Back in the early aughts, there was a nagging fear in the zeitgeist that a coming "phone cam" tsunami would wipe away what tattered shreds of civility we had left. As it turns out, those alarmist calls were somewhat prescient—at least in the sense of how everything would soon change.
That's not to say that what came afterwards was necessarily worse. Sure, there have been incidences of our mobile "cams" leading to gross invasions of privacy, but overall I would argue that camera phones have improved our lives.
Thanks to our mobile gadgets, we all have the power to capture, share, and access images and video from around the world instantaneously. It has changed the way we express ourselves (memes and the rise of #selfie culture), eat (it's not a meal unless it's been on Instagram), and even the way we make with the nookie (there indeed is an art to sexting).
Right now, people are walking around with super powerful digital cameras in their pockets, allowing them to beam their POV to the rest of the world instantaneously—all super hivemind style, language barriers be damned. That's kind of amazing if you think about it.
For its part, the public has enthusiastically shrugged off any privacy concerns it may have once had and learned to embrace mobile photography. And gadget makers have responded with better and ever more capable digital cameras. Chances are, you're not even taking advantage of all the cool things your phone's camera can do. Check out our slideshow for 14 truly amazing (as well as a few ridiculous) smartphone camera tricks.