This was taken on the eastern side of the "Great Lawn" of Central Park. I took another photo of this young woman to provide more of a wide-angle perspective; click here to see it. Note: this photo was published in a Jun 15, 2010 Technologeek blog, with the same title as the caption that I used on this Flickr page. It was also published in an undated (early Dec 2010) Best Teen Bikini blog, with the same title and detailed notes as what I had written on this Flickr page.

Moving into 2011, the photo was published in an undated (late Jan 2011) Nice Cheap Computer Parts photos blog, as well as a Feb 4, 2011 posting in the same blog -- each with the same title and detailed notes as what I had written here on this Flickr page. It was also published in a May 23, 2011 blog titled "Which Gadgets Should I Bring With Me on Vacation?"

Moving into 2012, the photo was published in an "Everything Coach Store" blog, in a posting titled "Unravel the Benefits of Designer Eyeglasses." It was also published in a Mar 23, 2012 blog titled "Wie normal ist die Rolle des Smartphones in deinem Sexleben? [Studie]" And it was published in a May 2,2012 blog titled "スマホ症候群チェック." It was also published in a Jun 8, 2012 blog titled "Do you work on vacation? " It was also published in a Jul 8, 2012 blog titled "Teens Texting Nude Photos of Themselves Are Getting Out of Hand." And it was published in a Jul 13, 2012 blog titled "E-Mail am Wochenende, zwischen Kind und Kegel." And it was published in an Aug 2, 2012 blog titled "Paris kämpft gegen Freizügigkeit."

Looking back on some old photos from 40-50 years ago, I was struck by how visible the differences were between the culture of then, versus the culture of now. In some cases, it was evident from the things people wore, or carried, or did, back then which they no longer do today. But sometimes it was the opposite: things that didn't exist back in the 1960s and 1970s have become a pervasive part of today's culture.

A good example is the cellphone: 20 years ago, it simply didn't exist. Even ten years ago, it was a relatively uncommon sight, and usually only on major streets of big cities. Today, of course, cell phones are everywhere, and everyone is using them in a variety of culture contexts.

However, I don't think this is a permanent phenomenon; after all, if you think back to the early 1980s, you probably would have seen a lot of people carrying Sony Walkmans, or "boom-box" portable radios -- all of which have disappeared...

If Moore's Law (which basically says that computers double in power every 18 months) holds up for another decade, then we'll have computerized gadgets approximately 100 times smaller, faster, cheaper, and better -- which means far better integration of music, camera, messaging, and phone, but also the possibility of the devices being so tiny that they're embedded into our eyeglasses, our earrings, or a tattoo on our forehead.