At first glance, this photo looks like it shows my daughter using a telephone. In truth, it reveals the moment I realised just how much technology has moved on in my lifetime.
During half-term, Helen and I had a morning to ourselves and so I took her out to a nearby historical attraction. One of the displays was of this telephone. You were supposed to pick up the telephone, dial a number and you’d get to listen to a recording about how the attraction was renovated.
Helen was curious and so she picked up the receiver but was a little lost when nothing happened. I told her she had to “dial number one.”
What do you suppose she did? I’ll tell you; she stared at the phone and did absolutely nothing.
After a few seconds I realised why. To someone of her age a telephone has a touch screen. In addition to making the occasional phone call, it plays music and video, helps teach you French and has this great thing called Suri that you ask stupid questions for fun.
Helen had never been presented with a rotary telephone before and simply had no idea how to operate it. Some strange contraption made of Bakelite was utterly foreign to her.
The moment made me chuckle. The photo, by the way, was taken on my iPhone.
I’ve linked this picture to the #MySundayPhoto linky hosted by the Onedad3girls blog. I have also ( as of April 2015) linked this post to the #MyCapturedMoment linky hosted by the Running in Lavender blog.
Just before you click on the linky badge!! I’ve set up a personal Facebook page that will replace my blog’s community page. Please do head over to the new page and send me a friend request. You’ll find the new page here.
27 thoughts on “Daddy, what does this do? #MySundayPhoto”
Ah yes, the things that are still quite familiar to us that are completely alien to our children! Definitely makes you realise how much technology has moved on.
Lol, great post.
In my local dialect, we call it ‘zurry’ and it cozn’t unnerstan wot we bist zayin.
Brilliant! To be fair, I doubt even my sister, who is 32, can remember having a telephone with a dial. It seems like a very long time since we had them, but you do definitely forget that our kids have no idea what some of these things are or how they work!
You don’t even begin to consider what an alien prospect that is do you? Bless her.
Great photo. It’s funny how every generation thinks their parents are soooo old when presented withoutdated tech and then within 20 years their own world has been consigned to the dustbin. What’s so interesting about the future we live in is to a time traveller from the 50s a lot of things would be familiar. Until we produce the pocket computer with instant access to all the information in the world.
Scary to remember using phones like this. Just one and always in the hall where everyone could answer it.
I love these phones!
Safe to say that the unit is an alien to kids now. But I still love those phones. The joy of being able to bang it when you are mad at the person in the other line is just priceless =P
#mysundayphoto
It’s a great photo, so strange to think that our children have grown up not knowing about so many things from our past. Even internet is the norm now and it only seems like yesterday that we were without it!
Gosh you’re so right – mine wouldn’t have a clue what to do with that! I remember when using the telephone in the hall sitting on the chair was how we did “telephoning” haha
Makes me feel (and sound!) very old!
Great shot & observation
#SundayPhoto
That’s a great photo, it’s amazing how far phones have moved on and our children have no idea what these things are
Thank you for linking up
The idea that you had to dial every number, and start all over again if you didn’t get through! Isn’t it funny how things change
So so lovely … time gone past, hey! What a different world we live in today; amazing how we lived the history our children will learn about.
You should link this to Running in Lavender’s #MyCapturedMoment and a few other linkys; really lovely read. #MySundayPhoto
Crikey that is a blast from the past! They really don’t make them like they used to.
Love this! It is incredible to think how much has changed. Even a computer without a touch screen confuses my youngest 🙂
This photo still makes me smile 🙂
It’s an old one, but a good one! Thanks Sara.
Feeling so old right now. However, I have a friend who has an old style phone in her hallway. I was round there with the Tot last week and the phone went off. I was closest and she asked me to pick it up…I had to pause for a minute to work out how to do it! Shocking!! #MyCapturedMoment
Ha ha we saw an old telephone recently too and the boys didn’t have a clue how to use it, hasn’t technology evolved x
So I’m not the only one!!
Oh I love this picture! It does completely highlight how times have changed. I remember my eldest seeing a vinyl LP for the first time and asking how you got it in the CD player ha! But even that has been replaced now. Brilliant picture x
Oddly, my eldest saw her first LP the other day and it had her totally confused too. Thanks for commenting.
Suddenly I’m feeling very old… I actually remember my grandparents having one of those phones. Technology really has come a long way in the past thirty years. Scary to think where we’ll be in another thirty years. Such a sweet post and I love the captured moment. Thank you for linking up! xx
It is very scary to think where we’ll be in another 30 years. Thanks for hosting #MyCapturedMoment
Do you know, I was doing a topic with children at school and one lesson I played noises and they had to guess what the thing was. One of the noises I played was a phone ringing. Nobody got it!!!! I was puzzled at first but then realised that to them a phone call sound is more likely to be Rihanna!!! Great photo! x #MyCapturedMoment
Fascinating that the kids wouldn’t get the sound of a telephone! Thanks for commenting.
The Mother says – What a great post. When Lucas was young, someone brought him a retro Fisher Price telephone (do you remember them, they were a rotary and had a face on the front?). We were having a clear out the other day and found it. Lucas, now 6, was fascinated and wanted to know how we got FB up on it!!!!! How times have changed! #mycapturedmoment
I do indeed remember those phones! Saw one just the other day as it happens. Thanks for commenting.