335: Rory Cellan-Jones | Getting A Sense Of The Social Smartphone Era In “Always On”

What can we know about smartphones being in the hands of everyone, and always remaining on? Are there hopeful elements that relate with this, as well as elements to be worried about? After his 40 years as technology correspondent for the BBC, author Rory Cellan-Jones wrote about this topic in his latest book Always On: Hope and Fear in the Social Smartphone Era, and joins us on episode 335 of the show.

Rory was the BBC’s expert on trends in new technology, and how the web is changing our lives. He became a Technology Correspondent after many years reporting on business for the BBC, and he sees it as his role to communicate the excitement and importance of the fast-changing digital world to a non-specialist audience.

He is also the author of Dot Bomb, an account of the companies and characters behind Britain’s short-lived dot com bubble. In recent years he has investigated the role technology can play in improving the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease, having been diagnosed with the condition in 2019.

In 2021 he was made an Honorary Fellow of The National Museum of Computing in recognition of his services to technology education. Since leaving the BBC, he has become an independent technology consultant, writer and broadcaster. He has also started a newsletter about health tech, one of his major interests.