In recent years we have seen dramatic and rapid changes in the nature of interpersonal communications. As little as ten years ago, land-line telephone was the dominant medium for quick-turnaround, informal, interpersonal communication. In less than a decade, two new technologies have radically changed the character of person-to-person communications. The first of these technologies is e-mail. The second is the mobile telephone.
Ten years ago, these technologies were highly specialized communications capabilities, known to and used by a relatively small number of people. In just the last decade, usage of these technologies has grown explosively, propelling them from relative obscurity to mainstream acceptance among the population at large. E-mail and cell phones have been enthusiastically embraced by the public and by businesses, and have now become an everyday, indispensable aspect of modern life.