Electrification swept the west in a generation, a hundred years ago, from the late 1800s to the early 1900s, and it changed our lives forever.
This - by the way - is Edison's first lightbulb. 1882.
When it started, electric light was used for two main purposes. One, to stay up late at night and carry on reading or whatever. Second, to keep shops open in city centres after dark, so people can carry on shopping.
This is sounding horribly like smart phones.
Actually, when I was looking into the history of electricity, I found out something quite neat.
Edison couldn't just start shipping lightbulbs...
Matt Webb, Web Directions South 2014 (Sydney, Australia), October 2014