I am a HUGE "Friends" fan. I mean, HUGE. I’ve seen every episode at least four to five times. And in case you didn’t realize, there are 236 episodes. Yes… I do need a life. However, recently I began thinking how many of the major plot points of "Friends" would be different if it was created today because of the fact in 2015 most people have cellphones. And their cellphone is usually in their hand. Here are the differences I noticed:
1.
Remember how little Ben got his name? Phoebe, Ross, and Susan were locked in a janitor's closet. Phoebe shows Ross and Susan how to put aside their differences and realize that what matters is they both love the baby so much. When they are trying to escape the janitor's closet Phoebe puts on a uniform that says "Ben." And later when Carol asks about the name, Susan and Ross agree on Ben.
If that was written today Ross, Susan, or Phoebe could have called any one of the friends or the hospital to get out. Perhaps, all three of them wouldn't have their cellphones. But on such an important day and in this day in age, who wouldn't have their cellphones on them?
2.
Instead of Rachel drunk calling Ross and leaving a voice mail saying "I'm over you" she probably would have just drunk texted him. This wouldn't have necessarily changed them getting together but it definitely would have been less exciting.
3.
The second Rachel realized she didn't want to be on a break--even before Mark came over--she would have just called his cellphone. Even if Mark came over and Ross heard him, Rachel would have called him again. We can assume this because in the episode she was trying to call his house phone. Granted, Ross could have turned off his cellphone. However, Ross didn't want to break up with Rachel. I think he would have left it on. Plus, honestly, I think Rachel would have called him before Mark even showed up.
4.
Remember when Emily shows up at the gate of the airport and sees Ross and Rachel go on the plane together? That couldn't have happened post-9/11. Yeah, maybe she could have seen them going through security together. But that wouldn't have been as exciting, and plus Ross wouldn't have been able to wait that long for Emily, because of having to go through security.
5.
Oh Chandler, my love. Remember the whole mess of him trying to propose to Monica? How he nearly led her to break up with him instead? This all probably would have been avoided with cellphones. Monica tells Joey that Richard said he wanted to marry her and Joey has to sit at home trying to call a bunch of different places to get a hold of Chandler. But if Joey could have called Chandler's cell phone, Chandler could then immediately call Monica. Or Joey could have texted Chandler. Granted maybe Chandler didn't answer his phone right away...but I bet he would have found her long before he actually did.
6.
This obviously isn't a major plot point of the whole show. But it is a major plot point in "The One Where They're Up All Night" where Ross and Joey are stuck on the roof. In 2015 they could have just called or Snapchatted the other friends. They could have even put it on Yik Yak and seen if some nice person would come and help them.
These are just some examples of how different the show would be with cellphones. Honestly though, I think the show is much better without them and we can learn a lot from "Friends." Sometimes things get really exciting when you learn to go more than five feet away from your iPhone.
