While phones have been around for decades, it is easy to forget that the implementation of caller id is a relatively new phenomena. I remember when none of the phone in my house had caller ID and a separate attachment was required in order for caller ID. Now, every phone available has caller ID and every voice plan includes caller ID at no additional charge. What got me thinking about caller ID was an interaction I had just the other day with a friend. His phone was ringing and after looking at the screen, he pressed ignore and put the phone back in his pocket. When I asked him why he didn't answer the call he said because he didn't recognize the number. This made me wonder if he would ever answer the phone if he didn't have caller ID. Having caller ID allows us to quickly prepare for a conversation and adjust our tone and mood accordingly.
Caller ID is certainly an example of a medium that has brought social change. When someone is calling me that I don't want to speak with, I don't have to speak to them as I can press the ignore button and let it go to voice mail. Before caller ID, I would have to answer the phone and be forced to have a conversation with someone whom I did not want to speak with. Secretaries no longer have to screen calls as caller ID does this same thing.
But is this social change good? Is it good that we can so easily decline a conversation from someone? While caller ID is definitely convenient, it also prevents necessary interactions. One can avoid calls for weeks at a time with the aid of caller ID. There's no spontaneity in conversations nowadays, as very few people interact with strangers for companionship. On the train everyone sits in silence and looks at their cell phone, when 50 years ago everyone would have been making conversation. Similarly, caller ID is just one more innovation that leads us to be anti-social, as it takes the surprise out of every conversation.
I have to agree that I certainly agree with what your friend did and I find myself doing the same thing when I get a call from a number that I don't recognize. I think that caller ID really gives us more control as we can now decide as soon as we receive a call if we want to take it or if we want to ignore it. I often find that even if I ignore a call because I don't want to take it I usually send a text message or find another way to communicate to the person that called me that I didn't want to accept their call. Caller ID has changed the way I use the phone but I think it is definetly something that is helpful for me.
ReplyDeleteWhile the caller id feature definitely helps make answering the phone easier in terms of choosing which calls to take, there is also the flipside (as you mentioned) of it hindering our interactions. I dont usually answer the phone if i dont recognize the number, but there is a potential problem with this because the caller id function relies on your phone's address book. If the number was from somebody who got a new phone or maybe a potential employer returning a call and you didnt take down their number, you might lose the opportunity presented in their first call. Even if you answer the number you dont recognize and its a telemarketer or someone you dont want to talk to, its just as easy to hang up on them as it was to answer.
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