What happened to pay phones???

About a year ago I got rid of my cell phone. I couldn't resist using it while driving, I didn't like being expected to be always available, and I just resented that it seemed to have become a required expense. Since then I've noticed that it has become almost impossible to find a payphone when you need it, and that even when you do find one, it's often broken. I suppose it's a result of limited demand = limited supply, but it's made me think about how with the advance of technology, those without resources face more challenges than ever.

Also interesting is how some parts of the world are skipping technological steps altogether. I spent a summer in west Africa a few years ago, and was fascinated to find that many people had gone from no phones whatsoever straight to cell phones. Why bother with the in-between step of land lines? We're amazed here at what we can do now that we wouldn't have even thought possible when we were kids, but the changes are even more dramatic in less-developed countries where people are skipping from almost no modern technology to the very latest!