WALL OF TEXT: LAG

 

WALL OF TEXT: LAG. Talking on the phone is rare these days, despite the ubiquity of cell phones. Seems strange how now that everyone owns a phone, nobody wants to talk on it. Perhaps it’s due to something which few seem to articulate: lag time. When we used landlines, there was no delay between when you spoke and the person on the other end heard you. Conversations flowed instantly, naturally, without any need to pause or wait for the other person to hear you and respond. It was as good as speaking with someone in person. On a cell phone, there is a noticeable time delay. Even over VOIP (including Discord and Zoom and Skype), users notice lag time. If I speak, I have to wait a few seconds for the other person to hear me, and then for their response to reach me. Phone conversations are filled with “sorry, go ahead”s as lag time resolves. It’s nothing like speaking to someone in person. This means talking on the phone is unpleasant, so nobody really wants to do it anymore. Cell phones have not improved the telephone. While it’s convenient to have a connection in one’s pocket, what’s the point if this connection is demonstrably bad? I dread thinking about a generation of young people growing up thinking voice conversation is undesirable. Human beings evolved to interact face to face. The more technology removes us from one another, the more disconnected we become.