In this week’s special wireless issue titled, “THE WIRELESS ISSUE. 10 Ways Your Phone is Changing the World” TIME explores how mobile phones have become a super-extension of ourselves, altering in fundamental ways how we approach everything from education to politics, from medicine to romance.
The issue includes an exclusive TIME Mobility Poll, conducted in cooperation with Qualcomm, that highlights the increasing significance of mobile technology in our lives. TIME‘s Nancy Gibbs writes, “It is hard to think of any tool, any instrument, any object in history with which so many developed so close a relationship so quickly as we have with our phones.” Read more here.
When it comes to people and their devices, 61% worldwide plan to replace their phone in less than two years; 84% worldwide said they couldn’t go a single day without their mobile devices in hand; 44% would leave their wallets at home in favor of their device; 50% of Americans say they sleep with their mobile next to the bed — as do more than 80% of 18-24 year olds; an 30% said that being without their mobile for even short periods leaves them feeling anxious. TIME‘s Harry McCracken also has apiece on mobile payments that you can read here.
This week’s cover image features more than 200 photographs chosen from 31,429 Instagram photos submitted by TIME readers in more than 120 countries and on all seven continents. Plus, every photograph within the wireless section was originally shot on a mobile phone camera.
Exclusive TIME Mobility Poll: 84% Say They Couldn’t Go a Single Day Without Their Mobile Devices in Hand
– 20% said they check their mobile device every ten minutes
– 43% have used texting to ask someone out on a date
– 30% said that being without their mobile for even short periods leaves them feeling anxious
– If forced to choose, 65% worldwide opted to take their wireless mobile device with them in the morning instead of their lunch
– 66% of people feel that their wireless devices have made them better parents
Read more about the poll here.
See the results here.
MacDailyNews Take: Steve Jobs made quite the noticeable dent.
IPhone – the only real thang
ok if you insist… iPhone
Can’t go a day without your phone?? Doesn’t say much for the human race. Do we have a Virtual life instead of a real one? Play golf games or really play the game? I wonder.
For some people, it helps you stay more connected and feel more connected to people you care about. It’s a good thing.
I am connected with people I care about via email or the USPS. I do not need to be calling everyone in my phone book to let them know that I’m sitting in Cafe Sophia having my afternoon latte. And I really don’t want people calling me with similar “news.” I just want to sit quietly with friends or do the crossword puzzle without having to constantly update or be updated with life’s minutiae.
If there’s an emergency, calling me first will not ease the emergency, that’s why we have 911.
These people who feel that they need to be more connected are truly pathetic. They need to wake up and truly smell the coffee and not feel that they can’t live without being tied to 20 other people. If that sounds cold, then so be it. For tens of thousands of years humans have lived, learned, loved, and progressed without being electronically connected.
When I travel throughout Western Canada, in the dead of winter, in very cold weather, on everything from highways to bush trails, I break out in a sweat when I have no bars on the phone.
“44% would leave their wallets at home in favor of their device.”
When deciding to make the iPhone, Steve Jobs said that he wanted to make a phone so good that people would rather leave their wallet at home.