Newspaper vs Cellphone (are we really that different?)
Does 1950 look any different than 2014? Now, you could argue I just surfed Google Images and compiled a collage of photos to over exaggerate a problem that didn’t really exist back before TV’s and Cellphones. The truth is though, our thirst for knowledge and information has never changed. People young and old desired information and news back then just as much as we do now; and yes, yes, they had their heads burried in them on trains and planes, at the dinner table and even while walking down the street. Now I’m not saying it’s ok to be anti-social and ignore everyone while you stare at your smartphone. What I want to explain is that this is not some new phenomenon. What’s never changed is that human beings have always craved information, how we get that information though, has.
In 1865, William Bullock invented the Bullock Press, which was the first press to be fed by continuous roll paper. The use of roll paper is important because it made it much easier for machines to be self-feeding instead of fed by hand. Once threaded into the machine, the paper was then printed simultaneously on both sides by two cylinder forms and cut by a serrated knife. The press could print up to 12,000 pages per hour, and later models could produce 30,000 pages per hour. The first roll papers were over five miles in length. Today, roll paper is still used in many presses. All of this technology led to the Newspaper becoming accessable to the masses, making it the way people got their information. The United States had 1,611 general-circulation daily newspapers in 1990 - 14% fewer than it had in 1940, before the arrival of television. Television along with radio, the internet and today’s smartphones have all but made newspapers obsolete. That hasn’t stopped us though.
So this begs the question. Are we really that different than those who lived in a time before televisions, cellphones or even radio’s? Personally, I don’t really think so. If anything smartphones have made us more social, allowing us not only to connect with people we wouldn’t normally stay in touch with, but to get information and news that was probably not possible in the 1950's or earlier.
Now non of this changes the fact that not being present is a huge problem in today’s world. Certain cities in China have adopted separate walking lanes for people who are using their cellphones so they don’t you know, walk into each other. So what can we do about it? I don’t think there is much we can as a society. The fast paced world we live in almost demands that we stay up to date for fear of falling behind. Self control and self moderation is really the only tool we have to ensure that when we are on our death bed, we don’t look back on our lives and wonder, where did it all go.
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