A touchy subject

The rapid advancement of modern technology is astounding, but can in some ways also be utterly frustrating.

Looking back at the very first cell phones that were introduced to South Africa back in the early nineties, one can only smile.

I recall being on holiday on the KZN North Coast (yes, I also went on holiday once) and seeing these busy businessmen parading around the hotel and making one call after the other with the huge cell phones stuck to their ears. They made sure everyone would notice their bigger and better cell phones by holding then up in the air, pretending to point the aerials in the direction of the incoming signal.

The one good thing about those old models was the large keypad buttons that have all but disappeared on the latest phones.

Navigating the keypads with clumsy thumbs and fingers was much easier in those days.

On numerous occasions, the touch screen on my modern super-flat phone has resulted in some pretty awkward situations. Well okay, when I bought it not so long ago it was modern!

Not being very adept at using both thumbs like the whizz kids of today are able to do, I use my index finger to stab at the ridiculously small digits hiding shoulder to shoulder under the screen that only stays illuminated for a few seconds.

This causes my pinkie to curl up and brush across something that dials numbers lurking in some or other memory bank (I still can’t figure out where) and calls people for no reason at all.
Normally this won’t matter, as an apology can be offered, but when I unintentionally call a farmer three times in succession at two thirty in the morning while I’m covering an accident scene, … well, he understandably gets pretty upset!

Phoning home and hearing a voice that for the fourth time says; “What is your emergency?” can land one in hot water for making “prank” calls.

So, please folks, if I unintentionally call you, please understand.

Touch screens and curled pinkies were not designed with each other in mind.