I remember the first time I saw someone have their mobile phone out at a church service. A teen was playing a game in the middle of the sermon. Since then, mobile phones have invaded every aspect of life. How do you handle cell phones in church?
That question inspired my cartoon for this month. This pastor has had enough of divided attention in his pews. Practically, the pastor’s idea isn’t going to work. Alas, it’s illegal to jam cell phone signals in the United States.
Drones are making it easier to take pictures whether people are wanting it or not. I saw a drone hovering the other day and wondered what it would be like if a parent used one to continually keep track of his children.
So if you had the ability to continually spy on your kids, would you do it? When does it become an issue of trust vs. safety?
I heard a TED Talk this morning from Andrew Bastawrous about cell phones in the Third World and an app that will help diagnose and cure blindness.
What struck me was when he said more people own cell phones than have access to clean water. I found an article confirming that:
More People Have Cell Phones Than Clean Water | The Corvallis Advocate.
That amazed me for several reasons.
While smart phones are still rare in developing nations (according to a Pew survey) , it is only a matter of time until this changes.
This is key for publishers and media professionals. Up to five years ago, I was in discussions where we believed most of our customers still didn’t own a desktop computer. Now, we must admit even remote villages in far-flung regions of the world can access technology. It stands to reason a household may be more likely to own a mobile phone than a printed book.
Think of it! Households that may not have a literate person living there could suddenly have access to information that was otherwise out of their reach. This is more than revolutionary. This could fundamentally change how the world thinks.
