How important is it that you have a phone book handy at all times? In the past, a phone book would have been a thick packet of pages that gave you a phone listing for every person and business in town. However, the phone book has lost its importance as technology has improved.

Most cell phones will allow you to store numbers of your favorite businesses, your friends and work associates. This means that you don't need to consult the phone book each time that you need a phone number. In fact, you don't even need to know a phone number these days. With social media, you have the ability to send a tweet or a Facebook message to friends through your phone.

There is a good chance that you don't even know the phone number of your best friend. This is because you only see your friend's name pop up whenever you get a phone call. This makes it a lot easier to know who is calling you. In some cases, a picture of the person calling you may also show up. To take it a step further, you can even customize a ringtone for each person who calls you.

Smartphones allow you to find phone numbers whenever you need them. You simply type in a place, the name of a person or any other information you know about a person. From there, you can find a list of numbers in seconds. It has never been easier to access a number without a physical phone book in your possession.

Many phone companies no longer even issue phone books anymore. There is just not the demand for phone books that there was in the past. Therefore, only businesses and customers who request a phone book will get one anymore. It signals an era that has most likely come and gone in telephone technology.