Are Home Phones a Thing of the Past?

I remember when I was a kid, my house had one phone. It was mounted to the wall in the kitchen. Rotary dial, with an actual “hook” where the handset rested when not in use. Mom, dad, and seven kids shared this single, immobile phone. No call-waiting, no caller I.D., no answering machine, and no privacy.

Things are much different today. Home phones are cordless, with range well beyond the 12-foot cord my childhood phone had. Features like caller I.D. and call waiting are pretty standard, so you don’t need to worry about talking to someone you don’t want to. Instead of separate answering machines, just dial a couple numbers and get your voicemail. They can now be connected to your television and show you the name and number of the person calling on your t.v. screen. Impressive, when you think about it.

So, why is it I haven’t had home phone service in over 2 years? Because a little over 2 years ago, I bought a smart phone. I found that I wasn’t home enough to hear my home phone ring anyway, so I shut off my service.

Cell phone technology has far surpassed any bells and whistles home phones can feature, and you can take them with you anywhere. Texting, email, internet, camera, social network hub, GPS, and alarm clock are the features I have used on my phone today. My cell phone has become an enormous part of my everyday life.

Oh yeah, and I can make phone calls with it, too. And it stores all the numbers that are important to me.

It’s hard to argue with technology. In recent years, we’ve become extremely reliant on our gadgets as a society. I don’t know if I’d be able to do a lot of what I accomplish on a daily basis without my cell phone. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t people who find value and use in their home phones.

Do you still have a home phone? Why do you keep it?