My Life Before Social Media: A Short Film
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
About kristipetersenschoonover
A ghost story writer who still sleeps with the lights on, Kristi Petersen Schoonover’s fiction has appeared in many magazines and anthologies; her traditionally published books include a short story collection, THE SHADOWS BEHIND. She was the recipient of three Norman Mailer Writers Colony Residencies and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College. She serves as co-host of the DARK DISCUSSIONS podcast, as founding editor of the dark literary journal 34 ORCHARD, and is a member of the New England Horror Writers. Follow her adventures at kristipetersenschoonover.com.
Posted on June 21, 2012, in Deep Thoughts & Fun Stuff, The Writing Life and tagged Facebook, films about social media, funny status updates, Goodreads, how to manage stress, how to social media market, Newport, social media fatigue. Bookmark the permalink. 10 Comments.
Kristi, this is a great film. When I was a teenager, the big thing was the phone. And I mean we had one in the kitchen with this long, long coil wire. I’d pace in one direction, stretching the wire to its limit, then to-the-rear, and go as far as I could into the other room, stretching that wire again. Back and forth. My dad said to sit still while on the phone, that I’d break the wire. And when the mail came to the door, I’d rush over to see if one of my pen-pals had written, which was actually really important cuz our dog was known to chew the mail if we didn’t claim it real fast….Class of 1975, Suburbia
Thanks, Julie! Man, I remember the wall phones with the big long cords. The one in our kitchen was red, and the wire stretched all the way down the hallway. Remember when you wanted privacy so you tried to close the bathroom door on the cord? And yes, I remember rushing to the mailbox, too. I had a pen-pal in Tempe, Arizona for a few years. But sometimes you’d get cool paper invitations to parties instead of e-vites (I left that out of the film). When I made this, I was just disgusted with how my life had become computer, computer, computer. I’m really thankful you appreciate it, because I honestly didn’t think anyone would (except me).
Ours didn’t quite reach the bathroom. In other homes, though, it was more often than not the dad that would lock himself in the bathroom with the phone, sit on the toilet, and take a shit while talking about stocks. My mom kept magazines strategically by the toilet. I mean really, can anyone finish an article in The New Yorker and spend all that time pushing it out? That’s some shit.
Ha! We had National Geographics! In the bathroom was where I first learned about Pompeii…
Oooh, that’s classy shit!
Probably, but like The New Yorker, who could read all that? The pictures were the thing!
You mean reading shit? It’s like palm reading. You know, the round hard ones, the rabbit poop, the lumps, the piles, the long and narrow ones, and all the freaking diarrhea, it’s all destiny.
YES!!
Kristi- That is great!! Ah yes: the barefoot, backyard, bike-riding, seat-belt-less riding, get the neighborhood gang together in person days. Every summer when we go remote and all unplug (even from TV) for most of August, I remind my kids (now 16 & 18) what a luxury it is to be bored! Consider it shared fer sure!
Awesome, Karen! Wow, I’m so impressed you manage to go completely unplugged for a month. It’s a fantasy I have that one day I will do that. Although right now, I’m officially unplugging from the middle to the end of September for the wedding/honeymoon. Screw it! And I remember what my parents used to say when we complained we were bored: “Great! There’s toilets to clean and yardwork to do!”