Having a phone in the days of the 20th Century were once a luxury, nowadays in the 2nd decade of the 21st Century, it's become mundane.
In this day and age, we've become very attached to mobile technology - so much that it's become an all-important tool in this day and age. We have developed a strong connection to these mobile phones, laptops and tablets that we can use them for any purpose imaginable - from being able to talk to our friends and family not just by voice, but video messaging thanks to built-in cameras; using them for the purpose of education (like displaying accurate simulations of how the body works and how the muscles and bones connect); to business transactions such as Internet Banking and browsing the web. We have an incredible piece of technology in our hands, or in our pockets; that allows us to do more than we ever could before.
(The original iPhone 5, and my own mobile phone. It's probably the only one left in existence thanks to the product's discontinuation. Thanks Apple)
It is incredible that we have managed to redefine the very concept and capability of a phone in the 21st century. Some of the oldest phones were clunky and too heavy to be portable; most of the time left in one's house. Manufacturers have since then refined the technology in them and made them more compact, resulting in what were originally dubbed mobile phones. These performed what one would expect of a telephone, and often used a small LCD screen and buttons+keypad to perform some basic functions like typing in someone's phone number or basic text messaging.
Now, jumping ahead to 2017, we have seen several companies redefine the concept of a mobile phone thanks to the advances in technology - Smartphones use a touchscreen interface that imitates the sensation of pressing buttons or swiping across the screen, typically include built-in cameras on both the front and back for taking pictures or video, but ultimately thanks to the new and powerful processors and chips built for these systems, they allow us to engage with this new portable technology right at our fingertips. Mobile technology has certainly changed us in how we interact with the world around us in a positive way, but how has it negatively affected us as well?
Because we are so connected with these mobile technologies, they've become very important for establishing one's identity. Should they get stolen, then many of our personal details or information could become compromised - such as credit card details or the phone numbers of the people close to you. Furthermore, because technology advances at such a fast pace, we typically see new models of smartphones come out at a faster rate than before, thus this may lead to displacement of consumers who have already purchased a product like this and feel no real need to upgrade to a newer version of a technology they already have, if it can still more or less still provide functionality.
Regardless, we have seen a strong growth and adoption of mobile technology throughout the first two decades of the 21st century. One could start to wonder when this technology becomes so important to us that we don't just see it as a piece of hardware with limitless functionalities, but an extension of our bodies that allows us to reach out to new possibilities that were never attainable before.
James Byron - 10/4/2017
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