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OPINIONS
Diane W. Mufson: Smart phones are changing communication
It was at least a dozen years ago that I first became familiar with cell phones. My original one was about the size of our house phone, but not as large as the original "bag" phones. The phone's intended purpose was for safety, so that if my car broke down, I could call for help.
With the lack of cell towers in those days, that cell phone turned out to have very little utility. My most frequent conversation usually began with the famous commercial line, "Can you hear me now?"
But times have changed. The new "smart phones" that can do a multitude of communication tasks are no longer just for business people or the tech-savvy. They are for everyone, and they are changing our communication patterns.
Over the years, my cell phones grew smaller and more functional. They did more things than I expected or even wanted them to do. Cell towers began to multiply, and many more places became cell phone accessible.
And then one day, my most recent small flip phone developed a crack in the glass. The phone was still functional, but when my son, Mike, and his wife, Dorie, saw it, they had only one comment.
"Get a Blackberry," said the two long-time smart phone users. I was skeptical of those complex devices. After all, I was from the generation that used phones just to make phone calls. Their enthusiasm was infectious, and shortly thereafter a Blackberry entered my life.
I'd like to say that this non-technologically inclined individual found it a snap to use all the features of the smart phone. I'd also like to say I medaled in the Olympics or won a baking contest. Some things cannot be said because they are not true.
With the help of many folks at the local AT&T store (including but not limited to Amy, Jason, Rob, Tim and Mike), I have found that a smart phone is really smart and that with effort, even those who did not grow up with cell phones (some of us grew up with party lines) can join the smart phone world.
With the advent of the Apple iPhones and Blackberries (sometimes referred to as "Crackberries" because of their addictive powers), the basic cell phone has completely morphed into a communication device that is anything but a plain old cell phone.
The good news about the smart phones is that more people seem to want to do things other than just talk on them. The result is that the annoying conversations that so many of us have been forced to hear seem to be somewhat fewer. People are more likely to text, surf the Net, answer e-mail, listen to music, schedule appointments, play games or do a variety of other smart phone activities.
Whether we are ready or not, more phone and communication device changes are coming our way in the future. What seems innovative and radical today will in just a few years be in the category of my first clunky cell phone. With the proliferation of cell towers, more and more people will be making their land lines a thing of the past.
As I've learned in recent months when a device that measures only 2 by 4 inches can tell me where I am and how to get to another location, let me read newspapers from around the world and stay in touch with people by voice and text, the smart phone is changing communication patterns for much of the world.
Diane W. Mufson is a licensed psychologist in practice in Huntington. She is citizen member of The Herald-Dispatch editorial board and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page. Her e-mail is dwmufson@comcast.net
