[matwood]

Great point.

Somewhat related, but I have hard time watching older shows/movies where the plot only works because people do not a have cell phones. I even grew up before cell phones, but they are such a part of our lives now it is hard to look past when they are missing.

[shantly]

Modern cell phones are a hellish technology for people trying to plot stories. Every single person's carrying a superior version of a 1960s spy's kit, and can magically send anything recorded on it to anyone else in seconds. It takes serious effort to make any event or information plausibly known only to a limited circle, should any of them wish it to be otherwise.

It's become almost an in-joke how horror movies so often have to find a way to dispose of or disable cell phones early in the plot.

[sectiondetail]

>Somewhat related, but I have hard time watching older shows/movies where the plot only works because people do not a have cell phones.

One of the funniest moments in the Buffy spin-off Angel was when the title character was trapped somewhere, and after managing to escape he's asked by his friends why he just didn't use his cellphone to call for help - at which point he's at a genuine loss for words, because he did have one with him at the time.