I think all this communication is double edged. I emigrated to Australia in 1969 and there was no instant communication. so what did we do? We wrote letters. I used to write a little every day, like a diary and post it home once a week. My mother kept all my letters. They were very detailed. What my first impressions were. What everyday items cost and how they compared to home. Copies of these letters are now in the archives of the Sussex University for the use of future historians. My memories have been featured in a modern history book and in June I am to be interviewed for a project to be staged in the Victorian Museum, Melbourne. I can't help thinking that letter writing is more durable than Face Time and much more rewarding. When I re-read them they trigger so many more memories.
When we first got the telephone installed in 1970 we had to book an International call 3 months in advance so that all the intervening telephone exchanges could be coordinated. We booked one for my mother-in-law's birthday, but did not tell her. On the appointed day we placed the call and listened to it being connected in all the different countries until it reached Bembridge on the Isle of Wight. The phone rang and she answered. "Happy Birthday Mum" "Oh son!" Then silence. Nothing. We waited for a few seconds and then imagined the worst. She'd fainted, had a heart attack. We got back to the operator. Our news travelled all the way back through the various languages until it reached Bembridge again. The little exchange was about a mile down the road from where she lived and the man at the exchange went there to see if she was ok. She was, but the phone had broken down! This was duly fixed and they gave us a free call the following day. What would happen now? How much does technology do for us? I wouldn't be without it, but I also feel it has robbed us of a great deal too.