Conclusion

Image: Bangkok Sky Train; Wikimedia Commons

The major difference between these two systems, aside from their purposes, is the effectiveness of computerized handheld devices as compared to locomotives in removing users from their environment. While the locomotive system did change the traveler’s perception of space and time it did not do so as effectively as handheld computerized devices. These devices remove users from their environment and create new environments for them to inhabit with new methods of communication. While the effects of these two systems bear similarities, the ability of the handheld computerized device to remove users from their environment is a stronger extension of the locomotive system’s similar ability. Even so, the locomotive system greatly impacted society through its influence on the individual’s perception and the effect of the locomotive system sheds light on the effect of handheld computerized devices on modern society.