Written by Joseph Holevinski, Converge multimedia journalism intern and Senior at Gwinnett School of Math, Science & Technology (GSMST)
There is no doubt that the invention of the smartphone has brought notable changes to how we live our daily lives. Most people spend an average of about three to four hours on their smartphone every day. So, it is not an exaggeration to say that smartphones are a major part of our society and help us function. Smartphones can keep us in contact with friends and family, help us keep track of things we need to do on a daily basis, provide entertainment, help us complete tasks and give us access to a wealth of information with just a tap of a button.
But what would happen if we didn’t have our beloved smartphones? Or to take it one step further, what would life look like if smartphones were never invented?
Some might say that life without a smartphone would be “impossible.” However, I doubt that is true because there was life before the creation of the smartphone. Although, I do think life would be much more difficult without them. Many of the luxuries that we have grown accustomed to with the widespread use of the smartphone would go away.
All of the social media apps that are the lifeblood of networking and social interaction for many individuals would cease to exist. For a few, that might seem like just a minor inconvenience, especially if social media presence isn’t a priority, but it would mean that thousands of people’s jobs would never exist. Not just people who work for these gigantic social media corporations, but also anyone whose income comes from being an influencer or a content creator.
In addition to the massive change in the job market compared to how it is now, communication would probably look like it did in the early 90s. We would have screenless telephones that are limited to specific locations around homes and offices. Car phones would grow in popularity and would probably become commonplace in the automotive industry.
Additionally, even though we wouldn’t have the convenience of smartphones, we would still get the benefits of personal computers. With PCs, we could still send emails and do other things that could be done on a smartphone, just restricted to the location of the computer.
Life would in no way be “over” without the smartphone as a majority of the younger generation might insinuate. However, it wouldn’t be as easy as it is today. We would probably be able to do most if not all of the things we can currently do on our smartphones, just without the benefit of the portability of smartphones.
But since smartphones have been invented, it is highly unlikely they will ever go away unless another invention comes along that’s better. Then, as a society, we will have to update.
