Do you actually know the people in your contacts list, or are you just hoarding strangers from 2008?
Do you ever scroll through your phone and look at the names in your contacts? Do you even know who they all are? Or why they became a contact?
By now, we’ve all been through several phones. I started with a BlackBerry in 2002, moved on to the iPhone 5 a few years later, and have had a few more of Apple’s special treats.
Apple makes it easy to clone your old phone. You keep your contacts, apps, tunes, and banking information on your new phone as you move ahead. I remember moving everything over from my basically defunct BlackBerry to my new iPhone nearly two decades ago.
The Ghost in My Contact List
The other day, a random name popped up on my phone. I haven’t seen this woman since maybe 2007 or 2008. I wouldn’t recognize her if she were standing next to me on the subway.
Why is she on my phone? Who knows?
The real answer is we met at a community event. Everyone was passing around their mobile devices, as adding people was so “trendy” at that time. It was just becoming ubiquitous.
Who is T.A. (And Why Is She on My Subway?)
After I saw this woman’s name, whose initials are T.A., I scrolled through the Ts in my contacts. I saw many more people added for the same reasons.
Have I ever deleted any of these people? No.
Have I ever blocked any of them? Yes.
One or two text me all day about events they know I have zero interest in attending. I like them. I have asked them to text me when they have something they know I would care about. They have always said, “ok”—then continued with their constant badgering.
The “I Like You, But You’re Blocked” Dilemma
I have cut back on mine. I try my hardest to text, tag, or call only those I know would be interested in the information I am reaching out to share.
Bigger Than the Yellow Pages
These days, it seems our mobile devices have more contacts in them than the white and yellow pages did.
Who knows, maybe one day I will need to reach out to the people I added 20 years ago. Right now, I can’t even figure out why I even added them. Of course, I know why.
But the bigger question is: did I need to?
