I love my iPad and I particularly love using my iPad’s FaceTime
application. The connection is so much
personal than just speaking on the phone.
I recall showing it to my Dad last year when we had a long
chat with my sister who lives abroad. He was blown away by the technology – not
only could he speak to his daughter for free, but we could see her too – and
her apartment – and her boyfriend. It was lovely and I could see he was alive
to the possibilities that FaceTime could offer - enabling him to see and speak
to his children as if they were in the same room.
So, Christmas arrived and with it, both of my parents
acquired iPads. Then the fun started!
On Christmas day, I had a great chat with my Dad via FaceTime.
Then another one. And another.
After the first one, I realised that I looked pretty
terrible on screen and by the time the second call came in, my hair was up and
I was wearing make-up. By the time of the third contact, I was clearing up
after tea and had a serious debate as to whether I should answer at all. I did,
and took a seat in the kitchen, with a glass of wine and the family cat on the
table. The unexpected consequence of this was that I ended up waving the wine bottle
at the iPad so that my Dad could read the label and comparing the sizes of our
respective pet cats.
Over the following week, I had FaceTime conversations with
my parents, my niece and my sister on their iPads pretty much every day and it
was lovely to be able to do that. I even gave my sister-in-law a guided tour of
our newly painted cellar, including the view down the spiral staircase. How
amazing is that? But it also dawned on me that the rules for video chat are
very different from when just using the phone.
The writer and scientist Arthur C Clarke, always way ahead
of his time, invented the equivalent of FaceTime in his book, Imperial Earth (published in 1976). And
take note: he also touched on FaceTime etiquette. In one scene, a character fails to switch on the visual option – preferring a voice-only conversation. Clarke's protagonist comments, “as a
matter of common good manners, one never overrode the vision circuit, unless
there was a very good excuse indeed… whatever the real reason, social protocol
demanded some explanation. To say the viddy was out of order was to invite
total disbelief, even on those rare occasions when it was true.”
Uh-o, this is the future, dear reader. You may as well get
used to it: I spent the entire Christmas/New Year holiday far better dressed
and made up than usual, on the basis that I would inevitably end up having a
FaceTime conversation with someone I would prefer to only see me half decently
turned out.
So, on reflection, here are my useful tips for a happy
FaceTime experience:
·
- If you can, text to, or otherwise pre-arrange
your FaceTime calls in advance. FaceTime angst when your call is not answered,
or when you really don’t want to take that call, can then be avoided;
- Keep still! Or at least, keep your iPad still: there
is nothing worse than having to watch your caller whirling around – sea-sickness
may ensue;
- Position yourself or your iPad carefully. I
could see up the nostrils of one of my relatives until I made a joke about it
and the iPad was hastily re-positioned;
- Be prepared! Or don’t be afraid to ask to return
the call shortly – especially if you feel the need to put on your face before your
caller sees you;
- Beware of pulling faces. Nuns practise what is
called ‘custody of the eyes’ – you cannot unsee what you have seen (so don’t
look). Likewise, if you start rolling your eyes in exasperation, your caller can’t
unsee that either;
- You can't take FaceTime calls just anywhere: we all know people who text from the bathroom - or even take calls - not on your FaceTime you don't!
- Have an exit strategy. There’s nothing more
awkward that just looking at each other, following a long pause, then feebly
muttering ‘bye.’
Who knows, FaceTime may improve
our manners. In the meantime, don’t forget to tidy up and hide that pile of
laundry behind your chair….
