Personal phones have changed so much over the past fifteen years. They started out as efficient devices for communication. They have since developed into cultural and societal phenomenons. Smartphones ushered in a new era for users. Businesses embraced smartphones, and the internet speed and capabilities made them irresistible to users.


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Nowadays it is almost impossible to find someone without a phone. And perhaps even more rare to find someone with a phone that doesn’t use the internet. The internet is such a vital part of our lives that it is influential everywhere. In a business sense, in a financial sense and even with our relationships. The internet is the lifeblood of modern society.

Of course, it has had a profound effect on cell phones too. Here is a list of some of the major ways in which the internet has affected phones.

Information

One of the principal reasons for the effect of the internet on cell phones is information. Information runs the world. It runs businesses. It dictates our social and romantic interactions. Information shapes who we are as a society and what our goals are as people. Once an internet connection became available on phones, everything changed.

People could access information from anywhere in the world at the click of a button. This was unprecedented and something that no one could have prepared for. A direct result of this was the demand for more information. As a result, more and more websites began to pop up, and it seemed that you could find out anything online.

In more recent times, this has gone a stage further. Businesses have realised the importance of the internet and phones. And now it is possible to access your work through the use of a phone. Many phones nowadays operate like portable computers. A miniature office that you can take on the move with you.

Connectivity

One of the most noticeable ways in which the internet has affected phones is through connectivity. In previous years, phones have had two methods of communication - phone call and SMS text message. But nowadays the list is endless. Due to the internet evolution there are many free apps such as Viber and Skype that you can use on your phone. This allows for face to face calling without using up your data plan. They also allow you to phone people in other countries and avoid the extreme costs.


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There’s also Facebook Messenger, which is a neat and condensed version of Facebook for your mobile. And then of course there are instant messaging apps. The most popular of these is Whatsapp. This allows you to communicate via text and audio messages over the internet.

Due to all the different ways of connectivity phones have now it’s almost impossible to imagine anyone without one. The internet had made it possible to connect with people all over the globe at a tiny fraction of what it would cost to phone someone.

Knowledge is Power

As the saying goes, knowledge is power. Because of the influence and global stature of the internet you can gain knowledge on anything. What this means for phones is that you have a portable encyclopaedia. If you want to find out information on someone for the purposes of a date, you can always Google them. You can gain knowledge about any topic in an instant through your cell phone.

The sky’s the limit for the knowledge you can gain. For instance, if you wanted to find who owns a number in area code 929 you could do so in mere seconds. Everybody is inquisitive, and we all want to find out as much information as we can. Knowing things about events and people gives us the power. Phones are a portable way to us gaining knowledge with ease and immediacy.

Storage

Storage is also a vital part of owning a phone. This has changed so much in recent years. Smartphones have transformed a cell phone’s ability and capacity for storage. In the past phones could store contact details and text messages. Now there is no limit to the kind of things they can store. You can stores movies, books and music on your phone. Games, documents, important folders, etc.

Most smartphones have large storage capacities of several GB. Some even larger than most computers. But the biggest way the internet helps with this is the ability to store your phone data online. Portals such as One Drive and iCloud allow you to store data and important information from your phone online. This means it will always be accessible to you. If you lose or replace your phone, you will still have access to your data with ease.

This also means that you can change what information your phone may hold at a particular time. If you save a file in iCloud and then delete it from your phone, it will still be accessible in iCloud. This means that it’s there if you need it again. This saves you storage space on your phone itself and also preserves important files.

Gaming

One of the best ways in which the internet has affected phones is in the realm of entertainment. You can now watch movies, listen to music and even read books on your phone. But perhaps the biggest change is the fact you can now play games on your phone. Almost all smartphones have an app store that allows you to buy and download apps, including games. Where mobile games used to be rudimentary games like Snake they are now a lot different.

Mobile gaming is popular across the world and is starting to shape the future of the gaming industry. Console and PC games are now developed to incorporate app versions, so they’re playable on phones. People love the convenience and efficiency of being able to play on the move. Gaming on your phone means you don’t have to cart another device around with you for entertainment.

If you have a smartphone then there’s a good bet that you have games of some description on the phone. In the past, you would have had barely any selection in terms of mobile games. Nowadays there is a wealth of choice and possibility, and this is growing all the time.