Today, I came across this charming diatribe against the invention of the ‘wireless’ (that is, the radio). It does feel rather similar to the arguments about our current technologies. The author complains of the wireless’s antisocial qualities:

In response to my cheerful salutation he gave a non-committal grunt, and continued to tamper with the array of levers and wires (why is it called wireless?) before him. I say down, quite prepared to wait for half-an-hour before mutual conversation became a remote possibility.

Then there’s the inflicting of unwanted sounds on others, not unlike the now-endemic problem of the smartphone loudspeaker:

Another even worse type of wireless fiend is the man who insists on having the loud speaker on for the entire evening, meals included.

And this bears striking resemblance to the endless scrolling of which we all are guilty:

“Now we’ll get Berlin!” said Henry, roughly snatching the head-phones away with all the restless zeal of your true enthusiast. Wireless experts are very cosmopolitan, and hate staying in the same country for more than two minutes. It is bad form, I believe.

The full article: