Comparing and Contrasting Cell Phones from the Old Days to Modern Days

It is hard to imagine that someday people did not have any cellphones. Back then, they used things like smoke signals, letters, and face-to-face communications in the world. However, these communication methods limited the number of people that one interacted with, mainly due to geographical differences. However, things have changed. These days, cellphones have become an extension to everyone since most people use them for many things. People use cellphones to communicate, plan their schedules, alarm clocks, conduct business, and even access various services. This write-up focuses on comparing cellphones from before to modern days.

One noticeable difference between the cellphones in the old days and the modern days is the size. Back then, cell phones were big in size. They were bulky and cumbersome to carry around, forcing many people to leave them at home or in the car. Some were very large, the size of modern-day computers, and they were just as heavy, and thus they were mainly carried using bags or left in the car (Ray, n.p). However, things have changed in the modern-day, cellphones are now small in size, and people can just fit them in their pocket. They have become essential, and usage of modern cell phones has increased owing to the small size that has increased convenience to carry them around at all times.

In the old days, cell phones were used purely for making calls, while those in modern days have many more uses. Back then, when cell phones were introduced, they had one purpose: to make phone calls (Lessler, n.p). They were used to bridge the geographical distance between people so that those far away could make calls and communicate with others in distant regions. Back then, phones did not have any other use. However, things have changed since modern cell phones have so many uses. First, modern cell phones are also used to make calls. They are the primary communication device for people who are both far or near as many people have become reliant on them. One key difference is how these calls are made. In the modern-day, people can make video calls to see the people they are communicating with live, a feature absent in the old days’ cell phones.

Modern-day mobile phones are also used to send text messages and online messages via social media.  Back then, most cell phones were not connected over the internet, and they were not used to send messages. As discussed above, most of them were used to make calls. However, modern cellphones are used to write text messages and even pass messages through social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram. People can also use modern-day cellphones to attend video meetings like what has been happening during the coronavirus pandemic where most people conducted meetings viz zoom app (Wakefield, n.p). This was unheard of using cellphones from the old days.

Modern-day cellphones are used in education, something that was not possible using cellphones in the old days. Modern cellphones have embraced the use of the internet, just like education has become available on the internet. These days, especially during the coronavirus pandemic, education is mainly online, where schools stream lessons and students are expected to attend online classes. Modern cellphones have internet, and students can thus access classes via them as well as submit assignments. Cell phones have become an essential part of education these days (Mohammadi et al., 1). This is a function that the old days’ cellphones did not have. Most of them we designed with just two functions, making calls and receiving calls. These cellphones did not even have the features that make it possible for students to access online classes. They did not have the option to download applications such as zoom used in education or even have email or group me apps used in education. They did not even have cameras, and the ones that did were low quality and thus could not be used.

Button phones dominated in the old days compared to touchscreen phones, which have dominated the modern days. In the past, most phones were purely button phones. People had to keep pressing numbers and letters if they wished to make a call or even write a message. However, most modern-day cellphones use touchscreens. Moreover, modern-day cellphones have employed the use of artificial intelligence. One does not even have to press the numbers or keep looking for a person’s phone number if they wish to call or write them a message. Instead, all a person needs is to use some inbuild artificial intelligence application to say call a person and the number dials immediately (Ray, n.p).

Cellphone memory has changed and is evident when comparing old day cellphones and modern-day cellphones. In the past, cellphones were mainly used to just store numbers that people used to make calls. As the cellphones evolved, people started using them to store even messages, but that was all cellphones in the old days could store. Their memory was also limited to just a few numbers and just a few messages. However, modern-day cellphones have a lot of memory to store a lot of things. They can store pictures, messages, phone numbers, chat messages, emails, music, and all those people wish to save. Modern-day cellphones also have a slot for a memory card, which is external storage used to boost the cellphone memory (Lessler, n.p).

The entertainment factor is the other different thing that can be identified when comparing old day cellphones and modern-day cellphones. As identified, cellphones in the old days were used purely for communication. As they evolved, cellphones accommodated sending messages and making a call. However, these days cellphones are packed with so many apps used as a source of entertainment. For instance, most smartphones have access to YouTube, where they can download and watch so many movies and dramas. There are also other entertainment apps such as TikTok and social media apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook, where people source their entertainment (Protin, n.p).

Another entertainment source is games, which people can access the best using modern-day smartphones compared to old days cellphones. In the past, the cellphones only had simple games such as the snake game, which was very addictive. However, with modern-day smartphones, people can access more games such as candy crush, among others. These are excellent sources of entertainment and not just for kids but also adults. Some of the games are also simulations for real-life activities, such as decision-making simulations and cooking games. These days, most games have become educative, helping people learn as they get entertained.

Music is the other form of entertainment that has changed regarding how people accessed it over old and modern cellphones. In the past, most music was accessed via radio apps or just music stored in the phone memory. It is hard to imagine that just a few music files could be accessed since the old cellphones had limited space. Back then, people were even forced to carry a separate device to listen to music. However, things have changed with the introduction of smartphones, which are modern-day cellphones. There are music apps such as Spotify and JOOX, which gives a person unlimited access to a broader library of music (Lessler, n.p).

The camera is the other thing that can be used to contrast old days cellphones with modern-day cellphones. It is hard to think of a cellphone without a camera. This is because people have gotten used to checking the camera before purchasing a cellphone to ensure that they can take pictures to capture great memories. Compared to old days cellphones, smartphones have excellent cameras that work even better than some cameras. People can now take pictures anywhere doing whatever they wish and share them on social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Constantly uploading pictures to these sites helps a person get a huge following online, which has proved beneficial to some people in their online business and their lives (Ray, n.p). Therefore, smartphones have excellent cameras that have helped people capture great memories and market their products and services.

Modern-day cellphones have more disadvantages as opposed to cellphones used in the old days. Technology is a double-edged sword. To some extent, it is excellent, and innovation is encouraged, and to another extent, it can have adverse effects. In the old days, cellphones were simple. They were mainly used to make calls and to write messages, and that was all. However, modern-day cellphones can do much more than just make calls and write text messages and be very addictive (Subramani et al., 126). They can also access the internet, where sites encourage destructive behaviors such as promoting sexual behavior among people or even drug use. Smartphones have also encouraged dependency, where currently, not many people can survive without access to phones. They have also affected people’s memories since most people no longer need to remember things since they can just set a reminder or save somewhere for later access (Amez and Baert, 2).

In conclusion, there are so many similarities and differences between the old day and modern-day cellphones. These differences and similarities related to usage, size, memory, entertainment, and various features such as a camera. Nevertheless, modern-day cellphones are excellent since they have more usage and are thus more useful compared to the old days’ cellphones. This explains why so many sectors have turned to using cellphones even for work activities. However, people have also been adversely affected by their use of smartphones. Those who use them to access the internet should be careful since not all information easily accessed is good. Indeed, technology is a double-edged sword.

By Eric Lin, Los Angeles, California

Ericlin827@gmail.com

+17145952886

Professor Russell Boyd at Golden West College