--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What had happened in these ten years for…" description: "\"“What had happened in these ten years for there suddenly be so much to say — so much so pressing that it couldn’t wait to be said? Everywhere I walked,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f3/philip-roth-681_communication_what-had-happened-in-these-ten-years-for_1613241.jpg" --- # What had happened in these ten years for there suddenly be… ![“What had happened in these ten years for there suddenly be so much to say — so much so pressing that it couldn’t wait to be said? Everywhere I walked, somebody was approaching me talking on a phone and someone was behind me talking on a phone. Inside the cars, the drivers were on the phone. When I…” quote by Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f3/philip-roth-681_communication_what-had-happened-in-these-ten-years-for_1613241.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f3/philip-roth-681_communication_what-had-happened-in-these-ten-years-for_1613241.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f3/philip-roth-681_communication_what-had-happened-in-these-ten-years-for_1613241.jpg) > ““What had happened in these ten years for there suddenly be so much to say — so much so pressing that it couldn’t wait to be said? Everywhere I walked, somebody was approaching me talking on a phone and someone was behind me talking on a phone. Inside the cars, the drivers were on the phone. When I took a taxi, the cabbie was on the phone. For one who frequently went without talking to anyone for days at a time, I had to wonder what that had previously held them up had collapsed in people to make incessant talking into a telephone preferable to walking about under no one’s surveillance, momentarily solitary, assimilating the streets through one’s animal senses and thinking the myriad thoughts that the activities of a city inspire. For me it made the streets appear comic and the people ridiculous. And yet it seemed like a real tragedy, too. To eradicate the experience of separation must inevitably have a dramatic effect. What will the consequence be? You know you can reach the other person anytime, and if you can't, you get impatient—impatient and angry like a stupid little god.”” [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The omnipresence of phones erodes solitary reflection, turning public spaces into noisy, connected zones, raising concerns about privacy and mental fatigue. **In simple terms:** Phones dominate public life, reducing solitude. Key Takeaway Seek moments of silence amidst constant connectivity. Themes technology isolation communication urban life Mood lonely critical Type observational critical When to use this quote - city walking - public transport - workplace - social gatherings Key Concepts attention privacy social media Questions to Reflect On - How can you create personal quiet in a hyper‑connected world? - What benefits might arise from occasional digital silence? A Different Perspective Constant connectivity can increase anxiety and reduce deep thinking. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Phones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phones/) ## Related quotes > [“A man is talking on the telephone behind a glass partition; you cannot hear him but you see his incomprehensible dumb-show and you wonder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/a-man-is-talking-on-the-telephone-behind-a-glass-partition-you-cannot/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Neil and Buzz, I am talking to you by telephone from the Oval Office at the White House, and this certainly has to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/neil-and-buzz-i-am-talking-to-you-by-telephone-from-the-oval-office/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [It's finding those nonsensical pieces of conversation that we all do all the time. We do all the time. When we're talking on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/it-s-finding-those-nonsensical-pieces-of-conversation-that-we-all-do/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [When I got the news today I didn't know what to say. So I just hung up the phone. I took a walk to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-bryan/when-i-got-the-news-today-i-didn-t-know-what-to-say-so-i-just-hung-up/) [Luke Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-bryan/) > [Cheyenne snatched back her phone. "Someone took her brave pills today." "And washed them down with stupid juice," Casper added, cocking his gun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lerangis/cheyenne-snatched-back-her-phone-someone-took-her-brave-pills-today/) [Peter Lerangis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lerangis/) > [“I froze, my hand on the wall, and listened. Someone was definitely upstairs. I reached into my pocket for my cell phone and took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-purnhagen/i-froze-my-hand-on-the-wall-and-listened-someone-was-definitely/) [Mara Purnhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-purnhagen/) > [I took Instagram off my phone! I took it off because I found I was looking at it too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guido-palau/i-took-instagram-off-my-phone-i-took-it-off-because-i-found-i-was/) [Guido Palau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guido-palau/) > [(We are on a bus) I'm extremely silent facing the window...My friend raquel was talking to jack and she said to me ''when someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine/we-are-on-a-bus-i-m-extremely-silent-facing-the-window-my-friend/) [Jasmine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine/) > [“At the time we were all convinced that we had to speak, write,and publish as quickly as possible and as much as possible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/at-the-time-we-were-all-convinced-that-we-had-to-speak-write-and/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“The Wart did not know what Merlyn was talking about, but he liked him to talk. He did not like the grown-ups who talked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-h-white/the-wart-did-not-know-what-merlyn-was-talking-about-but-he-liked-him/) [T.H. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-h-white/) > [I realized that even if we went on talking till Judgment Day, I would still find the time all too short.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/i-realized-that-even-if-we-went-on-talking-till-judgment-day-i-would/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [“You're saying nothing lasts forever, he heard the fellow whine. (Well, pretty trite, he thought.) No, he heard her say. I'm saying with very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/you-re-saying-nothing-lasts-forever-he-heard-the-fellow-whine-well/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [That awkward moment when you pretend to be talking on your phone to avoid social interaction, and then your phone actually rings!..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soveryawkward/that-awkward-moment-when-you-pretend-to-be-talking-on-your-phone-to/) [SoVeryAwkward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soveryawkward/) > [There's a time in everybody's life they really don't want to talk to people: they want to get away from talking or being on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daly/there-s-a-time-in-everybody-s-life-they-really-don-t-want-to-talk-to/) [John Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daly/) > [“Most of the time, you should be using the positive/playful voice. It’s the voice of an easygoing, good-natured person. Your attitude is light and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-voss/most-of-the-time-you-should-be-using-the-positive-playful-voice-it-s/) [Chris Voss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-voss/) ## More by Philip Roth > [“The old intergenerational give-and-take of the country-that-used-to-be, when everyone knew his role and took the rules dead seriously, the acculturating back-and-forth that all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-old-intergenerational-give-and-take-of-the-country-that-used-to/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [You be greater than your feelings. I don't demand this of you - life does. Otherwise you'll be washed away by feelings. You'll be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/you-be-greater-than-your-feelings-i-don-t-demand-this-of-you-life/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Nothing bad can happen to a writer. Everything is material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/nothing-bad-can-happen-to-a-writer-everything-is-material/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [The only way to have a funeral is to invite everyone who ever knew the person and just wait for the accident to happen-somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-only-way-to-have-a-funeral-is-to-invite-everyone-who-ever-knew/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [To become a celebrity is to become a brand name. There is Ivory Soap, Rice Krispies, and Philip Roth. Ivory is the soap that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/to-become-a-celebrity-is-to-become-a-brand-name-there-is-ivory-soap/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“There are no reasons. She is obliged to be as she is. We all are. Reasons are in books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/there-are-no-reasons-she-is-obliged-to-be-as-she-is-we-all-are/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“As far as I can see there is no conquering or exorcising the past with words - words born either of imagination or forthrightness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/as-far-as-i-can-see-there-is-no-conquering-or-exorcising-the-past/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [The book really comes to life in the rewriting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-book-really-comes-to-life-in-the-rewriting/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“What is astonishing is that we, who had no idea how anything was going to turn out, now know exactly what happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/what-is-astonishing-is-that-we-who-had-no-idea-how-anything-was-going/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“Good Christ, a Jewish man with parents alive is a fifteen-year-old boy, and will remain a fifteen-year-old boy till they die!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/good-christ-a-jewish-man-with-parents-alive-is-a-fifteen-year-old-boy/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [I am the Raskolnikov of jerking off – the sticky evidence is everywhere!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/i-am-the-raskolnikov-of-jerking-off-the-sticky-evidence-is-everywhere/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“Better for real things to be uncontrollable, better for one's life to be undecipherable and intellectually impenetrable than to attempt to make casual sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/better-for-real-things-to-be-uncontrollable-better-for-one-s-life-to/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“Doctor Spielvogel, it alleviates nothing fixing the blame - blaming is still ailing, of course, of course - but nonetheless, what was it with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/doctor-spielvogel-it-alleviates-nothing-fixing-the-blame-blaming-is/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [My God! The English language is a form of communication! Conversation isn't just crossfire where you shoot and get shot at! Where you've got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/my-god-the-english-language-is-a-form-of-communication-conversation/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [You asked if I thought my fiction had changed anything in the culture and the answer is no. Sure, there's been some scandal, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/you-asked-if-i-thought-my-fiction-had-changed-anything-in-the-culture/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) [Explore all 388 Philip Roth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) ## More Communication quotes > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/) [John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/) > [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/) [Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/) > [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/) [Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/) > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/) [Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/) > [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/) Yoram Wind > [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/) [Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/) [Browse all 21,506 Communication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What had happened in these ten years for there suddenly be so much to say — so much so pressing that it couldn’t wait to be said? Everywhere I walked, somebody was approaching me talking on a phone and someone was behind me talking on a phone. Inside the cars, the drivers were on the phone. When I took a taxi, the cabbie was on the phone. For one who frequently went without talking to anyone for days at a time, I had to wonder what that had previously held them up had collapsed in people to make incessant talking into a telephone preferable to walking about under no one’s surveillance, momentarily solitary, assimilating the streets through one’s animal senses and thinking the myriad thoughts that the activities of a city inspire. For me it made the streets appear comic and the people ridiculous. And yet it seemed like a real tragedy, too. To eradicate the experience of separation must inevitably have a dramatic effect. What will the consequence be? You know you can reach the other person anytime, and if you can't, you get impatient—impatient and angry like a stupid little god.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Philip Roth" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/what-had-happened-in-these-ten-years-for-there-suddenly-be-so-much-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Communication" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/what-had-happened-in-these-ten-years-for-there-suddenly-be-so-much-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f3/philip-roth-681_communication_what-had-happened-in-these-ten-years-for_1613241.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f3/philip-roth-681_communication_what-had-happened-in-these-ten-years-for_1613241.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f3/philip-roth-681_communication_what-had-happened-in-these-ten-years-for_1613241.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What had happened in these ten years for there suddenly be so much to say — so much so pressing that it…” — Philip Roth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Philip Roth", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“What had happened in these ten...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/what-had-happened-in-these-ten-years-for-there-suddenly-be-so-much-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/what-had-happened-in-these-ten-years-for-there-suddenly-be-so-much-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```