the 'good old days' on a dial phone and a loooong receiver cord

I was happy when push button phones came out.

It is much easier to scroll and send a quick text.
And if you take a quick picture and send a quick text, people are totally happy.
It is a no brainer.

I hadn't thought about how jarring that must be to someone new to the tech.

Sending you good vibes.

Last edited Wed Feb 4, 2026, 05:46 PM - Edit history (1)

1. Learning something new takes time. BTW learning new tasks helps
prevent dementia because it builds new neural pathways.

2. The new technology can be very helpful in too many ways to list.

3. The young people in the family would rather communicate by text.
So you will hear from them more if you have text capability.

4. Use the speak to text feature on your text. You hit the little microphone icon
and speak, it turns your words into text.

5. Use the little emojis on your message to jazz it up and express your feelings.

6. I wish I had the I17, it is a new model and has bells and whistles!

point #6, I wish I'd started this journey with an earlier model of phone. Am not a good bells and whistles person. I still drive a car with a manual transmission.

I have an I16 because I have small hands and needed a smaller phone.
But I mainly only do the basics with it.

Text people, take pictures, play candy crush.

I also have some good aps that help me out.
Open the garage door etc.

I am the same way with my car.
I have an automatic but turned off some of the fancy stuff.
I don't like it when the car takes over.

Well yes it would be easier now for you if you had done this years ago.
But even the simple phones back then were a big learning curve.
All the more reason to do it now.

I have an 85 year old friend who got an iPhone last year for the first time.
She had a conniption fit over it, but I sat down with her and taught her
to do texts with emojis and then she went to town on it. She loved it so much.
Her grandkids are having a ball with her.

You can also get online anytime you need it.
And that can save you time and money.
Also in an emergency you have a reliable phone always with you.

what they mean. Still have some I haven't found, yet. One looks to take my blood pressure, but am not sure. But I can dial 911 easily.

that holds such promise.

Others my age, (yeah, I'm old) who have been in this I-phone world for years, can't understand me. Part of me doesn't want this extant way of communicating, but know it's the future. Just makes me sad that we've sunk to such a distant way to send personal messages to one another.

Just to get practice.

I wish I just had a simple cell phone for calls, texting and to take pictures. Apps and games always appear, I don't order them, they just appear. I hate them. I too, prefer an old fashioned phone call or conversation face to face. It is very difficult to text on my phone, I'm sure there is a way to do it from my laptop, where it would be easier on my spine and arthritis. I am too old old to figure that out.

I am so old, my first job was working for Pacific Bell as a long distance operator, plugging a cord in to a lighted socket, and saying "operator." Finding out what they needed and connecting their call by plugging in the corresponding cord and dialing the caller's needed number. The good old days. 1970

great as new tech is, I still feel we're losing personal touch with each other.

Winter weather forced me to take laundry to a laundromat, yesterday. Had a ball -- met so many nice people doing their laundry. Maybe we're simply missing real life human connection.

Let go of the need to capitalize, and punctuation can be fudged.

Sentence 1: Capitalization
I mean, if you're texting your friend about another friend named Brian, they will know who brian is even if you don't capitalize his name.

Sentence 2: Punctuation
I mean if you're texting your friend about another friend named Brian they will know who brian is even if you don't capitalize his name or use exact punctuation.

I'm also very fond of using emojis to express my emotional intent.

If you miss talking to people so much, text them and ask when a good time to call would be, so that you can catch up without typing back and forth.

Good luck!

up at 5 a.m. Didn't do it on purpose, of course. So appreciate your good luck wish. (My friend forgave after yelling at me.)

Turn off your ringer before you go to sleep!

If it hadn't been for them, I wouldn't have any idea what to do with this thing, a third generation iPhone SE, years behind yours.

It's like learning calculus in Latin: it's going to take a while.

As a phone?
Texting?
Surfing the net?
As a camera?

you needed something that was easier to see and hear and do the things you want to do.

I am purposefully looking for familiar "old-fashioned" products because they are easier to use. I bought a washer and dryer with dials and knobs. I love it! I don't need 22 different options for washing a load of laundry.

Consumer Cellular has an "Iris Easy Flip."

I've never used a Jitterbug, buy they have a Smart Phone.

that hates to admit defeat. Have always mastered tasks -- from riding horses to playing a piano -- and it grates me to fail at this.

permutations and combinations of choices they have. Am beginning to believe that humans don't need more choices in their lives...but I'm old.

The day I stop learning is the day I die.