… ringtones?
This was a suggestion from Peter Beens.
This rang so true to me this past couple of weeks. After a long time of nagging, I convinced my wife that it was time for her to cut the cord and get herself a smartphone.
She was hesitant and the biggest fear was losing our landline number because “people that we owe money to won’t be able to find us”. I assured her that they would definitely track us down like the debtors that we are. But, I wasn’t successful.
It was only when we had the salesperson at the store say “Oh yes, I can transfer your number; no problem”. And the deal was done. The power of a second opinion!
So, one of her first tasks was to hunt down ringtones. And, how to turn the volume up very loud so that she (and anyone within earshot) wouldn’t miss a call. But there’s voicemail …
Then, she made a big mistake. She decided to show off her new phone to our kids who took upon themselves to customize it for her. This included downloading a new ring tone that would get you three days suspension if you used it in a school. Maybe longer at the volume she chose!
Then we had “the talk” where I explained that we could be in a public place and yet not hear a ringtone. Our little part of the world had moved on to just being notified by vibrations or by smart watch.
Maybe she’ll get there some day.
For a Sunday, your thoughts…
- am I going to win this battle?
- how about you? ringtone or vibrate?
- but you’ll admit, there was a time when it was ringtone. Did you feel compelled to listen your way through the list that came with the phone?
- did you ever use the ringtone that sounded like an old time ringing phone?
- did you go looking for other ringtones?
- what was your favourite?
- do you have separate notifications per application or per person calling on your phone?
- are you displeased when you hear a loud ringtone in public?
- in November when the “new rules” about smartphones come into place in Ontario schools, will all students and teachers move to vibration only?
- how do you handle smartphone notifications in your class?
Ah, it’s been a long couple of weeks here! I almost long for the time when it was OK to wait until we got home and got messages on the answering machine!
Please share your thoughts in the comments.
This post originally appeared on:
https://dougpete.wordpress.com
If you read it anywhere else, it’s not the original.
doug -- off the record 
Please share your thoughts here. I’d enjoy reading them.