Original Image Source- Modified and Phone Image by @saydie
1960's was a very long time ago and there has been a huge explosion on the advancement of the technology that we have on 2020's, the invention of smartphone being one of them. So if the premise is I have to explain what a smartphone is to a 60's person, perhaps, I was sent to the past through time machine, I would try to explain it to them with the help of the inventions available from that era that have similar functions to a smartphone. This way, even though smartphone is an unknown device for them, it would be easier to them to absorb what I'm about to explain them because it resembles the functions of the things that they know.
Smartphone as a communication device.
Most probably, the easiest way to explain to a 60's person what a smartphone is that it was a communication device similar to a Telephone but unlike telephone, that was bulky and cannot be moved because they need telephone lines to communicate, A smartphone is portable and can be brought to almost anywhere as it uses radio waves to communicate. It can also send messages similar to Fax that also uses telephone lines to send text messages from a scanner to the receiver's printer but unlike fax, smartphone does not need a scanner and a printer to send massages as the text that was sent would appear to the receiver's smartphone. Not only that, Smartphone also allows Video Calls where a person can see who's he talking to but it was something impossible to their time as this uses internet which was only created on 1980's.
Smartphone as A Computing and Storing Device
Smartphone was literally a Computer made into the size to fit our hands so that we can bring it wherever we go so it can take "input data" such as when computer press a keyboard and "process the data" as which was shown into the computer screen. It also has Computing Functions which allows it to be used as Calculator and has the storage capability to save any type of data but its storage capability has increased exponentially as old computers can only store kilobytes of data while smartphones can store gigabytes of data where 1 GB is equals to 1048576 kB. As computers that time were used mostly by scientist and government, This explanation would most likely to enlighten them but was rather difficult to explain to a regular citizen.
Smartphone as Audio Media Device
As Smartphones already uses radio signals to communicate, it would not be hard to explain to a 60's person how a smartphone also works as a Radio where we can listen to different radio stations either for music or hear the latest news but as a kind of device with storage capability, smartphones can also stored music which they either downloaded or if they subscribed to music platforms like Spotify.
Smartphone as a Visual Media Device
Not only smartphone can function like Radio, It can also works like Televisions where you can watch videos but the resolution was way better than a 60's television and has access not only to local shows but also on international shows which can also be stored so I won't need to be upset if they missed a show cause they can download it and watch them when I have free time.
Smartphone as a Camera Device
Smartphone can also be used as Camera to take pictures to capture precious memories but cameras of 60's needs Photographic film or the transparent sheet to record the picture and only can only capture few pictures compared to Smartphone which can store hundreds if not thousands of pictures. Many smartphones also has camera both back and front so it can take pictures from afar but also take pictures up close or what people of 2020's have called as "selfies".
Smartphone as Gaming Device
There are very few games that are made during 60's but if the person I am talking to have somehow know or play them, They could probably relate be amazed that a Smartphone can be used for playing games and could play different types of them. Perhaps, If I am talking to a teenager, it would made them more curious as there have very few forms of entertainment on 60's and would allow them to understand what a smartphone is faster.
Conclusion
As there is a huge time gap from 1960 to 2023, it is no wonder that there was a huge advancement in technology and if people of the 1960 era were able to come across our technology today, it would be quite a shock to them so I believed that using the things that they already know would allow them to digest the information easier but still they might not get it on the first or the second try so at the same time, we need to be Patient on making them understand things.
Thank you for reading my post!
Credits and Links
The Dividers with the Hive logo in this post were created by thepeakstudio and if you like them you can use them for free, the Hive logo is property of https://hive.io