One of the topics I could relate to in this article was
about how mobile phones have changed so drastically over time.
I remember many
years ago when my dad had a cell phone that was almost as long as his forearm
that he had to carry around in a case, only able to make local phone calls.
This shortly transformed into cell phones shrinking to the size of bricks,
which my mom refused to give up until it wouldn’t work anymore. Now, our phones
are used for everything from searching the Internet to video chatting. This
relates to the theme of the article because some people have these “smart
phones” that can do it all, and some people are still stuck with texting and
talking on the phone. This creates a divide between these two types of mobile
phone owners. The Internet started out as simply computer only access, and now
has branched out to include television, phones, and video game consoles and
will continue to reach much more. This is a problem for people who live in
areas with limited Internet access, because they are missing out on a good
portion of communication. 
I am a part of the group that only has texting and calling on the phone. I have a camera on it, and I have Internet but it's not included in my plan so I would have to pay a lot extra to go online. One of my journalism professors constantly encourages my class to invest in smart phones because, just like you said, it does it all and it works much faster. It is more convenient because people can check breaking news and their emails instantly on their smart phones, whereas others like myself have to carry laptops and deal with finding wi-fi. At the same time, my professor carries a laptop around anyway since he is a reporter... I am definitely considering getting a smart phone once my two year contract is up, but nothing fancy like the latest releases. I remember the brick-sized cell phones, along with flip phones and sidekicks.
ReplyDeleteYou've hit upon an important point, talking about the spread of the internet and "connectedness". Originally you had to have a computer that was physically connected to a wall to get online. Eventually we got to the point where you could take your laptop with you and get online anywhere that had WiFi. Now many of us have access to wireless networks that allow us to get online from a computer, a phone or a tablet from just about anywhere.
ReplyDeleteThere's been a lot of discussion lately about the "internet of things", the idea that soon all our devices will be connected, so that your refrigerator can send you an email to let you know that you're low on milk, or you can set the clock on your stove from your cell phone. What if instead of getting traffic reports secondhand from helicopters, you could just log on and see real time data being sent from every car on the road? These are things that are being seriously contemplated, and we have to begin thinking about the implications, both technologically (bandwidth, spectrum crowding, etc.) and in terms of privacy and civil liberty concerns.
I recently made the switch back to an older flip phone (one that can only make calls and send and receive texts) from previously owning a smart phone and I have to admit that in the beginning it was pretty frustrating. I found myself bored when I couldn’t just go on my phone and search the internet, mad when I couldn't take pictures or video and frustrated because it took me longer to type up texts. I think the frustration with want to be able to do all these things stems from the concept of immediacy with technology that has been popping up in most of our readings this year. I’m just so used to have all types of technology combined into one little device. Thankfully, now I have become used to using a less advanced phone and I actually find it a lot simplier.
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