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vidarh • yesterday at 12:27 PM • 1 reply • view on HN

We did, and yet people did still often just come over unannounced, to the point that it that the unannounced visit - which was common enough to be believable, but not always welcome - was a frequent plot point in various media.

It was common during my childhood for us to always have something in the cupboard - like a cake or biscuits or chocolate - that we could offer in case someone just dropped by.

It's been decades since I've cared about having anything ready for a possible surprise visitor, as while before I'd feel rude if I didn't have anything, now I'd feel they were rude for not checking in advance as now they rarely have an excuse for not doing so.


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lapcat • yesterday at 12:46 PM

> We did, and yet people did still often just come over unannounced, to the point that it that the unannounced visit - which was common enough to be believable, but not always welcome

The question is, what exactly is the relevance of mobile vs. non-mobile phones?

I think it really depends on the walking distance. If someone is your neighbor, there's not a lot of effort saved from calling or texting first.

Going back to the OP, these are two very different things: "you can just text them… or not even bother and check their socials to see what impression of a life they’re presenting today."

As far as one-to-one communication is concerned, a landland call is just as good as a mobile call or a text. But social media addiction is an entirely different matter. That's not even about announced vs. unannounced visits but rather about living in the real world vs. living in a virtual world.

> was a frequent plot point in various media.

I'm not sure that citing fiction is useful.

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