Essay on Life without Mobile phones today

[akerkarprashant]

Could this be a good essay for school or college children to write a essay on "Life without Mobile phones today" as the essay title?

The Mobile phones (Wireless technology) has impacted our lives and its hard for us where once upon a time we were using land line phones (wired technology) and still the land line phones are place in schools, colleges, residences, offices, public places (libraries, museums, zoos, aquariums etc) and also in the future.

Imagination "Life without Mobile/Cell phones today".

 

[Hornbein]

Sure, give it a try.

I lived in Japan, where mobile phone use was frowned upon and hence not often seen. Except in the boring Metro trains, where almost everyone used them. Talking on a phone is banned on the Metro so they play games, read social media so forth.

Honolulu banned mobile phone use while walking about.

Now I'm in Bali. Mobile phones are popular but I don't see Bali people absorbed in a phone.

 

[pinball1970]

Could this be a good essay for school or college children to write a essay on "Life without Mobile phones today" as the essay title?

The Mobile phones (Wireless technology) has impacted our lives and its hard for us where once upon a time we were using land line phones (wired technology) and still the land line phones are place in schools, colleges, residences, offices, public places (libraries, museums, zoos, aquariums etc) and also in the future.

Imagination "Life without Mobile/Cell phones today".

This would be a good essay for adults who were teenagers in the 1980s!
Are you a school teacher? I could write several essays on this!

 

[Jodo]

I started a job in 1996 and was given a Motorola flip phone as well as a Motorola bag phone for my truck. No one I knew back then had a mobile phone.
Now today everyone has a smart phone. I am pretty sure I could live without it. As far as my kids go...
My oldest daughter grew up with no mobile or internet. My other 2 girls grew up with the luxury of both. All 3 girls presently live with a mobile attached to the side of their head permanently. It is the way of life now.
I head out to get groceries and more times then not I leave my phone home. Drives my wife crazy!
Today's generati

 

[Jodo]

I started a job in 1996 and was given a Motorola flip phone as well as a Motorola bag phone for my truck. No one I knew back then had a mobile phone.
Now today everyone has a smart phone. I am pretty sure I could live without it. As far as my kids go...
My oldest daughter grew up with no mobile or internet. My other 2 girls grew up with the luxury of both. All 3 girls presently live with a mobile attached to the side of their head permanently. It is the way of life now.
I head out to get groceries and more times then not I leave my phone home. Drives my wife crazy!
Today's generati

Meant to say today's generation might have a hard time adjusting without one. Seems my generation did just fine without

 

[Klystron]

Sounds like a fine subject for tech essay, or essays.

I am probably among the earliest users of commercial cell phones, late 1980's early 1990's. We called them 'bricks' for good reason: The battery packs made phones bulky, heavy and awkward to carry. Also, Motorla phones were shaped like an actual brick. Dropped calls (and phones!) were so common it became a ready excuse for cutting off an unwanted call.

As well as being heavy, batteries quickly lost charge. Techies also called bricks "leashes" because users had 1) to charge them consistently at an AC outlet, and 2) the boss could 'tug your leash' anytime. See above "unwanted 'dropped'" calls.

 

[berkeman]

We had a good long thread recently about all of the different uses for mobile phones, but I'm not able to find it now with a search. Does anybody else remember that thread? Are you able to find it with a search?

I ask because it seems like good background information for such an essay. I think we were up to over 100 uses by the end of the thread...

 

[Klystron]

We had a good long thread recently about all of the different uses for mobile phones, but I'm not able to find it now with a search. Does anybody else remember that thread? Are you able to find it with a search?

I ask because it seems like good background information for such an essay. I think we were up to over 100 uses by the end of the thread...

Found this 2017 thread by @anorlunda :
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/what-do-smart-phones-partially-replace.932077/

 

[berkeman]

Found this 2017 thread by @anorlunda :
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/what-do-smart-phones-partially-replace.932077/

Perfect! Thanks (and I misremembered -- it was actually 200)

Here is a consolidated and renumbered list based on all the earlier posts. The arbitrary count of 200 has been reached.

1. Phone
2. Clock/watch
3. Calendar
4. Calculator
5. Day planner
6. Pencil & Paper
7. Envelopes & Stamps
8. Hand held GPS
9. Compass
10. Outdoor thermometer
11. Maps
12. Deck of cards
13. Radio
14. TV
15. Camera
16. Wallet full of loyalty cards, soon a wallet full of money and credit cards.
17. Paper Newspapers
18. Paper books
19. Auto insurance cards for the glove box
20. MP3 player
21. Photo album
22. Tape recorder
23. Game consoles/board games/toys
24. Home weather station
25. Weather radiio
26. WIFI hotspot and cable modem.
27. Airplane or event tickets
28. Sky maps/star charts
29. Movie theater, 8mm movie camera, home film projector
30. Video projector
31. Records/record players/tape decks
32. Night watchman/security guard/baby sitter
33. Address book
34. Pedeometer
35. Mirrors to check my haircut from the rear.
36. A doctor visit to look for wax in my ears.
37. recipe book
38. Owner's/operator's manuals
39. DIY books
40. Filing cabinets
41. Flashlight
42. Drone remote w/ video feed
43. level
44. laptop computer for internet
45. Accelerometer
46. Audio spectrum analyser
47. Thermal imager/IR camera
    
48. TV Remote Control
49. Barcode scanner
50. Earthquake Early Warning Network Notification Device
51. Bank Teller
52. Langauge Translator
53. Car Mechanic (OBD plug-in diagnostics)
54. Medical Pager
55. CPR Notifications and CPR Coach (PulsePoint App)
    
56. Vein finder for Phlebotomy
    
57. Human interaction
58. land lines
59. telescope (40x) [$18.03 @ e-bay]*
60. microscope (100x) [$14.99 @ amazon]*
61. EM spectrometer (1000 lines/mm diffraction grating) [$1.70 @ homesciencetools]*
    
62. Waiter/waitress check pad
63. Credit card scanner
64. Cash register
    
65. Status symbol
    
66. makeshift ignition source... (fire starter)
67. Electric blanket replacement. (single use only. Sorry! [gas mask and fire extinguisher extra])
68. Campfire thingy, when you can't find any firewood. (Not just an ignition source, but the source of a whole evening full of fun conversation. ps. Does anyone know how long these things burn?)
    
69. Reflective surface ( to get the attention of would-be rescuers when stranded without service) [Or blink SOS in morse code]
    
70. Decoy (leave it somewhere and divert attention from your real location)
    
71. Dictionary/ thesaurus
    
72. magnetometer
73. metal detector
74. light meter
75. barometer
76. gravitometer
77. piano tuner
78. piano keyboard
79. keyboard & mouse (should have put that near the start)
80. farmers almanac
81. expert advice on any topic
82. Altimeter
83. Car starter/door remote
84. laser range finder
85. Scale with self-adjusting geological calibration...
86. Cigarette case
87. lighter
88. bottle of wine
89. USB memory stick.
90. oscilloscope with microphone input
91. volt/amp meter (with external XOIO card)
92. Arduino remote console/development system
93. Raspberry Pi remote console/development system
94. Wolfram Alpha
95. Matlab
96. Sheet music display/play/edit/transpose
97. comfort blanket
98. remote text alert device ( I'm breaking up with you:, or , Your fired. )
99. easy to cut the conversation device and ignore ( Sorry - I have a call coming in )
100. Borescope (needs USB camera $10 from ebay).
101. Gyroscope
102. Shopping device
103. Academic Conference.
     
104. Virtual Reality headset
105. Robot
106. Spreadsheet
107. Surveillance bug
108. Tracking device
109. sign placard by airport limo drivers looking for their arriving client.
     
110. conversational assistant as in talking to Siri or Alexa
     
111. Augmented Reallity headset or viewer.
112. Tricorder
113. thing locator with trackable RFID tiles
114. Underground power locator with Bluetooth headset ie you lose the connection when crossing over one
115. doorstop
116. throwing weapon multiple use
     
117. FFT spectrum analyzer
118. Signal generator
119. Internet connection speed tester
120. Touch screen aided ruler
121. Inclinometer
122. Color Detector
123. Color Generator
124. Tunable stroboscope
125. Data logger
126. Home automation controller
     
127. Music composer ala garage band.
     
128. beat box
     
129. Apartment buzzers
130. guitar
131. violin
132. drums,
133. synth .
     
134. News gatherer via video and audio for reporters( replaces a lot of hefty equipment )
     
135. balloon satellite
136. world clock
137. stopwatch
138. alarm
139. sleep aid (soothing sounds like ocean waves, light breeze...)
140. sleep analyzer
     
141. Remotely run Electric Trains, UAVs, etc.
142. Guitar Tuner
143. Guitar Chord Charts
     
144. Video Conferencing
     
145. Gaming
146. enlarger
147. trays
148. tongs
149. chemicals: developer, fixer, and water
150. negative developer canister device
151. negative album
152. boxes to hold un-albumed photos
153. photographic negative material (I believe we referred to is as "film")
154. photographic "print" material (special silver impregnated paper)
155. little red light for the darkroom (made obsolete. not sure where mine is at, but I did have one)
156. Anyone remember what that thing that screwed into the "take a photo" button was called?
157. Flashbulb
158. special effects lenses
159. color filters
160. air poofer + brush device
     
161. laser thermometer (I'm getting one of those!)
162. Psychometric chart
163. Ductulator
164. Pipe sizer
165. 3d measurement (related to but separate from laser rangefinder)
166. Photo editor
167. Emergency beacon
168. Telescope controller
169. Planetarium
170. Satellite finder/tracker
171. Tide chart
172. Eclipse tracker
173. Camera shutter release
     
174. Interocitor (We have tricorde, so why not?)
     
175. Library; have to remove/reduce the count?
176. Darkroom (146-156 were darkroom equipment, but didn't mention the darkroom itself)
177. In flight entertainment systems (airplanes)
     
178. Hand warmer
179. Killer laser controller
180. coloring books (My wife said it and I think it's unique, you can color black and white pages )
181. walkie talkies
182. puzzle books
183. Phone book
     
184. heart rate monitor
185. eeg/ecg monitor
186. glucose tester
     
187. Wives [Should we say husbands too? ]
188. Miniature yule log.
     I'm adding some new ones.
189. Body armor (phone in pocket stops a bullet)
190. Baby/pet sitter, shows you video, and let's you relay voice commands.
191. Leave it behind in your car, becomes a locator if car is stolen.
192. Sail racing tactician, advises optimum course to steer to the mark
193. Bait for police bait cars
194. Pets
195. replicatorr
196. airline boarding pass
     new today
197. Vibration meter
198. Speedometer
199. Vinyl record player RPM (place phone on rotating disk, detects periodic compass fluctuations)
200. Non contact RPM Tachometer (Use proximity sensor or magnetic pickup)

We reached our arbitrary goal of 200.
Remember, the question is not what smart phones do but what do they replace wholly or partially. 146-156 are a good example of darkroom claptrap that we don't need with digital photos.

 

[DaveC426913]

The number of things you'd have to subtract from a list of "Today's World without cellphones" is surely a lot longer than the number of things you'd have to add to a list of "The 1990s world advances 30 years without cellphones."

I'd say you'd save yourself a lot of work and guessing if you wrote such an essay from that perspective. What would "1990's-Me" envision the year 2020 to look like? (And you'd have to contrive to abort any ideas that end up with a Personal Everything Device,)But the one constant will certainly be the the relentless push to shove products and services into every nook and cranny of your attention sphere, whether there's room or not. (Gamification is one not-so-subtle but palatable way of crowding out other (nonprofitable) uses of your leisure time with advertising.)Here's an idea: what if - rather than all the information coming to you when you asked - it was simply broadcast from its fixed location. There are a number of movies out there (such as Total Recall and Minority Report) were every indoor and outdoor wall surface was an interactive ad that knew who you were when you walked by and targeted you with products and services. There's no reason why such targeted ads couldn't follow you the whole way on your commute home.

Another idea is augmented reality. A pair of glasses shows you a digital world overlaid on top of the real one. Free Guy showcased this. It's the same principle as above: the smart devices aren't personal or on your body, they're attached to the world around you.

 

[symbolipoint]

Could this be a good essay for school or college children to write a essay on "Life without Mobile phones today" as the essay title?

The Mobile phones (Wireless technology) has impacted our lives and its hard for us where once upon a time we were using land line phones (wired technology) and still the land line phones are place in schools, colleges, residences, offices, public places (libraries, museums, zoos, aquariums etc) and also in the future.

Imagination "Life without Mobile/Cell phones today".

Hard for elementary school children, but should be reasonable job for many high school students who can understand structuring of an essay.

 

[symbolipoint]

"In my day, kid, we communicated some distance using the home telephone connected with wires to the service, and we turned a dial to call a number; the other way to communicate and send and get information was to send it through the post office; the mailman would take care of the to and from intermediate stop points. We just needed to put on the address and zip code for where-to."

"In my day, kid, we found out what the news was by reading the newspaper and by watching the news broadcast on television!"

 

[pinball1970]

"In my day, kid, we communicated some distance using the home telephone connected with wires to the service, and we turned a dial to call a number; the other way to communicate and send and get information was to send it through the post office; the mailman would take care of the to and from intermediate stop points. We just needed to put on the address and zip code for where-to."

"In my day, kid, we found out what the news was by reading the newspaper and by watching the news broadcast on television!"

Yes. In my day kid was so much better.
I miss it

 

[DaveC426913]

And finally, kid, if we wanted to watch cats do stupid things - we got a cat.

 

[symbolipoint]

And finally, kid, if we wanted to watch cats do stupid things - we got a cat.

Straying more from the original topic,
You could watch cartoons on television, or live life with a dog.
(More difficult for some people to understand that one, but you just need to have lived with a dog to know.)