[dave78]

I suppose earlier generations had telegraph, telephone, radio, TV, airplane travel, rockets, etc. but yes, the rate of change of technology was incredible, to us anyway, in the 80s and 90s. I guess it remains to be seen if AI eventually evokes the same feelings. If not then it almost feels like we're in a bit of a drought since the smartphone revolution 15 years ago.

[actionfromafar]

This time around, the tech spread faster and more evenly. With the telephone, there were places with no telephone and other places which would have had it for almost a century.

Now, cell phones are almost everywhere.

[jyunwai]

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) at the United Nations tracks a precise statistic, and includes this updated as part of its annual report—with the most recent report just published this week (I believe yesterday, from the date of the press release).

More than three quarters of the population worldwide own a cell phone [1], as "78 per cent of the population aged 10 and over in 2023 own a mobile phone." Split by income level, 94% of high-income individuals, 84% of upper-middle-income individuals, and 70% of lower-middle-income individuals own a cell phone.

However, this is lowered to 47% for low-income individuals, which motivates many non-profits and governmental programs to provide free and/or donated cell phones to people in vulnerable groups.

[1] https://www.itu.int/itu-d/reports/statistics/2023/10/10/ff23...

[actionfromafar]

And if they don’t own a cell phone, chances are they have access to one somehow, like how many people didn’t own a dedicated landline but still could gain access, paid or by borrowing.