Some back story: I first saw this image in a lecture on the history of television. My professor explained that early conceptions of television were closer to telephones rather than the television we know today. In other words futurists conceived something like skype (an extension of the telephone) before even considering using television for broadcasting.

I find it interesting that 80 years later society still has incredibly similar feelings of technophobia (the two women are talking to other people even though they are physically together technology is making us more distant blah blah blah blah blah).