Anyone who has read books like Agatha Christie’s will have come across the use of telegrams. A message had to be sent and in what seems a surprisingly short amount of time the answer was received.  It was an efficient method of communication with the technology of the time. There was still a period of waiting when you didn’t know the answer, but at least you could get information to people. It involved a lot of people because the telegrams had to be delivered.

Then the telephone became more common.  As exchanges were phased out and direct dialing became possible fewer people were involved.  It doesn’t matter what you are doing at home or if you are talking to a sales person in a shop, the phone rings and everything stops while it is answered.  It has priority.  Partly because we want to know who called and partly the ring is insistent. Probably many other reasons as well. It is more important than anyone you are talking to. The communication is instant. You have your answer as long as you are near it.

Now we have mobiles there is nowhere to hide. If someone forgets to turn off their phone it can ring in the most inappropriate places.  Funerals, in the silence, a meeting, the cinema.  The other thing is, no one knows where you are.  The mobile gives you access with some privacy. That is often the first question. If you are on a commuter train, you know the question because of the reply.  The answer seems to roll around the carriages as everyone phones home when there is a delay.

Sending a text has produced a huge debate about the quality of English being used and how the abbreviations are damaging spelling. It has added to the debate about the safety of children using mobiles and for anyone using one for a long time. 

With the eruption of e-mails we have rapid communication which can be left and does not necessarily interrupt what you are doing.  They give time for measured replies if they are necessary and the grammar and spelling can be corrected. It has become the usual way of communicating.  Letters are a treat now yet they seem old fashioned. 

The point of this discussion is that all these methods of getting in touch with someone else mean people are keeping in contact. In a time when there are complaints about us not writing letters, about being casual and off hand with others, there is an explosion of messages and conversations.  These can be taking place in the same town or across continents. Distance has suddenly disappeared.  

It seems, however much some people are irritated by the modern technology, it is enabling more communication over a wider area.  Surely not a bad thing.