Will cell phones transform our view of time and save the world?

Cell phone time versus wrist watch time! Have you noticed that fewer people seem to be wearing watches these days? Perhaps this is truer for younger people. When I question my students about this, they point out that they do not need a watch since they are carrying a cell phone. When you think about it, cell phone time is more accurate than most watches. Most watches are self-set and most cell phones are linked to the correct time via satellite connections. Thus, the younger generation should have more access to accurate time than a generation that relies on wrist watches. Have you thought about the implications this could have for the way we view the world? Will the younger generation view the world more accurately and objectively than the older generation? Will lateness and tardiness become a thing of the past?

Soon, most cell phones will be GPS enabled and then no one will be able to get lost. One by one, our excuses for missed appointments and arriving late are being destroyed. With news and vital information and even advertisements arriving via cell phones, the younger generation will be linked to the world in ways that we would never have dreamed possible years ago. What will all this linking and being wired in mean for our brave new world? Will the next 100 years be as dynamic and volatile as the last 100 years of human history? Will events and history happen at an even more rapid pace? Will the new generation be able to save the world from the mistakes of the past generation? Tune in next week for the next episode and find out!

Do you carry a cell phone or wear a watch? What do you rely on for time? Which generation do you belong to? How has your view of time changed over the past few years? Are you more or less conscious of the time in your life?