People’s Stories

“We noticed protest posters: 'You will drink lithium, you will eat copper.'”

– Ligaya, Atacama Desert, Chile

“When it fell on my face, playing Wordle, drunk”

Anonymous

“Accidentally continuing to share my location with someone... Creepy.”

– Anonymous, San Francisco, CA

“Fear around notifications, photos, revealing just how out of integrity I was”

Anonymous, 1972

“Realizing I had many voicemails from my late mother”

– Rosita, 36, Chicago, IL

“Tweeted right before bed. It went viral and sparked my next creative project.”

Anonymous

“Unlimited minutes after 9pm. I charged people to use my phone for clout.”

AB

“Blind people have often done a lot to make that phone accessible to them”

– Erik Matthies, Manchester, UK

“Being a troll online”

Anonymous

“Blew my mind that I could just click the browser. It felt like touching the future.”

– Kaitlin, Austin, TX

“It made me feel empowered on location!!”

– Bettina Dalton, Global

“The kids 'don't have email'”

Anonymous

“They stole my phone but it was too old, so they returned it to me.”

– Pablo, Guatemala

“Before 9/11 none of them knew about texting.”

– Jeffrey Abramson, 1974, Los Angeles, CA

“I be talkin mad shit about the government + I started getting texts from the governor”

[Redacted]

“I swiped right on a Tinder "Super Like" and he is the great love of my life.”

– Dana, Long Beach, CA

“First phone was a no-name Chinese phone...I found out that it was spying me out.”

Anonymous

“In middle school (!) I felt pressured to get an iPhone (instead of an Android).”

– Anonymous, San Francisco, CA

“I am partially deaf...people could tell me things discreetly over SMS.”

– Natalya Dell, Birmingham, UK

“I didn't understand the shortcuts”

– Lorna Craig, 1986, Toronto

“She was in her 70's at the time. We can ALWAYS learn new things.”

– Theresa Richardson, 1962, Los Angeles, CA

“My phone saved me & a friend from an overdose!!”

Anonymous

“My son's 9. There's some kids who already have phones in his class, some that don't.”

– Eli Pariser, Brooklyn, NY

“I would pretend that I had texted them accidentally”

Anonymous

“Watching body parts and limbs, dead babies, children on my phone dead and dying”

Anonymous

“Determined to rid myself from the technocapitalist ‘phone brain’ chokehold for good”

– Caitlin Begg, 1994, New York, NY

“Recording a police stop. Being there for my community.”

– @YoBigRube, Atlanta, GA

“Weary. I don't carry my phone in pockets of clothes I wear.”

– Catharine Ingram, 1985, Denver, CO

“One click. That's all it takes to send a letter to my member of parliament.”

– Maira Elahi, 2006, Windsor, ON, Canada

“Just having a phone in Egypt at that time [was] a privilege.”

– Anonymous, Cairo, Egypt

“I loved the size and heaviness of phones back then, due to my limited dexterity”

– Andrew Gurza, 1984, Toronto, Canada

“8 year relationship breakup. Hung up and collapsed on the floor. Moved from starred”

– E, 43, Atlanta, GA

“I sent a tweet on the fly that has become a meme circulated for the last 6 years”

– Emily, Twitter

“I had a very long commute...I could write essays on my smartphone during train rides”

Eli Boahen

“My ex-boyfriend used our computer network to show up at my new girlfriend's apartment”

– Anonymous, 1981, Chicago, IL

“Making apps for my phone, engaging with the jailbreaking community.”

– Anonymous, San Francisco, CA

“In 2004 in China a lot of life happened via SMS. In the US, SMS was barely a thing.”

– Nick, New York, NY

“People feel lesser than for these ‘green text bubble’ not because of a better product”

– Ben, 1987, Los Angeles, CA

“Connect seamlessly internationally through WhatsApp without a calling card ”

Anonymous

“I used to view my phone as a gaming device...I now see my phone as an intermediary”

– Sam, Washington, DC

“Giving voice to ordinary people, the ones on whom technology is usually imposed”

– Antonio, Torino, Italy

“Texting became a critical part of how I created and nurtured a relationship.”

Anonymous

“I experienced relentless cyberbullying, but also felt an attachment to my phone”

– Erica, 1990, Salem, MA

“I was able to save more money at the grocery store”

Anonymous

“Haven't experienced serendipity while tied to Google Maps”

– Owen, 35, New York, NY

“Being ghosted in text”

– Sarp, London

“Apps have become a friend and confidante helping me navigate the challenges of life”

– Ina, Denver, CO

“My phone holds so many memories of first and lasts that hold so much importance to me”

Anonymous

“First time I picked up an iPhone”

– Domsk, Bristol, UK

“The first time I came out to someone was on a burner phone”

– B Kelley, New York, NY

“I found myself feeling worse and worse about myself...I deleted all the apps”

– Patrick McDermott, Annapolis, MD

“At the swipe of a finger I could drift among an endless echo of my own opinions”

– Kane, Tübingen, Germany

“I called a friend & handed the phone out the window to the car next to me”

– Laura Heery, Atlanta, GA

“I learnt to love my phone but not in away that hurts my wellbeing.”

– Confidence Osein, Lagos, Nigeria

“We felt we, too, were there, in a small way.”

Anonymous

“In those hours of the night in the waiting room, my phone allowed me to be close”

– Antonio, Torino, Italy

“Had to convince my parents like hell and then lost it at my first high school party.”

Anonymous, 1996

“Connectivity is always in jeopardy...It is not something to be assumed at any point.”

– Willow Idlewild, Bay Area, California

“Everything in my life is connected to my butt and there's something wrong with that.”

Anonymous

“I cannonballed into a swimming pool with an iPhone in my pocket.”

– Anonymous, San Francisco, CA

“I filmed my own birth.”

Anonymous

“The one ringtone everyone had sounded like 'big brother big'”

– Spencer, China

“We touch and attend to babies, lovers, and our phones in the same ways.”

– 1982, Chicago, IL

“Capturing a moment between my kids, reaching out, jotting down a story idea”

– Grace, Texas

“And then my phone could play music on its own, and my whole world changed.”

– Meghan, Wilmington, NC

“Over time, my phone has become a lifeline, an appendage.”

– Whitney, Los Angeles, CA

“I'm antisocial now, thanks for reminding me.”

Anonymous

“I have to be very intentional about how/when I use it”

– Carrie, Medford, MA

“I'm physically disabled—a phone gives me access to jobs, people, and information”

– Kristen, 1987, Ottowa, Canada

“A security blanket”

Anonymous

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“We noticed protest posters: 'You will drink lithium, you will eat copper.'”

“When it fell on my face, playing Wordle, drunk”

“Accidentally continuing to share my location with someone... Creepy.”

“Fear around notifications, photos, revealing just how out of integrity I was”

“Realizing I had many voicemails from my late mother”

“Tweeted right before bed. It went viral and sparked my next creative project.”

“Unlimited minutes after 9pm. I charged people to use my phone for clout.”

“Blind people have often done a lot to make that phone accessible to them”

“Being a troll online”

“Blew my mind that I could just click the browser. It felt like touching the future.”

“It made me feel empowered on location!!”

“The kids 'don't have email'”

“They stole my phone but it was too old, so they returned it to me.”

“Before 9/11 none of them knew about texting.”

“I be talkin mad shit about the government + I started getting texts from the governor”

“I swiped right on a Tinder "Super Like" and he is the great love of my life.”

“First phone was a no-name Chinese phone...I found out that it was spying me out.”

“In middle school (!) I felt pressured to get an iPhone (instead of an Android).”

“I am partially deaf...people could tell me things discreetly over SMS.”

“I didn't understand the shortcuts”

“She was in her 70's at the time. We can ALWAYS learn new things.”

“My phone saved me & a friend from an overdose!!”

“My son's 9. There's some kids who already have phones in his class, some that don't.”

“I would pretend that I had texted them accidentally”

“Watching body parts and limbs, dead babies, children on my phone dead and dying”

“Determined to rid myself from the technocapitalist ‘phone brain’ chokehold for good”

“Recording a police stop. Being there for my community.”

“Weary. I don't carry my phone in pockets of clothes I wear.”

“One click. That's all it takes to send a letter to my member of parliament.”

“Just having a phone in Egypt at that time [was] a privilege.”

“I loved the size and heaviness of phones back then, due to my limited dexterity”

“8 year relationship breakup. Hung up and collapsed on the floor. Moved from *starred*”

“I sent a tweet on the fly that has become a meme circulated for the last 6 years”

“I had a very long commute...I could write essays on my smartphone during train rides”

“My ex-boyfriend used our computer network to show up at my new girlfriend's apartment”

“Making apps for my phone, engaging with the jailbreaking community.”

“In 2004 in China a lot of life happened via SMS. In the US, SMS was barely a thing.”

“People feel lesser than for these ‘green text bubble’ not because of a better product”

“Connect seamlessly internationally through WhatsApp without a calling card ”

“I used to view my phone as a gaming device...I now see my phone as an intermediary”

“Giving voice to ordinary people, the ones on whom technology is usually imposed”

“Texting became a critical part of how I created and nurtured a relationship.”

“I experienced relentless cyberbullying, but also felt an attachment to my phone”

“I was able to save more money at the grocery store”

“Haven't experienced serendipity while tied to Google Maps”

“Being ghosted in text”

“Apps have become a friend and confidante helping me navigate the challenges of life”

“My phone holds so many memories of first and lasts that hold so much importance to me”

“First time I picked up an iPhone”

“The first time I came out to someone was on a burner phone”

“I found myself feeling worse and worse about myself...I deleted all the apps”

“At the swipe of a finger I could drift among an endless echo of my own opinions”

“I called a friend & handed the phone out the window to the car next to me”

“I learnt to love my phone but not in away that hurts my wellbeing.”

“We felt we, too, were there, in a small way.”

“In those hours of the night in the waiting room, my phone allowed me to be close”

“Had to convince my parents like hell and then lost it at my first high school party.”

“Connectivity is always in jeopardy...It is not something to be assumed at any point.”

“Everything in my life is connected to my butt and there's something wrong with that.”

“I cannonballed into a swimming pool with an iPhone in my pocket.”

“I filmed my own birth.”

“The one ringtone everyone had sounded like 'big brother big'”

“We touch and attend to babies, lovers, and our phones in the same ways.”

“Capturing a moment between my kids, reaching out, jotting down a story idea”

“And then my phone could play music on its own, and my whole world changed.”

“Over time, my phone has become a lifeline, an appendage.”

“I'm antisocial now, thanks for reminding me.”

“I have to be very intentional about how/when I use it”

“I'm physically disabled—a phone gives me access to jobs, people, and information”

“A security blanket”

What does a people's history of tech mean to you?

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“8 year relationship breakup. Hung up and collapsed on the floor. Moved from starred”