How Cell Phones Affect Our Lives - Essay Example

Teachers English 16th April 2006 Cell phones: how they affect our lives An everyday object that one comes across quite regularly is the cell phone. There was a time when telecom primarily consisted of the landline telephone and other facilities like telegrams, telex etc. When mobile telephony was added to this list it revolutionized telecom. Everyone had to sit up and take notice right from the general public, the service providers and the establishment. When cell phones came in they were the domain of the privileged with the high cost of the handset as well as the exorbitant call charges. In today's time each adult member of an average family has one and increasingly so do the children. The handset has decreased in size and increased in number becoming ubiquitous. Something that was once a novelty has now become a necessity. Today cell phone users number in excess of 1.5 billion worldwide. So how does the cell phone affect our lives Sheer convenience Gone are the days when one had to wait till the person we wished to contact came back on location to his office or home. Gone are the days when one is expecting an important call and so has to stay put at a single location where the landline is fixed. Gone are the days when one has to wait on hold till the person we wish to speak to on phone gets to the phone. You can't beat the cell phone for sheer convenience both for the caller as well as the receiver. Low cost. At the outset, the cost of a call on a cell phone was much higher than the cost of a call on a landline. But of late this has changed. Cell phone call charges are comparable to landline rates. "These devices are connecting people in convenient ways as their cost continues to decline with expanded use. The cost of cell phones will continue to drop as the market increases in size and technologies become more capable and increasingly cheaper to operate" (Begich & Roderick). Many have opted to have only cell phones for personal use, doing away with landlines for their homes. Currently America has more cell phones than landlines (Winner). The way business is done has changed. Many categories of businessmen specifically traders, brokers and other independent service providers are virtually dependant on their cell phones to get them business. The cell phone becomes like their mobile office. Appointments are fixed and plans are made with clients while on the go. Time is utilized optimally. Cellular News reports: "The mobile phone sector was responsible for an increase of just under 1% of UK labour productivity, representing a financial boost of almost 9 billion in UK GDP in 2004, revealed a new report commissioned by O2. It also estimates that UK workers can work for around 20 minutes less each day to achieve the same output thanks to the mobile phone" ("Mobile phones increase work productivity - report") SMS has changed the way we communicate. One of the key factors that come with cell phone use is the sheer versatility of the concept. It's no longer just about making telephone calls. There are a host of value added services that almost threaten to overshadow the primary use of the phone. One of these is the Short Messaging Service or SMS. The SMS is like a wireless e-mail service that allows one to send and receive the text messages on the phone. This concept has been exploited by everyone from commercial interest groups sending advertisements and promotional offers to coochie cooing couples. MMS - pictures and video can now be sent. As an innovation and advancement to the concept of SMS, we now have MMS (multimedia messaging service). Communication is no longer limited to voice and text, we now can send pictures as well as videos. Internet - on WAP( wireless application protocol) enabled phones. While we have been describing the SMS and MMS as wireless e-mail sent through the cell phone, we can now actually use the cell phone as a stand in computer and use it for the real thing - surfing the internet and sending e-mail. No more dependence on computers for urgent email checking. In the absence of a landline or a cable internet connection, the cell phone can now be used to connect a computer to the internet through the wireless networks of the cell phone. So those who kept landlines for the express purpose of internet connectivity need not do so anymore. Tracking criminals Cell phones and the tracking of conversations that sleuths use for their investigations have become potent tools for the nailing of culprits. Chuck McCutcheon writes in the Newhouse News Service: "Law enforcement officials say mobile telephone records have become a vital tool in solving crimes, not only revealing numbers suspects have called, but pinpointing their whereabouts in ways that can substitute for eyewitnesses. Investigators also make use of software that can extract the phones' stored photos, text messages, contact lists and other evidence" A single criminal cell phone seized can become a source of a mine of invaluable information in terms of the associates that the criminal has and the contacts that were made and the exact timings at which they were made. So what could possibly be wrong with cell phones Health issues Research has not yet proved conclusively that cell phone use causes health risks. But the effect of the Electro Magnetic Frequencies out of cell phones on humans cannot be taken lightly. Dr. George Carlo presented the results of a research project on the possible health risks of cell phone use to AT&T Corporation: * The rate of death from brain cancer among handheld phone users was higher than the rate of brain cancer death among those who used non-handheld phones that were away from their head; * The risk of acoustic neuroma, a benign tumor of the auditory nerve that is well in the range of the radiation coming from a phone's antenna, was fifty percent higher in people who reported using cell phones for six years or more, moreover, that relationship between the amount of cell phone use and this tumor appeared to follow a dose-response curve; * The risk of rare neuro epithelial tumors on the outside of the brain was more than doubled, a statistically significant risk increase, in cell phone users as compared to people who did not use cell phones; * There appeared to be some correlation between brain tumors occurring on the right side of the head and the use of the phone on the right side of the head; * Laboratory studies looking at the ability of radiation from a phone's antenna to cause functional genetic damage were definitely positive, and were following a dose-response relationship. (Begich & Roderick) Extra Marital affairs The private and yet potent method of communication that SMS provides can become dynamite when used to communicate with the opposite sex. The SMS feature in cell phones has facilitated extra-marital affairs. ' says Dominican priest Marcin Lisak, who specialises in relationship counselling. "Often it begins with responses to SMSes (short message service) from colleagues at work including an emotional element," he observes. "Over time this can develop into virtual flirting which makes it feel innocent enough - although the intensity of contact is great, we don't notice direct infidelity," Lisak says. "More and more often people are attaching text messages found on their spouse's mobile telephones to their divorce papers," Judge Maria Taront told the Wednesday edition of Poland's Gazeta Wyborcza daily ("An SMS could cost you your marriage."). SMSes are similar to internet chat room conversations where privacy and anonymity give greater courage to the user to make emotional advances leading to relationships which could be illicit. SMS does not have the anonymity but allow people to express things through the text which they would not otherwise express directly to the other person. Pornography With the advent of MMS commercial entities began to exploit it as an extension to the commercially lucrative porn industry. Now subscribers can receive porn images and videos right on their cell phones. An article on ZDNet News reports: "Mobile phone users around the world spent $400 million on pornographic pictures and video in 2004, an amount that is expected to rise to $5 billion by 2010" ("Cell phone porn set for sales spike"). Pornography is a serious problem. It is bad enough to have it in various forms on magazines, books, television and the internet. The last thing we needed was access to porn through cell phones. For all the arguments that the porn industry can use to defend its existence, it is no secret that pornography is destroying not only marriages but also individual lives because of its addictive quality. While that is awful it is even more appalling when minors and children are exposed to pornography. It is known that minors are able to circumvent age verification technology when they want to access adult content. The privacy that cell phones bring is frightening when one considers the implications in this area. Magazines can be noticed, TV is in the house, even the computer has the history feature or pornography blocking software and desktops are usually installed at home. How does one monitor what kids are doing with their cell phones which can be taken any where "Certainly, this is going to make it easier to view porn in more places than ever," says Pamela Paul, author of Pornified: How Pornography Is Transforming Our Lives, Our Relationships and Our Families. Anti-porn crusaders say content ratings and parental controls aside, mobile porn will be problematic. "Some parents don't monitor what kids download. And they can't monitor what other kids do," says Charmaine Yoest of the Family Research Council (Strauss) Crime. That criminals can use cell phones to aid them in their wicked schemes is a given considering the facilities that come with them. "Until recently, Phishing attempts, spam, and viruses have only been a problem for Internet users. However, spammers and hackers have recently realized that there are new opportunities with cell phones, given the use of digital technology" ("New threat to cell phone users") Status symbol - keeping up with the Jones'. The cell phone has become an indication of material wealth and social status. Rather than just an object of convenience it has become a way of making a statement. Hence cell phones with premium features are sought after because of their ability to create an image for their owner. Incidentally Nokia which is a cell phone manufacturer has become the largest seller of cameras in the world. "Phenomenal camera phone sales are also predicted by Nokia, which looks to ship 100 million camera phones and 40 million phones offering MP3 playback. This would make Nokia the biggest camera and MP3 player sellers in the world, toppling Canon and Apple respectively off their thrones" (Slocombe) A Cell phone sells on e-bay once every 8 minutes. An advertisement on television for a particular brand of handsets started with a couple about to kiss in a car. Suddenly the gentleman's cell phone rang. He reacted with a look of horror on his face. Next thing we know he has disappeared from the scene. The next shot shows him running furiously away from is car and girlfriend. He hides behind a log of wood and answers his phone. The voice over in the ad addresses the audience, "Ashamed of your black and white phone" Then we are presented with a new color handset as a better option for a possession. The advertisement is a reflection of how the cell phone is bought for more than just the convenience or productivity reasons. There was a time when just having a cell phone was a luxury. But now one has to be embarrassed if the one we own is without the features that are 'in' irrespective of whether or not they are actually used or not. The consumerist culture has enveloped cell phone users in its net making them its slaves. Thanks to the propaganda one hardly has the choice of one's handset. After all, who wants to be seen with a gadget which has been portrayed on national television as an embarrassment Decline in value for human relationships and reflective solitude. Lauren Miller describes two particular incidents that she observed which are pointers to common behaviour that is observed with cell phone users. She observed two women driving together in a single car. Both of these women were speaking into their cell phones. Miller observes that the two women had the opportunity to enjoy each other's company but instead spent that time speaking into their cell phones to others who were not physically present. The cell phone has taken away the joy of companionship in such cases. Another incident that Miller observed was on a university campus where a majority of the students on campus were speaking into their cell phones. The conversation was not terribly edifying either. The discussion comprised of subjects such as informing the other person who will be met by the cell phone user about his/her exact whereabouts, i.e like a running commentary on their journey to the location of the meeting. Miller observes that time for solitude and reflection has been taken away by the cell phone. In another time gone by, people used to take time to reflect and introspect, engaging themselves with deeper issues in life. In the present with the hectic lifestyle affording few opportunities for such reflection, occasions like journeys or commuting where one is limited in opportunity to do other productive work double up as opportunities for the deeper engagements of the mind. But now with the cell phone people prefer to utilize such moments using their cell phones. This trend has the effect of reducing people into machines rather than thinking growing human beings. Conclusion Cell phones undoubtedly have their advantages. There is no denying that they have increased productivity, increased accessibility, and helped the economy. However there are other tangible and intangible costs associated with the use of cell phones. Information quoted earlier from the medical research has shown that electromagnetic fields associated with cell phone technology may have health repercussions the extent of which might still be unknown. Even if a small part of the health hazards that are enumerated by medical research are true the cell phone use needs to be heavily regulated. The value added services that come along with cell phones may seem to be a boon. But while SMS and MMS have their great uses, they come with the dangerous possibilities of ruined marriages and pornography addicts. Technology as a whole seems to have become our master rather than a servant, especially when it comes to social status. The merchants who peddle this technology are the conspirators who create this slavery. Advertisements like the one described above bring strife within families. Children affected by such campaigns can become a nightmare for their parents. Adults themselves can be coerced into living beyond their means. Fancy cell phones are yet another route to getting deeper into debt. One of the deeper challenges of cell phone technology as with any technology is its ability to increase our productivity to such a level that sheer greed for material success can rob us of the intangible luxuries like quietness and solitude, reflection and introspection. In the dog eat dog world, we are sucked into becoming machines like the ones we use. Let me state that cell phones are great. But we humans need to remember that we must control our own lives instead of being controlled by cell phones. Let us monitor our use of them so that we do not fall prey to the dangers that lie within. References "Against the cell."Boundless Webzine. 2006. Focus On The Family. 15 Apr 2006. http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001207.cfm. lifestyles.info/display_page.aspsection=platforms&id=2165 "An SMS could cost you your marriage." Independent Online, 11 Jan 2006. Independent News & Media. 16 Apr 2006. http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.phpclick_id=29&art_id=qw1136976841696B214&set_id=1 Begich, Nick and James Roderick. "Cell Phone Convenience or 21st Century Plague" Earthpulse. 2005. Earthpulse Press. 15 Apr 2006 http://www.earthpulse.com/src/subcategory.aspcatid=4&subcatid=3 "Cell phone porn set for sales spike". ZDNet News. 17 March 2005, CNET Networks, Inc. 16 Apr 2006. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-5622471.html. "Mobile phones increase work productivity - report". Cellular News. 4 Apr 2006, 16 Apr 2006. http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16811.php McCutcheon,Chuck."Cell phone evidence becomes key law enforcement tool". Newhousenews.1 Dec 2005 Newhouse News Service. http://www.newhousenews.com/archive/mccutcheon120105.html "New threat to cell phone users" Alert, 10 May 2005. Internet Crime complaint centre. 16 Apr 2006. http://www.ic3.gov/media/2005/050510-1.htm Strauss, Gary "Cell phone technology rings in pornography in the USA." USA TODAY, 13 Dec 2005, Gannet Co. Inc. 16 Apr 2006 http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/services/2005-12-12-pornography-cellphones_x.htm Slocombe, Mike. "Nokia Set To Become World's Biggest Camera And MP3 Manufacturer." Digital-Lifestyles 03 May 2005. Digital Lifestyles. http://digital-Winner, Lauren. Read More