June 24, 2010
By Richard McCormack

Think about it. What do the following items have in common; an electronic navigator, an MP3 player, a watch, an internet cafe? Answer; with a modern cellphone in your hand they are all arguably obsolete.

The mobile phone is the ultimate predator, the great white tech shark of the modern age, it is constantly being upgraded and redeveloped, combining, devouring and absorbing the features and functionality of many other devices around it.

Is this good or bad? Well its convenient certainly, I know the navigator function on my phone has saved my bacon a few times when I have been lost on the way to an interview or media briefing.

Ever notice how many people don’t wear watches anymore? They don’t need to utility wise, the time is right there on their phones, along with their favourite websites, online community of FaceBook, Twitter, Mxit friends and favourite downloaded music tracks.

Need I go on?

Sure, people do often wear watches these days as a fashion statement or as collectibles, (ask my brother in law) but the time is always there if you need it. Right in your pocket.

I am a freelance writer, journalist and media trainer (whatever that means) and I believe technology is positive, providing it enables the important things in life and adds value to our increasingly stressful lives. By important I mean human interaction, experience, learning, contact and communication of course. I’m not going to minutely compare this specification with that or wax lyrical about memory, speed and ergonomics. I like the bigger, sociological picture.

I’m interested in the social implications of technology. For example do you know more and more schoolchildren are using the phone almost solely for SMSing and browsing the web? Not talking mind you, that’s so old fashioned. Imagine, using your cellphone to talk! I actually saw two teenagers messaging each other in the virtual world yesterday when they were less than six feet apart in the physical one.

What are the implications of this on their social skills development for example? Will they go to a job interview in the future and without speaking quietly text their CV’s to the interviewer? But of course, I’m only joking, I hope. I think at certain high tech software development companies this behaviour might actually guarantee a placement, no?

About fifteen years ago mobile phones were still seen as an ‘innovative’ new gadget and most people still used their landlines to call someone. Now everybody feels naked without one. I know I do.

That means extremely rapid social change, almost a technical revolution really. How is this shaping our social behaviour?

As a child in Scotland I remember watching the original Star Trek series and being awed at Captain Kirk’s communicator that he so casually flipped open to call his engineer for off planet transportation.

We certainly can’t beam up yet, but we certainly use our own ‘communicators’ every day, without a seconds thought. Beam me up Scotty and set phasers to stun. We have new planets to explore.