Have You Hugged Your Cell Phone Today?

17 Pages 4255 Words

Have You Hugged Your Cell Phone Today?
We are in the midst of a global information revolution driven by the convergence and proliferation of information and communication technologies. The telecommunications sector is changing at warp speed, driven by technological innovation that results in new equipment and services, and also by new entrants and alliances between companies with experience in a wide range of information industries from telecommunications to broadcasting; from computer hardware and software to publishing. As Americans, we are being sucked full force into this intense, deafeningly silent change and we must ask ourselves, is there such a thing as too much communication? Where do we have to draw the line between high-tech and hype? Even though technology is beneficial to our lives in many ways, Americans need to examine the information provided them, and draw a definite line between consumption and total consummation. The Information Age can become a new era of communication and prosperity, or it can become the downfall of social function.
Being members of the new global society of information and technology, Americans have seen many changes over the past decades. The Global Neighborhood has shrunk in size, not physically, but in the general principal of time and availability of services. Airplane flights that used to take fourteen hours are now cut in half. E-mail and global cellular service enables people to just “drop a line” or pick up a phone and call anyone, anytime, anywhere in the world. As discussed in Frances Cairncross’ book, The Death of Distance v2.0, “using the death of distance as a determinant of the cost of communications will probably be the single most important economic force shaping society in the first half of the next century” (19). The death of distance could have profound implications for both individuals and organizations. The ability to work anytime anywhere allows “road warrior...