How has the telephone improved people's lives?

Answer 1

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With the continual introduction of modern technologies into our society we have begun to take for granted inventions such as the telephone which had a major social impact in our lives. The telephone was brought into society with some resistance and a few technical problems, but it eventually became so accepted by society that almost everyone, mainly in the Western World, had a telephone in their house. The telephone was promoted on the grounds that it would increase revenue, increase employment, and an improved means of communication (Robertson 230). With the invention of the telephone numerous aspects of people's lives were changed. One of the most significant was the social impact.

When the telephone was first developed it could only be afforded by the rich as the all the material needed for connection was very expensive (de Sola Pool 23). In the early stages of development, it was only the areas that could afford to subscribe for a telephone that were hooked up first. Eventually with a few developments, the telephone would become cheap enough to be used by the poor. This was Graham Bell's original wish: "to reduce the expense so that the poorest man cannot afford to be without this telephone" (de Sola Pool 22). In order to make the use of telephones less expensive, coin operated and metered telephones were introduced as well as the idea of the party line in which numerous households were connected onto the same line. Segregation between the rich and the poor was only one of the social impacts the telephone had on society.

Another significant impact the telephone had on social society was the effect on rural life. At first, given the miles of wire that were needed in order to hook up farmers in isolated areas, the idea of having a telephone was an expense that they did not desire (de Sola Pool 48). Then as more and more farm households became hooked up, the cost of not having a telephone was one they could not afford either because of all the advantages that came with having a telephone. The party line was one advantage of the telephone which most farmers initially took advantage of. One line could be connected to numerous households which was cheaper and also established closer communities in rural life((de Sola Pool 53). The main advantage was that it provided communication. Loneliness, particularly for the farmer's wife was reduced as she could easily pick up the phone and engage in a conversation that may have already been started.(de Sola Pool 49). Farmers also took advantage of the party line by holding community meetings around a specific day and time((de Sola Pool 50). The telephone also provided security and helped in emergency situations despite the isolation (de Sola Pool 49). Suspicious looking characters were scared away from houses who displayed phone wires and farmers who needed help in an emergency situation were able to call for a fire truck, doctor or veterinarian. They were also now able to get prompt weather warnings, and prompt and accurate market information (de Sola Pool 50). With all of these advantages though there became a dependence on the telephone and a complete change in their life as a result.

Another major social impact of the telephone was on the urban lifestyle. The development of the telephone contributed to the development of city centers, suburbia, and office buildings(Moyer 343). Before the development of the telephone the company president located himself near the production line to give instructions about quantities, pace, and process of production which was where most of his critical communications took place (de Sola Pool 41). Then, the telephone network was brought into society, and the company president located himself to a place where he could deal closer with banks, customers, and suppliers and still be in contact with his employees via telephone (de Sola Pool 41). The development of downtown started to change to what we are now familiar with. From loft areas and manufacturing centers to huge, tall buildings with concentrations of white collar workers. De Sola Pool states that "instead of an urban pattern of a checkerboard of different specialized neighborhoods, the new urban pattern entailed a large downtown containing a miscellany of commercial marketing activities that needed to be accessible to a variety of clients and customers,...for more convenient shopping and services..." (42). Urban centers as people once new would be changed forever as a result of the development of the telephone.

The telephone also dramatically increased social relationships and social interactions by creating a medium through which to communicate. It changed the way people would interact with each other and the way they would lead their lives. It initiated a broadening of the range of people who would talk to one another. Long distance relationships with loved ones could now become possible. Family ties were maintained as couples who moved away from their parents were now able to keep in close contact. The telephone helped provide a bond for families and for communities(Reid 386). Telephones also provided a window on the world for the elderly as they become less active outside, and allowed mothers to keep an eye on their children were they were not easily able to do before. Because of the social impacts the telephone had on society it could be considered one of the greatest changes our society went through and will continue to go through.



de Sola Pool, Ithiel. Forecasting the Telephone. New Jersey: Ablex Publishing Co, 1983.

de Sola Pool, Ithiel. The Social Impact of the Telephone. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1977.

Moyer, Alan J. "Urban Growth and the Development of the Telephone: Some Relationships at the Turn of the Century." edited by Ithiel de Sola Pool The Social Impact of The Telephone (Cambridge Massachusetts:MIT Press.:1977)

Reid, A. A. L."Comparing Telephone with Face-to-Face Contact." edited by Ithiel de Sola Pool The Social Impact of The Telephone (Cambridge Massachusetts:MIT Press.:1977)