The device is inherently of no value to us. Over the years, telephone technology has become ubiquitous in many countries, and today telephones are indeed an important, even essential social medium. Today people in the United States make more than 725 billion phone calls a year. But whereas this transformation took decades to evolve with the telephone, it is already beginning to take off on the Internet. The Breakdown of Geographical Communities There are social trends pushing us in this direction as well.
People now drive many miles to work, to day care, to school, to shop, and to places of worship.
Generic-feeling and impersonal chain stores have supplanted neighborhood hangouts and shops. In addition, there is a growing sense of isolation in many places. In many communities, people don' t feel safe going out. They often live far away from friends and family. People tend to focus their social lives at home.