Do we not knock on doors anymore? Does no one ring the bell or buzz the buzzer these days?
It seems the thing to do now is to text "I'm here/I'm outside" rather than rap out a small tune with your knuckles on the door.
I have a sneaky feeling I have arrived at this conclusion a tad late and that you are all now saying "yeah, ringing the bell is so last week!"
I was first alerted to this trend when I read a rather sorry story this morning, about a hapless soul found standing outside in the cold and rain for 20 minutes, because, she had sent a text instead of knocking on the door. You see, the person she sent the text to was still at work in a meeting, therefore unaware of the visitor to her house. Her husband, however, was at home, and I am sure would gladly have opened the door and let this person in from the cold and rain, had she simply KNOCKED ON THE DOOR!
At first, my thoughts were along the lines of 'what was that woman thinking? What was wrong with her?' but then it hit me: this is what people are doing. At my old place of work, 9 out 10 customers would text me to inform me they are outside rather than buzz the intercom. I always put this down to the fact that as the building had been repurposed, the entrance can appear a bit confusing. But then..... I remembered my last boyfriend. He always sent a text rather than walk up the drive and knock on the door: I assumed he was just lazy. (he was actually lazy, but that's another story) And, there are others that do it... I just didn't click till today.
Someone offered an explanation as to the benefits of texting instead of door knocking. They explained that if you knock on the door the entire family is disturbed but if you text the person you are there for then the family get to continue their activities unaware and undisturbed as the receiver of said text quietly slips outside.
While I 'get' this I just can't help but shake my head like a grumpy old woman and become concerned about the backlash of this trend. I'm pondering on everything from the potential loss of social interaction to the dumbing down of those who will stand in the rain for 20 minutes without it occurring to them that knocking on a door can serve a purpose.
So, am I the only person who still raps a ditty on the front door to announce my arrival?