AMERICANALMANAC (Sadie Smith) - Shared family landlines once enforced seven social rules smartphones wiped out
A generation ago, one household phone taught kids manners personal devices never will, time limits, dinner silence, and real respect for everyone under the same roof. Before texting, smartphones, or even personal cell phones, most families lived with a single shared landline. That one phone sat in a busy part of the house, and everyone […] The post Shared family landlines once enforced seven social rules smartphones wiped out appeared first on American Almanac .
A generation ago, one household phone taught kids manners personal devices never will, time limits, dinner silence, and real respect for everyone under the same roof. Before texting, smartphones, or even personal cell phones, most families lived with a single shared landline. That one phone sat in a busy part of the house, and everyone had to live by the same code. Mental Floss laid out seven social rules that setup forced on parents, kids, and teens. The point was simple: keep the house calm, protect sleep and work, and make shared space work. Those rules sound quaint now. They also reveal how much basic courtesy depended on one cord and a limited line. Night calls stopped at 9, and mornings waited until 9 Non-emergency calls after 9:00…Open