I was reading "Bridget Jones' Diary" recently (don't ask why!) and the entire drama of the section I read was made up of her missing a phone call from a bloke. She hung around her flat waiting for the call. She popped to the loo and the phone rang and she missed the call etc etc.
Today her phone would be in her pocket, not her flat and she wouldn't ever miss a call she didn't want to!
So much of history is made up of dramatic events that rely on communication not getting through on time or getting garbled. Think of the Charge of the Light Brigade. That whole sorry mess could have been avoided by a simple text: "Cardigan, don't charge straight at the guns. Lolz!"