A field trip from August 2011 to August 1981 and back

John Bredehoft has a creative two-part post comparing technology in 2011 and 1981. Focus is on the change in portability – the ease of getting news anywhere and being able to reach someone anywhere.

What if modern portability existed, or didn’t exist, 30 years ago?

More on changes in portability

Communication then:

“Do you need a phone?” asked Joe. He pointed to the wall. “There’s a pay phone right over there, but it’s a ripoff. They raised the charge from ten cents to twenty-five cents. AT&T is such a robber baron. They oughta break it up.”

What we have now, as heard by 1981 ears:

“No eye phone, no why fie, no Google Plus. Heck, no Google. Not even A Oh El. No Mac. No hard drive on an IBM P C.”

3 thoughts on “A field trip from August 2011 to August 1981 and back

  1. Perhaps your readers may want to comment on how non-profits are affected by today’s “connected everywhere” lifestyle. Back in 1981, if a pastor or other non-profit head were on vacation, that person was truly on vacation. Perhaps the pastor could leave the phone number of the hotel with someone in case of an emergency, but if the pastor was out driving in a national park for a day, the pastor couldn’t be reached. Now, it’s theoretically possible to reach someone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. How is ministry affected by this?

  2. John makes a good point, with connectivity goes privacy. I’m often amused by how technology is supposed to make our lives easier and provide us with more leisure while complicating it and consuming more hours every day!

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