It feels like people are clutching her shoulders, talking all at once. She hates this about smartphones. Before smartphones, if you were safe within the four walls of your home, people had to wait their turn to talk to you, or at least put in the effort to knock on your door. And there was phone etiquette back then too. You didn’t just call people up and say, “Turn your TV on now.” You said, “Hello, Hilda, how’re you? I’m fine, thank you. What are the chances you’re watching the news . . . ?” It was calmer. Even emergencies were calmer.
