Almost all of our telephones today, whether they are landlines or mobile phones, are equipped with a “leave a message” answering service. Like all of our modern technological wonders, this telephone answering service has a darker side to its apparent sunny convenience. When I arrive home late at night after attending an event or a celebration and I see that red light flashing on our answering machine, indicating that a caller or numerous callers have left a message, my mood darkens.
I must then and there listen to those messages for there may be an emergency situation that demands my attention – and even a response late at night. But most of the time, these messages can certainly wait for my response until the next day. But, I must listen to them even though it will now take me more time to get into my “going to sleep” mode, simply because I know that these messages exist and the callers expect my response.
I was born at a time when and in a place where phone numbers were only four digits in length and one spoke to a real live person called an “operator” to connect a call. Our home phone was one of four homes connected on a party line, and no one thought of having an answering machine attached to one’s phone. We have certainly progressed at least as far as phone technology is concerned.
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