100 years ago, this comic predicted what the world would be like with smartphones

You cell phones revolutionized the world and the behavior of society. This is a fact, but to imagine that such an innovation could have been predicted more than 100 years ago, when there was no evidence of the internet or mobile telephony, is unimaginable.

That’s what a comic book published at the beginning of the last century by the newspaper DailyMirror.

Created by Spanish-British caricaturist William Haselden and called “When we have pocket phones”, it practically predicted what the world would be like today.

The author, evidently, created a satire about a possible technological age that was to come in the future, but he didn’t realize how visionary he was being when defining situations that are so common today.

It’s as if his imagination, from more than a century ago, is now confirmed.

Future vision

Cell phone present even at the wedding, a prediction from more than 100 years ago – Image: Reproduction

The comic was published between 1919 and 2023, a period in which William Haselden published his work on DailyMirror.

The story illustrates how mobile phones could influence everyday life and create embarrassing situations for users.

The author’s vision of the future predicted, for example, that the cell phone would be so present in everyday life to the point of not letting go of the person.

He would play at weddings, concerts, at public transportation and even when the person had a baby on their lap. Who has never lived or witnessed something like this?

The visionary author died in 1953, at the age of 81, and was unable to experience his own theory. Haselden became known for his British comic strips and also for being a political caricaturist.

The comic artist’s works were published in 29 volumes between 1906 and 1935. In addition to technology, they cover topics such as fashion, feminism, media and others.

Viral on the internet

The discovery of Haselden’s comic surprised many people on the internet and went viral on Twitter. After being published by the user Historic Vids, on December 19th, the story spread quickly across the social network.

To date, the publication has accumulated more than 78 thousand likes and almost 10 thousand shares. While some people were nostalgic, others were surprised by the author’s ability to travel through time and predict the future.