Back in the late 1980's, Ron bought his first mobile phone. It was huge. It had a regular sized hand set, and a huge battery pack. He used to tell a joke about a man selling someone a mobile phone (new at the time) and showing him the handset. The guy was so excited about the phone, he bought it, and as he's getting ready to walk away, the seller says, "Don't you want the batteries," with which he hands him a suitcased size case containing the batteries. We've come a long way since those first phones. We had to go through a mobile operator to be connected in those days.
Today there are over 5 billion cell phones world wide. They are everywhere. I was crossing the street in Los Angeles last week and noticed that almost every person was either talking on the phone, sending a text, or reading a text. Last night I was watching a program on Kenya, and how a man there has started a business that is employeeing hundreds of Kenyans. Does he have a cell phone? But of course. The journalist went out to the Masai, to visit a village that is usually considered very authentic, with few modern changes. That's not quite so. These regal Masai men in their flowing red robes, are now walking across the Mara with a stick in one hand and a cell phone in the other. Really. They all have cell phones.
Cell phones of course have had a great positive impact on developing countries, especially in the health care area. Text messaging reminders to rural villagers, texting information on how to take medications to these same people, and getting out information about clinics are all ways that the cell phone is improving the lives of rural villagers.
About 10 years I was on a train in Europe and was shocked by the fact that the man sitting next to me was talking to business people in different countries. He was on the phone almost the entire 2 hour journey, and I commented to him that he was going to have a huge phone bill. Not at all. He told me he had a flat charge per month, and this was long before our all inclusive phone packages existed. At the time, our phones were only domestic, and we had big roaming charges. Everything has changed now, but at the time I could see that the Europeans were way ahead of us in how they were using their cell phones.
Today it's hard to exist without a cell phone. I fought the full texting keyboard on my phone, but gave in and got one, otherwise I wouldn't get to talk much to my kids. That's how they communicate. I'm now fighting the urge to get a SmartPhone. Everyone loves them, but I think to myself, is this something I need? Is this going to enhance my life? So far I've said No.
I think of the cell phone and all the great things it has done for our world. You've heard stories of people who have been kidnapped that have been rescued due to having a cell phone, and people in developing nations having access to cell phones opens a whole world of information to them. There's no question in my mind that much of the time and effort people sending texts, pictures, etc on the phone is a complete waste of time. But that's a blog for another time. I will talk about my take on texting, facebook and twitter sometime soon. Are these tools really connecting us? The cell phone is definitely connecting us in ways we never imagined, and that's a good thing. I smiled when I saw an old African man, dressed in a suit and tie in rural Kenya, calling his wife on his cell phone to say good night. It showed me that people everywhere have the needed to stay connected.
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