Tuesday, July 7th, 2009...8:51 am
NEW VIDEO: The Age Police On Phone Patrol
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The Age Police strikes again, apprehending a middle-aged woman innocently dialing her cell phone with her index finger. And fixing to talk too loudly into it.
OK, I give up. I’m 53 (I’ll be 54 in September) and I don’t understand what the alternative is to dialing a cell phone with your index finger.
Is the thumb the preferred digit? Or are you supposed to dial the way young people text on a Blackberry: grasping the phone with both hands and clicking the buttons with left and right thumbs alternately?
I know, I know: to find out, I’ve got to read How Not to Act Old, the book.
BTW: as a cinquagenerian I *love* the large type size for composing comments.
Yes! Must hold phone in one hand and dial with thumb of same hand. If texting or typing on a Blackberry or iPhone, hold between two hands and type with both thumbs. Practice practice practice!!
Oh yes, I suppose I could train myself to hold my cell phone in one hand and dial with my thumb, but doesn’t having to PUT ON MY READING GLASSES FIRST just give my age away?
Well, the fact that you’re the one dialing it will probably be the giveaway. If it’s just dialing, you can memorize the position of the numbers pretty easily. But still, even if you have to wear your reading glasses, at least you’ll look only HALF ancient and out of it.
Yikes — I’m such an old fogey I completely forgot about the “hold in one hand and dial with thumb of same hand” approach.
Strangely, I can’t for the life of me remember how *I* typically dial my cell phone — mainly because I average about 2 cell phone calls per month.
To be honest I think I’ve used both approaches: the embarrassing index finger approach (using two hands) and the nonchalant, way hipper same-thumb-of-hand-holding-phone approach.
Either way, I’ve gotta say that this site is making me excruciatingly self-conscious about my ungraceful slide into fogeyism. I cringed when I saw your first video about exact change: sh*t, I do that *all* the time when I’m paying for stuff! (And I’m stunned at how many young people I see paying for a $6 or $7 take-out lunch with a credit card. I guess it’s OK to keep the person behind you waiting while your credit card is authorized, but not while you fish around in your change purse for three pennies or a nickel.)
Depends how you define OK, but it’s definitely young to make people wait for your credit card and old to make them wait for you to dig out pennies.
I think maybe there should be some guidance as to choosing ringtones….I think people’s ringtones are really (age) revealing. It’s like broadcasting your “era” to anyone within earshot when your phone rings.
Good point. I know that during the eight nanoseconds when my ring tone was the Sex & the City theme song, my children scattered as if I were packing an explosive device.
LOVE IT, Pam!(I’m only 36, and I do everything on my phone with my index finger!)
Oh, this is just too funny! I ALWAYS count out change, but I thought I was being helpful to the sales person…who knew I was broadcasting my age? But, if they saw me counting the change, they saw how old I am, anyway…
Love the large type for leaving comments – what a hoot!
Do I get any brownie points because I can hold my cellphone in one hand while I text? Huh? Pretty please?
Well,I am really old and just don’t care. I can do the one had cell phone deal. But come on the change gets heavy in my purse. Old music you should listen to my fold radio stations, at least they know what the internet is. Which park bench would you like me to move to?