How Telephone Use Has Evolved Over the Last 50 Years
We all know how important communication is in our everyday lives. The telephone was one of the essential inventions that dramatically changed the world regarding our connection with others. The evolution of the telephone is also the story of our ongoing human development, and we are constantly adapting to new technology all the time. It isn’t easy to imagine a world where distance impedes communication now that we live in an increasingly connected world. Thinking that some critical historical moments happened without immediate contact can seem downright baffling. The younger generations of society now grow up communicating with friends and family via phones from a very early age. There are also complexities that come with parenting or caring for a constantly connected generation.
While the history of the invention of the telephone is fascinating and full of conspiracy theories and drama, the last 50 years have seen a tremendous change in how we use our phones and what we do with them. The evolution of telephones has certainly gone hand-in-hand with the growth of the internet. If you are over a certain age, you will remember your landline phone and how this would interrupt the dial-up internet connection if a call came through. When we think about how much of our world infrastructure would be hindered by a mass internet outage, we can see how important it is. Everything from distribution and food production to travel would be chaos without the internet.
While the first smartphone was technically created in the early 1990s, it didn’t become widely adopted until the early 2010s. When you think about a phone now, you will think of a handheld device that you can access almost anything in the world. Smartphones have changed the way we communicate, but they have also changed how we shop, what we listen to, what we watch, and the range of media we consume, and they can also be an excellent tool for any kind of learning. Some people have renovated their entire houses with a series of Youtube videos, the right tools, and a lot of trial and error. Smartphones have made everything instantly accessible to us, and some studies have suggested that this is also having an impact on our attention span, although this can be difficult to prove scientifically.
How we interact with our work colleagues has also changed dramatically over the last decade. Writing a smiley face on a post-it note reminder for your boss would be unthinkable, but many people now embrace emojis even in a professional environment. For younger generations, emojis are a way to convey a specific meaning and subtext to the written content of a message, making impersonal words on a screen somehow a bit more personal. Businesses worldwide understand that their employees are always available even outside of working hours, which has led to disputes about having a healthy work/life balance. Implementing tools such as business telephone systems and having a separate work device that you can turn on and off depending on your working hours may reduce stress and focus on your leisure time.
We are starting to understand the importance of limiting our screen time and availability, with many people noting that they feel like they have an addiction to their phone. Phone addiction may sound extreme, but many apps are created to aim for a certain amount of engagement and open rate, so it’s easy to see why there are substantial psychological impacts. Many phones now provide the ability to limit the amount of time you spend on specific apps each day or even switch certain apps off at certain times. You can reduce which apps you can use during your working hours, making sure people can still contact you when necessary but that you won’t end up getting distracted by online shopping or social media. Work mode can be a great way to focus and understand how you spend your time. Lots of phones will also provide analytical data on how you have been using your device, and it’s always a great idea to look into this to find ways to have a more meaningful relationship with your tech.