PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS • APRIL 20, 2022
I remember when the telephone was a useful and appreciated device. The digital revolution, one of humanity’s most unfortunate developments, has turned the telephone into a nuisance and a threat.
The telephone is such a nuisance that most people no longer answer when it rings or even bother to set up the feature to record phone messages. The telephone is such a nuisance that many people do not even use it for calls. Instead, they text, and they only answer texts.
Ninety-five percent of the calls I get are scams, tele-marketing and robo-marketing calls. The telephone is a constant disruption. I don’t answer and rely on the answering machine.
No one I call answers either. Not even businesses. Recently I telephoned the diagnostic center, where tests are done as part of my annual checkup, to confirm the appointment. A long recording in two languages explained everything I had no need to know, but it was impossible to communicate with any live person at the diagnostic center. I could go online, get an apt, create a portal and establish a communication connection. In other words, what the telephone formerly dealt with in 30 seconds now took an hour or two just to set up a method of asking the question. The robot on the other end didn’t say how long I would wait for a reply.