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Guest Thinkers

Phone book litmus test?

Whenever I need an address or phone number, I turn to the Web. I realized the other day that I probably haven’t used a telephone directory printed on paper in at least three or four years.


My parents and grandparents, in contrast, always turn to the phone book. While I don’t even think of pulling out the white or yellow pages in our cabinet, the phone book is always the very first place they go. The same is true of paper atlases. I have one in my car for the state of Iowa, but it gets used one-hundredth as often as Google Maps and/or my new GPS unit.

Is this the ultimate litmus test of whether you’re a ‘digital native’ or not? Regardless of your age or setting, where do you turn first when you need an address, phone number, or directions?


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