How the Use of Cellphones Negatively Affect Teenagers - Research Paper Example

Use of Cell Phones “As a teenager you are at the last stage in your life when you will be happy to hear that the phone is for you.” - Fran Lebowitz Mobile phones, more commonly known as cell phones now, were indeed, a remarkable discovery made by mankind in the early twentieth century. Invention of cellular phones was, necessarily, the obvious step that had to be taken after the invention of telephones. They incorporated all those benefits that a telephone lacked. Cell phones can be carried around anywhere, and the network is accessible in most parts of the world. They cover wide geographic range, making their use easier, and definitely more convenient for us. With the increase in the rate of globalization in the last three decades, it only makes sense that the use of cellular phones reached a phenomenal rate in these thirty years. The competition between cell phone companies like Nokia, Apple and Samsung has already reached epic proportions. There is a constant struggle to achieve the position of the top seller in the world market. While Nokia reigned as king in the beginning of the cell phone era, it has lost its initial significance with all the new and efficient competition. Cell phones, while initially were used only for telephoning purposes, now have a wide range of features incorporated. They have everything from camera, games, and music to GPS, email, internet, etc. However, with all these beneficial and advantageous factors in the world, cellular phones have proved to be more of a hazard than a blessing, harming the teenagers and society more than can be accounted for. For a device so small, cell phones are proving to be very dangerous. One of the major problems caused by cell phones is that it endangers the lives of people. Conversation on cell phones while driving is being banned in most countries because of the number of accidents it causes. These conversations cause what Strayer and Drews term as Inattention Blindness. Their research proved that, “Cell-phone conversations impair driving by inducing a form of inattention blindness in which drivers fail to see objects in their driving environment when they are talking on a cell phone” (Strayer). Many people find it hard to multi task. The problem here is however, quite different. It is not about being unable or finding it hard to multi task but to drive a motor vehicle efficiently while conversing on the phone. These two elements are imperative. Strayer and Drews specifically researched with these two elements as their focal points. When a person is carrying a verbal discussion or simply conversing with members in the car, they found that the inanimate objects on the road do not fly out of the driver’s focus. Compared to this, on cell-phone conversations prove a strong distraction, causing the driver to be blind (mostly) to objects on the road. The drivers, in fact, failed to recall the objects they had encountered on the road when driving whilst talking on the phone. Cell phone conversations not only distract us, but they do so to the extent where our memory fails to retain data where it would have, had there been no cell phone in the equation. It is due to this reason that road accidents caused by people talking on cell phones are reaching a higher number day by day, endangering innocent lives. Cellular phones, while convenient for adults, carry a different sort of attraction for teenagers. For obvious reasons, the access to music, camera, games, web, emails, Facebook and other such social networks in a cell phone are of immense importance to the youth. The use of earphones when listening to music or when on the phone is especially detrimental for teenagers, and at the same time, also extremely popular amongst them. “Earphones or headsets can diminish environmental perception because they cover (part of) the ears. Good environmental localization of environmental sounds is based on a calculation of distance...wavelength between the two sound waves received by lefty and right ear” (Verstijnen). The reason people without all five senses are called disabled because the five senses are instrumental to a human’s capability to experience. Without the ability of either sight, smell, touch, taste or sound, one’s ability to experience and understand the world around him is greatly hindered. That is precisely why societies all around the world have so many regulations to help disabled people to help adapt to their environment. Cellular phones can cause this disability to occur without one even realizing it. They can cause distortion of the ear, which in turn would cause a hindrance in the environmental perception of teenagers. Moreover, the habit of teenage children to play music on extremely loud volume is causing damage to the cochlea, which may ultimately lead to some percentage of hearing loss. Perhaps the most talked about of the consequences of cell phone use is the risk to health. However, the research of this effect goes both ways, stating it harms one’s health and that it does not. “Among persons who had used cellular phones for 10 or more years, increased risk was found for glioma but not for meningioma” (Schuz). In this study, the research proved that there was little effect on the health of people unless the use had been excessive. And while this is a definite negative in the argument for cell phones, it is also true that excess of anything is always harmful to one’s health. “Experimental investigation suggests that radiofrequency fields are not tumor. Implications of these experimental results on public health concerns are yet unclear” (Blettner). The author ends his study by emphasizing on the point that while he may not have found conclusive evidence of cell phones creating health risks, it should be taken into consideration that “a small elevated risk may have a large implication for public health, as the use of mobile phones and the exposure is rapidly increasing” (Blettner). But contrary to these two studies, one study was successful in proving the harm cell phones cause health risk. This finding is fairly recent, what with the increase in cell usage; a new allergy has been born. “Cellular phone dermatitis is a condition due to either nickel or chromate allergy. Cellular phone dermatitis has most often been reported in young adults and less commonly in adolescents” (Berk). Ergo, the use of cell phone is giving birth to new diseases in our environment. And since these infections and diseases are fundamentally new, their symptoms are not known which is why people suffering from this condition usually opt for medical care when the allergy has alleviated since they fail to recognize the urgency of the situation initially. Access to cell phones from a young age does not only cause environmental and health problems, but also societal problems. “If students today want to cheat, they have a more insidious tool at their disposal: cell phones. More than one third of teens with cell phones admit to having stored information on them to look at during a test” (Miners). There have been several surveys carried out that provide further evidence to this point. Yet still the parents stay adamant in their oblivion, not seeing the wrongs that their children commit through cell phones. The sale of cell phones continues to reach brilliant heights, and the marketing industry is increasingly targeting teenagers, creating applications and incorporating features into the cell phones that cater to teenagers’ needs specifically. This has caused many social problems to arise, cheating being the smallest of them. Web fraud, porn use, cheating in school etc are all small and big consequences that are resulting due to cell phone use. However, in teenagers it is even worse. Adolescents can be easily misguided and cell phones are doing exactly that. “The increasing availability of internet and cell phones has provided new avenues through which adolescents can bully”, (Raskauskas and Stoltz). Youngsters, after all, are known to have no limits to their imagination. And while it usually is said in an optimistic way, in this case, it has proven to be a societal ill. Text bullying is gaining popularity in the youth of USA. Bullyingstatistics.org defines text bullying as “sending mean, embarrassing, untrue, or hurtful message to or about someone using cell phone messaging. This can also include sexting, or sending sexually suggestive text, messages to someone or about someone” (Bullying Texts). This is especially a problem amongst teenagers, where sending suggestive texts is a form of bullying that is gaining increasing popularity. Bullying is a serious problem in most societies. But with this new method of bullying, not only are there less eye witnesses to this crime, but of it’s done through internet of the cell phone, it is almost impossible to trace it back unless the very system is hacked. Teenage is a very hard period as it is, but the increase in bullying through texts and cell phones is making it near impossible for innocent kids to survive their teenage emotionally unscathed. In fact, Hollywood has released several movies in an attempt to raise awareness amongst the parents of the happenings in middle and high schools. Giving their children free and unchecked access to cell phones creates both, bullies and victims of them. This victimization needs to be curbed before it becomes more common than it already is. But while cell phones are giving birth to social and environmental hazards, economically, they have been nothing but most beneficial. This increase in the sales of cellular phones has helped boost the economies of several countries. They help raise business activity which means increased employment and increased purchasing power. This in turn leads to a better standard of living being adopted and thus, economic growth within the nation. Plus, all the competition in the world market makes all the businesses ensure not only that the top quality standards are maintained, but that prices are kept at a reasonable amount, i.e. no absurd profits. On a more local scenario; cell phones help with the practical mode of living. Working people do not find themselves stranded when away from offices. This way, all emergencies can be dealt with. Whether it is a business or a stay at home mom, cell phones helps them in any emergency situations and from the littlest troubles to the biggest crisis, the factor of communication at least, is never a problem. But are these advantages enough? Do they cover the obvious harms of use of cell phones? Indeed they don’t. In all matters, there are always benefits and costs. What one must do is determine whether the benefits are substantial enough to be ignored. This of course, does not mean that the difference in numbers determines the outcome. If the costs are less in numbers, they could have longer lasting and much more devastating consequences. It is keeping in regard all of this, that a decision must be made as to whether the use of cell phones has proved more beneficial than hazardous. Indeed, the answer remains no. The gravity of the situation here is obvious. Cell phones are giving birth to a world where the society is disintegrating, and where there exist lower morals and values. There is no a monetary number on the social, environmental and physical problems caused by cell phones, and in a world that is wholly enclosed in capitalism, that is proving to be a vital problem. What the people must do is move out of this narrow minded concept of valuing everything in monetary terms; and realize the long term effects that cell phones are having on the youth of the world. The negative effects that cell phone use is causing is detrimental not only for the teenagers, but for everyone in the society. While we have moved away from social problems like feudalism, the new ones are being born. They must be stopped immediately and the biggest role that can be played to this effect is by the parents. “Look at the world and think about a catastrophic disaster where the cell phone towers went dead. How would you ever be able to TEXT" your next door neighbor to see if they were okay” - Stanley Victor Paskavich Works Cited Berk, David. "Cellular Phone and Cellular Phone Accessory Dermatitis Due to Nickel Allergy." Pediatric Dermatology 28.3 (2011): 327-331. Print. Blettner, M. "Are Mobile Phones Harmful?" Acta Oncologica 39.8 (2000): 927-930. Print. Bullying Texts. Text Bullying. 2009. Web Statistic. 11 April 2013. Miners, Zach. One Third of Teens Use Cellphones to Cheat in School. 23 June 2009. Web Document. 11 April 2013. Raskauskas, Juliana and Ann D. Stoltz. "Involvement in Traditional and Electronic Bullying Among Adolescent." Developmental Psychology 43.3 (2007): 564-575. Print. Schuz, Joachim. "Cellular Phones, Cordless Phones, and the Risks of Glioma and Meningioma." American Journal of Epidemiology 163.6 (2006): 512-520. Print. Strayer, D.L. and Drews, F.A. "Cell-Phone–Induced Driver." Current Directioins in Psychological Science 16.3 (2007): 128-131. Print. Verstijnen, I. "Detrimnetal Effects of Cell phones Earphone Conversation on AuditoryEnvironment Monitoring of Visually Impaired People." Behaviour and Information Technology 27.6 (2008): 507-516. Print. Read More