Monday, January 25, 2010

What if cell phones were never invented?

It astounds me how much society has grown to rely on technology- especially cell phones. Cell phones are the main mode of communication. It has become the only reliable means of contacting anyone. It's quick, easy, and most importantly- portable. Having grown up in the generation of immense technological advances- we've seen it all. First, it was the car phone. The only clear memory I have of a car phone was the one my Dad had in his old convertable. I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen, even though I was only about two. Next, it was the brick. I was watching a documentary a while ago on the history of cell phones, and I laughed for about 20 minutes at how ridiculous this thing was. First of all, the phone itself is huge, weighing at a minimum of about 2 pounds? Then, while lugging this giant device around, you had to also have the battery pack at all times with the phone. They had briefcases specifically made to hold the battery pack. Thank god people were smart and realized they had to change something about this ridiculous invention. So, back to my question. What if cell phones were never invented? Well, if not, SOME kind of weird gadget would have been developed. Maybe it would have been a microchip that had to be implanted in everyone's arm by the age of 12- I don't know. Personally, I enjoy not having my cell phone for a few days at a time. It gives me time away from crap I really don't want to deal with sometimes. But, it is kind of interesting to imagine how different society would be without cell phones. Today, people use their cell phones for EVERYTHING: e-mail, GPS, games, cameras, online shopping, etc. You name it, you got it. Thanks to the wonderful Apple corporation- their iPhone has got everything you could possibly want on a cell phone. The best part is- they WILL keep coming out with better and more detailed technology- we just have to wait and see. So I'm thinking, if cell phones were never invented, the world would probably just be one unorganized and chaotic place where everyone is yelling and screaming at each other to communicate. Eh, probably not, but it is really entertaining to think about.