As a teenager I would spend hours talking to my girlfriend using the payphone that was across the street from my house. Why ? Just to avoid the hyper-sensitive ears of my parents. Those things were an essential part of my life!

That girl became my wife, and now we have a seven-year-old son. Unlike me, he will probably never use one of these. Ever. He'll never have the joy of standing in the rain/cold/wind chatting to his girlfriend from a payphone.

And to that point, I conjecture that he will never have a POTS wired phoneline in his own home, he will never buy a newspaper, and perhaps he will never buy a CD, DVD or petrol-only vehicle.

What do you think ?