Sort of anyway….
Think back to just 10 years ago let’s say. Perhaps 15. Not counting your own, how many phone numbers did you know by heart? How many could you rattle off and just dial on those keypads without missing a beat? While I cannot tell you exactly how many I knew, I can guess that it was at least 12-15.
Do you know how many I know now? FIVE. 5. Five. You know why? Because three of them are ones from those original 15 (haven’t been changed) and the other two are my son’s. I know my boys’, my parents home number, my boyfriend’s and my ex-dh’s. That’s IT.
Why? Because we don’t NEED to know them anymore! Cell phones – smart phones particularly with their expanded contact list – have made it obsolete to have to memorize numbers. This is a bad thing though! What happens if you NEED to call someone and don’t have your cell phone? Then what? Do you still keep a little black book somewhere other than your phone? Probably not.
You know how bad it is? A couple of weeks ago SB forgot his cell phone. So he borrowed a friend’s to call him to let me know he was on his way home. And you know what? He was THRILLED (and quite shocked) that he was able to remember my work number on his own! Other than programming it into his own phone, he has rarely ever had to dial it directly. At his age I KNOW I had over a dozen numbers in my head! He might know about the same number as me – five.
This cannot be good for our brains! We should be challenging ourselves more, not making it easier to let those brain cells turn to mush!
So – how many numbers could you dial LONG HAND right now?
Trees & Flowers & Birds! 
Love this! I can still remember my childhood home number and that of my neighbors even though none of us lives there anymore.
I know my parents’ numbers (home + mom’s cell) and my sister’s but they’ve all had the same number for a decade or so. Oh, and I know my husband’s work and cell. What’s funny is that my very bestest friend, the one I talk to and/or text everyday? I have no idea what her number is!
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I can understand maybe not remembering your kids’ cell numbers or the number for the pizza place down the street, since your cell will remember those for you. But I work in a call center and ask for people’s phone numbers every day, and dammit, people, THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR NOT KNOWING YOUR *OWN* PHONE NUMBER. When you’re three years old, isn’t that the first thing your parents teach you–your own address and phone number in case you ever get lost? It’s only 10 digits. It’s not rocket surgery. If you don’t know your own number, what’s the point of even having a phone?
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I can actually remember a number of the old numbers that are no longer in service, like my “teen phone” number at home and my grandmother’s phone number. My parents’ phone is the same as it was when I was growing up, and I know DH’s cell phone number and my work number. I rely on the smart phone for everything else.
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Not too many, that’s for sure. I learned when I got rid of my last cell phone that I need to keep a written record of the phone numbers because it’s easy to lose them all.
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