Cell phones are so convenient that theyre an inconvenience .
If you own a mobile phone, you are among the over 5.1 billion mobile phone users worldwide. This number is projected to grow to 5.8 billion in 2025. Who would have thought this small device would dominate telecommunication. After all, its grown-up version the smartphone that the majority are accustomed to today only started becoming common a decade ago. Some of you may recall using coin and card-operated payphones before you owned a mobile phone. Widely used till the 1990s, these relics are still relevant and constitute a fond memory to many (p36-39). Remember the days you used pagers, flipped through phone books to find telephone numbers and sent SMSes on phone keypads with buttons you can press? We bring back memories of these communication tools that we once could not do without in Distant Connections (p94-95).
The mobile phone has become such an integral part of our daily lives that living without it can be a nerve-racking ordeal. We use it to wake us up in the morning, communicate with people, capture precious memories, navigate places and access an ever-growing list of services that apps supply. Can we live without it? Decide for yourself when you read Lost Without You (p42-55), which delineates conveniences and problems our usage of mobile phones has brought.Though the gadget is so ubiquitous and familiar to us, how much do we know about them beyond their features and design? The dirty, perilous conditions from which our mobile phones come from are a stark contrast to the glamorous advertisements and shop displays we are accustomed to seeing them in. Find out what actually goes into making your smartphone in Elements in a Smartphone (p28-29) and Unethical Practices That Power Our Smartphones (p88-93). Within the span of a mere decade since the popularisation of smartphones, a staggering 7.1 billion devices have been used. This number continues to grow and so does the amount of resources that go into their production and the consequent waste they turn into. We bring you insights on how mobile phones harm our environment in The Cost of Convenience (p84-87) and hope it encourages you to be a responsible mobile phone user.
The compact gadget has so many functions built in that it has obsoleted many other items we used to need. But hopefully, face-to-face human interaction will not be one of them.