THE HOME CELLPHONE of my suburban childhood was large, clunky, had a rotary dial, and was bolted to a kitchen wall. Answering it allowed me to apply telephone etiquette with all method of adults: neighbors, my mates’ dad and mom and my mother and father’ friends and co-workers. Most significantly, that house cellphone was an object of safety. I realized to dial 911 earlier than I may recite the alphabet. I knew that if one thing unhealthy occurred, then I may dial these digits, police and firefighters would know I wanted assist, know the place I lived, and rush to save lots of me.

The Worldwide Telecommunication Union discovered that there were 57 fastened phone strains per a hundred inhabitants in the developed world in 2001, however that quantity dropped to 50 lines by 2007 (see chart below). What occurred? The mobile phone revolution began displacing landlines as more people … Read the rest