subject: Getting in Touch Before the Mobile Era [print this page] If you look back in time to the Eighties you will probably smile at the size of the first widely available mobile phone. Indeed, to call it a mobile is something of a mistake after all, it was so big it could only be slipped into the largest of pockets.
We've come a long way since then, but it is still quite interesting to think back further than the first unwieldy mobile, when no one had mobiles at all. What on earth did we do?
Back then everyone found different ways of getting in touch. It is worth noting that the internet didn't exist either, so the only technology we could rely on for calling people was the telephone. Of course back then prices for making telephone calls were much more expensive for the most part than they are now. It's interesting how you can gain a different perspective on most things in this way.
Lots of older people can also remember times when letters were sent and received as a way of keeping in touch. If we do anything at all like this now, it tends to be in the form of a postcard when we're on holiday rather than anything else. Isn't it amazing how much life can change in just twenty five years or so? After all it was the mid Eighties that the first use of the mobile phone started to spread.
While some people may look back wistfully and wish we hadn't developed mobile phones in the first place, there is no doubt they have come in extremely useful. This is especially the case with emergencies. There have been many examples of people who have got lost or been a witness to an accident and been able to call for help because they had a mobile with them.
Perhaps the best example of this was a man who survived being buried in the Haiti earthquake. He was able to use his iPhone to access information on how to treat his injuries, as well as using the light application to see where he was trapped. It just goes to show what a difference these mobile phones can make in certain situations.
Of course it has become much easier to stay in touch since the mobile phone was invented. Previously we would have to wait until someone arrived home before we could get in touch with them, if they were out and about somewhere. Needless to say this could be very frustrating if the need to contact them was urgent.
Being able to call mobiles now is a huge benefit to our lives. If you are old enough to remember a time before mobiles, you may still hanker after those days. But as you can see, modern times can be better in many ways too.
