A few days ago the Verizon SuperPages telephone directories were delivered to area homes. This directory is one of several that are delivered in the area. Generally, we look at these books as obsolete as buggy whips; they almost immediately hit the recycle pile.

Increasingly, people are finding “things” by relying on the Internet, smart phones and digital technology. The “hold-it-in-your-hands” directories (yellowbook; Verizon’s superpages; CenturyLink Yellow Pages) have digital versions. Directory use is rapidly declining; we were not able to find exact numbers via Internet search, but we did find some. For instance, a study from Australia shows 65% increase in people who “use print versions of yellow pages less than monthly or not at all.”

(SOURCE: yellowturningblue.com.au)

Before recycling these issues, we decided to thumb through the directory. If you are looking for an attorney or a bailbondsman, here’s the place to look.

We found one really good resource for information about what to do in case of a nuclear incident at Three Mile Island. What we could not find were listings for people in the “traditional white pages.” The white pages include only business listings. Most likely, the phone directory has discovered that people are turning away from the phone in the home to the phone in the pocket or the bag. Mobile telephone use has skyrocketed across the globe; in the US today, more than 327 million mobile telephone numbers are in use. (NOTE: The US ranks third in users behind China and India according to this wikipedia article.]

We looked for local FARMERS MARKETS in all three of the directories. Guess what, if you are trying to contact the Columbia Market House, you’re apt not to find that there is a farmer’s market in Columbia. You’ll find the Central Market Trust in Lancaster, Root’s Market and a bunch of other ones … but this year again, you WILL NOT FIND  a listing for Columbia.

But a very quick google (columbia pa market), locates the facebook account listing for the Market House where you can find a number to call. So, if you happen to be sitting in front of your pc, you are good to go. The pc linked to the Internet literally connects you to the world, almost instantly! PC users can connect to scores of “yellow pages” and “white pages” directories. You can find phone numbers, Websites, directions … everything is at your fingertips.

But the lightning-quick transition continues as more and more of mobile phone users are shifting to “smart phones.” With a smartphone, users are connected to the Internet virtually anywhere they are and, assuming thee battery has not run down fully, the smartphone user is fully connected to tens of thousands of applications, the telephone … and the universe that is the Internet. Not only can the user google, “columbia market house”, the user will be directed to the website; will be able to directly place a call to the Market House and receive mapping and directions to the Market House.

Interconnectivity, near “instancy” and incredible reach of digital communication is rendering the old, big, thick telephone directory obsolete. As the digital revolution speeds along, there will be lots of wayside collateral damage. Traditionalists who want to cling to the comfort what they know will be in that collateral pile. Traditionalists who learn to adapt or make modifications to embrace the changes will survive and thrive … in a different, but viable entity.