Forty years ago today, Motorola engineer Martin Cooper stood out in front of the New York Hilton in Midtown Manhattan and made the very first call on a mobile phone. The scene, while revolutionary, would seem comical to us now: the phone, a Motorola Dynatac, weighed over two pounds, was nearly a foot long, and only delivered 20 minutes of battery time.
Just four decades later, cell phones, and now smartphones, live in the pocket or purse of nearly everyone in the United States. Our phones tell us the time, give us directions, take pictures, entertain us and help us exercise, all while making it possible to post each and every sordid detail to the internet without going anywhere near a computer.
Few among us would prefer to return to a time of corded phones, but the impact of the cell phone on our behavior and quality of life hasn’t all been positive.
Pros
Never miss a call. Never again will you miss that interview call back or message that your friend came through surgery safely. As long as it’s charged, your cellphone provides immediate communication with your world
GPS. The days of the humiliating “pull-over-and-ask-for-directions” detour are over. Simply plug in the address or business name, and your GPS-enabled phone provides turn by turn directions. Of course, not all in-phone navigation systems are perfect, so common sense is still a plus.
App-stravaganza. Mobile apps started out as toys–ringtones, arcade games, calendars and calculators–but have since completely revolutionized cell phone technology. Apps turn our phones into pedometers, personal trainers, tuning forks, shopping guides, nutritionists, music libraries, stores, televisions and more.
Activism. By connecting mobile phones to the internet, we’ve breathed new life into grassroots activism. Mobile access to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter make it possible for activists to organize and assemble in the blink of an eye. They’re also a way to thwart regimes that seek to prevent news of revolution from reaching the outside world.
Cons
Never miss a call. Thanks to mobile phones, land lines have become obsolete. And now it’s nearly impossible to avoid annoying acquaintances or nagging bosses by claiming you were out when they called. Vacations lose their meaning as we sneak away to check work emails or respond to client requests remotely.
E-Waste. Everyone wants the newest, fastest cell phone on the market, and manufacturers are happy to oblige. Every year, upgrades or damage make 100 million cell phones obsolete. The problem is that cell phone coatings are often made of lead, and their lithium-ion batteries can explode if exposed to high temperatures or direct sunlight, which are common conditions in landfills. E-waste recycling rates are improving, but far too slowly.
Addiction. We are addicted to our mobile phones. The idea of turning them off or leaving them at home gives heavy users instant anxiety. Walk down the street and you’ll see people everywhere with eyes glued to the screen. The idea of making an actual voice phone call makes us nervous, we prefer to converse in short text messages rife with bad grammar and emoticons. We’re obsessed with checking in on Facebook, uploading images on Instagram and tweeting about what a good time we’re having instead of, you know, actually having a good time.
What do you love/hate most about the cell phone? Scroll through the Mashable infographic below and then share your thoughts in a comment!
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
Last week, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment. We are presently looking for 231 new monthly donors in the next 2 days.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy