Many parallels can be drawn between the advent of new technologies in previous generations and today. The show Downtown Abbey helps its audience understand this by creating an episode representing the advent of the telephone. But, what would the modern day authors Turkle and Gopnik say if they were suddenly placed in the same era as that Downtown Abbey episode?

Turkle would begin by pointing out that the use of the telephone on a mass scale will change the course of human nature and interaction. Turkle would say that face to face contact is a thing of the past and that this will inherently affect humans’ emotional state. Turkle would point out that the telephone would envelope peoples’ lives. Also, she would mention that the telephone does have its uses, but using it comes with a necessary restraint.

Gopnik would draw a similarity between the invention of the telegraph and the telephone. Gopnik would say that the telephone is just this generation’s “generational shift”. Gopnik would be sure to mention that while the telephone is a major innovation, it doesn’t alter much. Finally, Gopnik would talk about the lack of objective evidence saying that the telephone does have major negative effects on our society.