The world today is full of amazing and unique technology gadgets that help us improve the world we live in. From the invention of the telephone came one of the greatest inventions of all times, the mobile phone, or as we know it, the cell phone. These unique devices have given the world so much to offer and the technology will never end. Cell phones have come about in the last 50 years. They are among some of the most advanced technology we have, but they can destroy relationships, distract our ability to learn, and cause serious injuries or even death if not used properly.
Cell phones have advanced in the market today causing a high percentage and a majority of the population to utilize them in our everyday society incorporating them into everything. From school to home and everything in between, cell phones help improve the lives of individuals to better benefit the community at large. With the technology of the smart phone these electronic devices help students in school with research or unknown information they need to know. “Teachers ask students to use their smartphones to look up a vocabulary word, take a photo of an assignment written on the board or text themselves a homework reminder. Teachers use countless apps, many of them free, to better connect students with coursework on a platform they're familiar with.”(USA Today). Building upon this platform that students know very well helps them have a greater desire to learn. Cell phones also have many capabilities such as talk to text, the ability for the phone to interpret voice into words, which allows for the disabled or handicapped to talk into the phone and put their voice into text. Many smart phones are equipped with e-mail. For the working population this can make all the difference in a job; having the opportunity to communicate with other employees from anywhere. The incorporation of cell phones in the class room in schools has become a magnificent opportunity for students to achieve a higher education and retain knowledge, making it easier to retain at a later time. At Ohio State University some “professors encourage students to bring their cell phones or any other electronic device to class with them to take notes or ask questions to the professor during a lecture. As a result of allowing students to bring cell phones, test scores increased and students retained a better knowledge of the information studied.”(From Toys to Tools). With the proposed solution of allowing students to use their cell phones to better enhance their test scores and retain information better, schools will see an increase of students getting into college or graduates obtaining a job. However not all students are going to use cell phones for the right reasons and a student might use their cell phone for the edification of themselves.
The misuse of cell phones in school has become an extravagant issue of discussion amongst teachers and administrators. Teachers spend hours upon hours preparing lessons to enhance learning for the students to help them increase their knowledge without the use of a cell phone, but when a student gets bored or “whose minds wander during a lecture or discussion may find the temptation of texting instead of listening hard to resist.”(The Pros and Cons of Having Cell Phones in High Schools). When the vibration goes off in the pocket of a student it compares to candy sitting on your tongue, the temptation is unbearable. With all the content that is available on a phone, temptations arise and students rationalize within themselves to check their phone for a new text or notification from a social media network, because it will make no difference to listen for a few seconds or not. Those few seconds could be the major point in a lesson and thus leading to students missing out on an important lecture. The majority of kids, in high school that have cell phones use their cellphones “to text (an average of 60 times a day, according to the Pew study), check Facebook, play games and listen to music on a regular basis instead of listening to the lesson prepared by the teacher. Students are missing out on an opportunity of a life time. Obtaining as much information as possible has been proven to put those individuals at an advantage.
Many kids also use social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter as means of communication to connect themselves with the world around them. Many smart phones have these social media sites already installed on the phone, only needing a username and password to access it. This causes another reason to be on their phones, making kids always want to see the latest tweet or post. “Cellphones are also potentially a distraction to the class if the student forgets to set their phone to vibrate rather than ring during calls. Even the vibration can be distracting, and it does not take much for a teacher to lose their momentum.” (The Pros and Cons of Having Cell Phones in High School). When a cell phone goes off, a text message comes in, or a notification buzzes and the sound is on, students use the interruption as an excuse to talk and use their cell phone to text or play games, causing teachers to lose the momentum that they had engaging the students in their lesson. Many teachers are working hard to learn the ways of students striving to make the lessons and activities interesting and enjoyable, but it requires participation from the students as well. Students need to come to school willing to help the teacher and in doing so, teachers will help students learn and do what they can to help the kids succeed in life. People use social networking for the number one reason of having a phone as shown in figure one. Following it is playing games. These account for some of the biggest distractions causing people to become fired from jobs, or not get a job in the first place.
As cell phones have improved over the years they have become a part of our personal lives. Sitting down at the dinner table has become more of a gathering to tap on our phones instead of a time to talk about the day and bond as a family. “Things that have been part of our lifestyles for centuries are slowly fading away.”(StealthGenie). The family bonding time at dinner time no longer exists. Family time focuses more on other people than themselves. Cell phones have changed the way we communicate with each other and made us more of a recluse society, not having the need to go out and about to talk to friends or pick up the telephone and dial the number. Our society has evolved into a mobile phone era where everything we do occurs in the palm of our hands. “We have lost an important cultural benchmark which is letter writing.”(StealthGenie). Text messages have replaced writing notes for some one. We pull out our phone- type a message- and then hit send without ever seeing the person or seeing their reaction to the message. Substantial conversations are also becoming lost in our everyday mingle with friends and even coworkers. We get so caught up in the short texting language that we have lost our ability to carry out a full conversation with somebody. “They are slowly taking us out of an age of culture and into an age totally dominated by technology.” (StealthGenie). Everything we do revolves around technology and causes some minor and in some cases major issues.
We hardly notice the side effects cell phones have on us. “Studies have shown that cell phones cause headaches, confusion, and sleep deprivation. The combination of these problems creates mood swings and broken concentration.” When a person lacks sleep they do not often think clearly and they often become confused and more than likely will fall asleep in class. “Using your cell even an hour before bedtime adversely affects sleep causing you to take longer to reach the deeper stages of sleep and to spend less time in them according to research, conducted by Sweden's Karolinska Institute and Wayne State University in Detroit. Not enough deep sleep and you become cranky, easily distracted, and fatigued.” (Cell Phone Sleep Deprivation). Sleep Deprivation can cause serious mental damage. When your brain does not get the sleep it needs it tends to loose oxygen that would normally go to the brain. If the brain loses oxygen then it has a really hard time telling the rest of the body what to do.
Cell phones make distract drivers on the road, which can cause serious injuries or even death. Texting and driving is the leading cause of cell phone car accidents. “Sending or receiving a text takes a driver's eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent-at 55 mph-of driving the length of an entire football field, blind.”(Distracted Driving). When you drive blind you are risking the life of not only yourself, but the life of others in the car with you or other drivers in other cars around you. “66% of teenagers admit to talking on their cell phones behind the wheel, while 18% admit to texting while driving.” (Cell Phones - Pros and Cons). The teenagers of today are at such greater risks for things than they were 10 years. Just the act of dialing a cell phone increases crash risk by three times. The “Distraction from cell phone use while driving (hand held or hands free) extends a driver's reaction as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent.”(Driving while Distracted). However, a way to limit or even prevent distracted driving has come about within the last few years. With the new and improving technology of hands free driving, drivers can experience a less stressful way of communicating while still being able to concentrate on the road ahead. This will keep the passengers and other drivers around safe from harm. The body has a full range of motion and able to look left and right and behind without the limitation of the hand attached to the head.

As cell phone technology advances, the amount of possibilities will never end. Before we know it we will have out done the cell phone and something greater will come about. As for now, they help us out with our daily activities such as setting reminders or wondering who won the ball game last night. They can keep us informed of everything and can even help society improve if used correctly. However, the wonderful cell phone can also distract us, making us recluse, from the world around us. They are among some of the most advanced technology we have, but they can destroy relationships, distract our ability to learn, and cause serious injuries or even death if not used properly.








Works Cited

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