The Technological Impact on Future Home Phones

Many believe that home phones will soon head down the path to extinction, as have their cousin, pay phones.

As advancing technology revolutionizes the way the world works, existing technology continues to become outdated. While home phones still exist, they are gradually being phased out by perpetually evolving cellular phones that can perform all the functions of a computer.

History

Cell phones were rare in the 1990s. While the development of technology in the early 21st century made people more mobile, it was only in the latter part of the 2000s that home phones began to disappear. While many families still used home phones in 2010, it was not their primary method of telecommunication.

Significance

The abolishment of home phones, or land lines, would be yet another step in the direction of an entirely wireless culture. As desktop computers continue to fade away from popular markets, so will the home phone. This means that a family will no longer be reached collectively, but rather, individuals, even children, can be directly reached.

Theories/Speculation

If advancing technology does eventually eradicate home phones, some experts argue that there will be a collective loss of the home as a place. Already, physical snail mail has become an increasingly outdated method of communications. Even television, as a thing which the family sat together to watch, is being replaced by new phone technology that allows movies to be watched anywhere, even on the go. This takes away several of the key identifying features of the home.

References

• "Popular Culture in the United States"; St. Joseph's University History Department Class: 2009
• USA Today: Consumers Ditching Land-line Phones