The Mobile Phone

The invention that has completely changed the world and our behaviour is the mobile phone. It is a combination of old and new ideas and technology, with telephone communications being very well established for over a century before being combined with the increasingly rapid development of microchips.

When I look back at my teens and twenties my life was completely different to my own children’s lives. I would be out of contact with my parents for hours on end and they wouldn’t be even slightly concerned, because it was completely normal. In my late teens I would often be out of the house pretty much all weekend and my parents would assume that I was with one of my friends. If they got worried they could always ring up on the home phone and check, but to be honest after I got to 18 they weren’t in the slightest bit concerned.

When I was at Staffordshire Polytechnic I was totally reliant on phone boxes as I didn’t have a phone at home. If there was someone in the nearest phone box you either queued up or you went to find another one as they were quite common throughout the country. Things improved when we got a home phone but even then, costs were really high at certain times of the day and week so if you were on a tight budget you were really restricted to phoning people at the weekend. Any other time would count as urgent or even an emergency.

Looking back, it was in Japan that I think life and my contacts with people would have been so different. A phone call in Japan that came from overseas would be an emergency option only. Making a call back to the UK was a similar emergency option and whoever was calling would be spending a huge amount of money per minute so conversation was purposeful, quick and specific. The only other option was a letter so if you were no good at writing those contact withered. Now, there was a clear element of out of sight, out of mind as well because you were in a country your friends could barely picture living a life completely different from them. However, a mobile phone and a WhatsApp group would almost certainly have ensured that a number of my former friends would have stayed in touch.

We often talk about the advantages and disadvantages of mobile phone technology but it is to my mind the single most important development of my lifetime. In pure impact nothing has come close, not even the home computer. I think, on balance, I would say it has been a positive development but you have to use it really carefully or it will use you!

Just a final thought. I have two blocked ears, which I will get sorted out next Wednesday, but the mobile phone is a real lifeline for me. My family can WhatsApp me and it saves the shouting or sign language! Without the phone things would currently be far more difficult.