So I just read an article in today's Deseret Morning News that talks about the possibility of implementing 10 digit dialing when the new area-code is implemented. I personally think this is a bad idea for many reasons, however, I will only discuss one of them this time.
Young children try to learn their phone number and address in Kindergarten. Most children can memorize a 7 digit number relatively quickly. They then learn their address. If that child were to become lost, they could easily tell someone their 7 digit phone number and that person could make an assumption that the child is local and easily call the child's parents. I don't think children will be able to memorize a 10 digit phone number as easily as a 7 digit one, and if the overlay plan is implemented, it could become a safety issue. Food for thought.
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3 comments:
Sadly, that is a narrow view of the impact 10 digit dialing will have on Utah. We're one of the few states that hasn't deployed/implimented it.
The "overlay" proposal has far more advantages than isolating Salt Lake County with the 801 area code. In time, as the county continues it's growth, it will result in a very awkward split whereas an overlay allows everyone who currently has an 801 phone number to keep it.
There was a time with phone numbers weren't even 7 digits long. The expansion to 7 digits preceeded the area-code with it's direct-dial long distance feature/function which opened the door to lower (and now low) long-distance rates. With the phone carrier I use, 10 digit dialing connects me to anywhere in the US and Canada. Wireless callers have benefited from this for years.
Simply - it's progress. Grow with it. Embrace it. Or stay out of the way of it.
A narrow view? Maybe. However the only positive thing I see for implementing the 10 digit dialing is so that we don't have to change our phone numbers. Isn't that a narrow view?
If you are concerned about the safety of some children having a challenge in learning 10-digit numbers have you considered the impact of all children having to learn NEW 7-digit numbers? (possibly being confused with the old numbers they knew)
For those children who already know their number they only have to learn 3 new digits - and even my 4-year-old can learn a 10 digit phone number so I'm not sure this is a real problem.
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