Friends worked better because there were no phones: A love letter to analog connection

Friends feels like a show from a world that no longer exists. It has become a beautiful memory where we didn't rely much on technology. Gone are the times when you could just show up at someone’s apartment without prior announcement or miss a call and not worry about it. You could eat a delicious meal without taking a snap of it or waiting until your friend clicks a picture and posts it on their Instagram stories.

Watching Friends today feels like stepping into a world where everyone just shows up. They sit and talk and fight. But somehow, they always find their way back to the Central Perk couch. That's the beauty of a time when phone screens did not come between friendships.

Friends reminds us how human connection thrives on presence and not pings. Especially in a world where so many shows now hinge on a text or a tweet or even a TikTok misunderstanding. Imagine if Ross had simply texted Rachel, “We were on a break” with a crying emoji? Their season-long fight would have defused in seconds, and we would not have gotten the chance to watch their bittersweet drama. Or if Joey had a dating app instead of “How you doin’?” Would he still be Joey?

Let's take a deeper look at this.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the author's opinions. Reader discretion is advised.

Friends: No phones, no problem

One of the best things about Friends is how the characters just bumped into each other without having to coordinate their moves. Monica would wander into Central Perk and just hope someone would be there. Rachel would dash to Ross’s apartment without letting him know. There's no “you home?” text. There is no location sharing.

Chandler pretended he was relocating to Yemen (specifically, 15 Yemen Road, Yemen) to avoid the clingy Janice, who wouldn’t leave him alone. It was supposed to be a quick lie, but soon it got hilariously out of control when Janice insisted on seeing him off at the airport. This forced Chandler to actually board a plane to Yemen just to keep the act going.

The absence of modern technology actually makes this scene with Chandler and Janice even funnier and more believable. Chandler wouldn’t have been able to keep up the Yemen lie for long if smartphones, Google Maps, or real-time flight trackers existed back then.

Janice could’ve just Googled "15 Yemen Road, Yemen" or checked the airline's app, or even tracked his location. But because Friends is set in the '90s, Chandler’s plan works. The comedy exists because of the lack of instant information. He books a ticket and boards a plane. And Janice has no way of fact-checking any of it in the moment.

The absence of phones also gave us moments that wouldn’t exist today. Think of “The One with the Blackout,” where a power outage traps Chandler in an ATM vestibule with a model. And no one can reach him.

These plots were funny because of the lack of instant communication and more face-to-face confrontations. Hence, we also got some really deep bonds. Without smartphones to fix everything in a jiffy, the friends had to talk. Even if it was awkward or emotional. And that’s the kind of connection we all crave even now.

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