The Telephone Tech Tirade: Is Progress Digressing?

Does anyone else understand the lack of interaction and connection between humanity in the presence of multiple “social media” outlets?  

If so, please enlighten us with your wisdom, grasshopper.  

Remember the game called Telephone from back in the day? It was a lot of fun to play. It reminded me of how misconstrued an initial statement could sound from one person to the tenth. That’s just humanly speaking.  

Years later, we now have the technology and digital special effects, operandi words, algorithms, and whatever other calculus term you want thrown in the mix. ChatGPT, a lullaby (have yet to learn what the world that is), AI, social media digitization station, and something called organic marketing (excluding grocery shopping). Does 'organic' signify allowing access to all contacts and all apps, zapping one to the other? Is there a hidden line in the sand I’m missing here?  

Is the telephone game seeming more credible to you now?  

I ran into issues communicating with my doctor about responding to my questions about a medication. Let me count the ways I attempted to reach her: 

-Email  

-Zocdoc 

-Athena Patient Portal  

-Another portal of annoyance  

Anyway, I wonder how we have so many apps for this and that, marketing expensive tools that everyone should buy now.  

I’d rather talk to my friend through cans and a rope.  

At the very least, the telephone game gave you a quicker response than anything else I’ve experienced lately.  

Password changes, resets, turning on and off, and trying various apps. The customer contact number is always hidden from plain sight. When you do connect with the doctor, however, leave a voicemail, and we may call back if you reach the correct extension.  

Microsoft ads in my email appear after my purchases or searches were tracked. I kid you not, WhatsApp commercials flooded my Roku after I created a Facebook account. Meta signifies My Extra Time Averted (with some exceptions).  

What an endless cycle of waiting and disappointment humans now face when interacting with a confused web of bots, making you check, 'No, I’m not a robot!' 

Let’s not forget the people connecting face-to-face, not through social media or any other diversion. Let’s go back to simple telephone conversations, not instant messages or superficial microwaved substance.  

Let’s move forward and progress by relaxing and taking time to unwind and reflect. Join me today, and let’s see who can tolerate their electronics in the other room by 6:00 pm. I look forward to a full report.

August 8, 2025