I Turned Off My Phone for a Month and Used a Landline
May 28, 2026 at 11:30PM“Where are all the other landline people?” The question surfaces midway through Jeremy Rellosa’s brisk, sharply observed diary of his month-long experiment in bygone technology. He’s on the F Train where, relieved of his portable distraction device, he discovers that there are still advertisements for a decades-old sitcom above his fellow commuters. A beat later, he mourns his family group chat, replaced by voicemails from his mother that are only available through the cream-colored Trimline telephone he’s plugged into his modem for service. A testament to the cleverness, detail, and personal consideration that a scant 1,800 words can hold.
Like Tom Hanks in You’ve Got Mail, I have a notepad next to my landline. Since there’s no caller ID and no screen, I have to jot down numbers and messages. This becomes my version of a text exchange: I’ll write a note, then call that person back, and if they don’t answer, I leave a voice-mail. A few friends have asked about the etiquette of calling my landline: “Can I call past 10 p.m.?” “Can you see a missed call if I don’t leave a voice-mail?” (Yes and no.) Before I head out, I write down important addresses and sketch the cross streets on a small notepad that I take with me.
from Longreads https://longreads.com/2026/05/28/landline-smartphone-experiment/
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