When

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 179805

---  "Barry" <whealthinc at ...> wrote:
>
> ... I then asked myself: Teenagers! Where are the mobile 
> phones (cell phones) and computers? The dragon flying 
> from Gringotts would easily be picked up by satellite and 
> planes. Why didn't we see any? Giants would also be easily
> spotted. So question:
> 
> What time period is HP set in?
> 
> Barry
>

bboyminn:

First, JKR conveniently made it so that muggle electrical and
electronic devices would not work at Hogwarts because the 
aura of magic was so strong there. I suspect cell phone 
reception in Diagon Alley or the Ministry of Magic would have
been very poor at best.

So, there is really no point of any of the kids to have any
of these modern electronic gadgets at Hogwarts.

As to the time frame, Harry was born in 1980, and started 
school in 1991 ('91-'92 school year) and the last book
took place in the 1997 to 1998 school year. 

As a side note, in the first book, JKR mentions Dudley
having a Nintendo or Playstation or Gameboy, some 
computerized game console, but someone pointed out that
game consoles like that didn't exist at that time. Even
personal computers in 1991 were relatively primitive by
todays standards. And I don't recall every little kid,
much less every adult, having a cell phone in 1991. I think
the bulk of 'every kid has a cell phone' occurred in the
21st century. 

As to muggles seeing Giants or Dragons, keep in mind that
those legends are very prominent in muggle society. We all
knew about Dragons, Giants, Sphinxes, Unicorns, etc... long
before JKR came along. Those legends had to come from 
somewhere, and if we fit common muggle legends into JKR's
fictional world, then the legends came from actual muggle
sightings of those creatures. 

Virtually all the magical creatures that exist in JKR's world,
existed in our real world before JKR started writing. In fact,
many of the legends date back many many many centuries. So, 
muggles must have seen these magical creatures at some point. 
But, since we so strongly believe that they are fictional, when
ever we might see one, we construct our own alternate
explanation. Dragon? No... No... it must have just been a 
funny shaped cloud or a trick of the light. 

Combine muggle denial with magical concealment, and you have
your answer.

steve/bboyminn