STOP! LOOK! LISTEN! Put down your iPhone and pay attention to this important essay. Are cell phones all that beneficial? Even though they have made communicating with friends across the world super easy, are they worth it? How many driving accidents are caused by wireless phones? How many times have we interrupted our friends for an “important” text? Cell phones cause many bad habits in people.

First, cell-phones give us bad grammar habits. When we text, we usually are in a hurry, and can only come up with these short responses, “OK, c u there! Ill txt u later! BRB!” All of us text many, many times a day and the more we “txt” abbr., the more we will type on our computer like that and the more we will accidently write like that! That doesn’t seem like a big deal, but in English class, teachers frown upon essays that look like you texted it to them. Plus, old habits die hard, right?

Second, cell-phones have given people a terrible trait: self-involvement. To illustrate, have you ever had a really important story to tell your best friend? As soon as you began talking, her iPhone beeped and blinked and she told you to just keep going while she updated her Instagram of the 100 “selfies” she has taken. Communication may have gotten easier and quicker, but we have lost our manners when we talk to people face-to-face! Self-involvement is annoying and brought upon by the constant contact with people on apps or through texting.

Third, cell-phones have caused many accidents on the road. How many people have you seen texting while driving? The little rhyming slogans are not going to stop teens and adults alike from answering a text (texting while at a stoplight is still texting while driving and just as dangerous). And even though cars nowadays have hands-free calling, are you really concentrating on the road before you? Trying to pay attention to your sister’s story about her new boyfriend and trying to pay attention to the white Sedan passing you in the right lane is impossible! Multi-tasking is not always a good thing; neither are cell-phones.

While cell phones have many negatives about them, we cannot throw away all of the positives about this technology: cell phones enable us to Face-Time with people in different states or countries. They also enable us to contact our friends quickly instead of writing a long letter, and they enable us to receive news quickly and take beautiful photos. Nevertheless, we must be careful about when and where we use our cell phones. So, did you pick up your cell phone while reading this essay?