I got my first cell phone in 2003, before I took my first job in Colorado. Turns out the phone didn't even work when I got there. But to now say I couldn't use my phone would be really tough, almost impossible. 15 years ago there were pay phones on every corner, in an emergency what would you do? Can anyone even tell the last time they saw a functioning pay phone? I think what worries me the most is what would happen of cell service collapsed as a whole. Communication would be next to impossible for most.
The ability to communicate at a moments notice has changed our society. Some ways good, some ways bad. I do believe though there are many people out there that can say there lives were saved due to access to a cell phone.