Do Smartphones Belong in Fiction?

The novel has long been shaped by technological advancements, as these innovations alter human behavior and societal structures.

Historically, major technological shifts—such as the rise of cities in the 19th century or the expansion of railroads—have influenced literary techniques.

For example, the growth of urban centers in Europe led to the concept of the flâneur, a wandering observer of city life described by French poet Charles Baudelaire.

Similarly, the development of transcontinental railroads made it easier for writers to depict rapid changes in space and time within their stories.

As industrialization made global production systems too complex for any single person to understand, literature shifted inward, giving rise to free indirect discourse, a narrative technique where a character's thoughts and feelings blend with the narrator's voice.

This technique remains a fundamental tool for modern novelists.