaped human communication— forming a new means and etiquette of speaking with one another. Today through the countless iterations, the object has been reinvented into smartphones with multiple aspects along with the telephone function. But, the telephone alone is still a present part of society, even as the smartphone triumphs.
For my chronotope map, I chose four different ways in which I perceive the telephone to be used today. This is only a small selection of the numerous ways in which we use the telephone, and might be the most common amongst New Yorkers.
The first scene is what initially came to mind as I began thinking of what the telephone means in the social context of New York. Along with this object comes a set of unspoken rules and associations with actions (or lack of) around the object. One situation is after a date. If someone doesn’t call you after, they are not interested. If someone calls a few weeks later, they might still be interested, but aren’t particularly excited. If someone calls fairly soon after, they are interested. These “rules” are obviously not according to everyone, but they exist. We learn them by watching bad romantic comedies and listening to our friend’s advice. Who calls who first? What makes you hesitant to make the first move? Why over the phone, and not in person? Because the phone might be more casual, and less creepy than showing up at their doorstep? All of these questions and many more surround this single object. Someone might go back and forth for hours on weather or not they should make the call because of the underlying associations with the object/ interaction. For this scene, I included a version replacing the telephone with a smartphone because I think today the telephone is not as relevant in this situation. Many people are becoming more comfortable with texting over spoken conversation. I thought it was important to include both because I believe both are equally important, but texting is more common.
The next scene is in the event of an emergency. The telephone is in many cases, a matter of life or death. It is the first object to go to when you need help in a difficult situation. We learn from an early age what 9-1-1 is, and when to call. But, we also might call a friend. In any emergency, the first action is to reach someone via telephone sometimes even when other people are physically near you. You might be walking home alone at night, or lose control of your car in a storm. The first thing we do is call.
Another included vignette is of one figure calling their family that might live far away. We use the telephone to keep in touch and to catch up with loved ones when we can’t, or prefer not to, physically. We fill each other in on what our days are like, what we are cooking for dinner, and how we are doing/ feeling. We talk about the news and our opinions on the current events. While we often (maybe not often enough) call those physically far away from us, we also call our friends that live near enough to see in person. I call my best friend while waiting for the train, even though I know I’ll be seeing her at the end of the day. We use the telephone as a tool to stay in touch every once in a while, but also to stay in constant contact with the ones we love. When we feel alone, or miss someone we call them. It doesn’t always matter what we talk about. It could be minutes of silence or muffled sounds of what they are doing, but we call to be with someone else while we are alone. I would call my best friend and stay on the line for hours while we did whatever we were doing— eating, cleaning, working on something.
The final illustration is to depict the telephone being used for connivence. Mundane tasks like calling for appointments, to check a store’s hours, place an order for pick up can all be done at home with a telephone. If you feel like you might be getting sick, you can call the doctor and ask a few questions before having to travel for a visit. There are so many small, quick things we use the telephone for that make our lives easier. They are usually not vital, but the telephone makes things a lot easier.
Overall, it is still nice to receive a written letter in the mail, and also is sometimes more convenient to receive a quick text message. But, we use the telephone for so many different reasons and its implications are boundless.
