Negativity of Cell Phone in UAE - Case Study Example

Negativity of Cell phone in UAE Cell Phone for the first time were originated in 1950s the advancement of the technology lead to the development of GSM network. The widespread of the cell phone through out the world has greatly influenced communication patterns in the global society. The end of 2010 has observed about 112 million mobile subscriptions in the UAE. According to a report of International Trade Administration, ‘UAE has the highest mobile penetration rate in the Middle East (International Trade Adminstration, 2011)’. In the current times, cell phones are multi functional due to which the offer several other services apart of texting and voice capabilities for the users, with the various applications, ringtones, MP3 players, Cameras, Alarm Clock, etc. the inception of the cell phones is greatly enjoyed by the teenagers and Young Adults. Despite the fact that the cell phone has strengthened the communication, it has also casted negative aspects on the health, social and economical conditions. Rapid increase in the several heart diseases, cancer, social and economical issues have been observed with an increase of cell phones. Therefore, the use of cell phones should be limited as it has negative impacts on the health, social life, and psychological and economic status. A significant increase in the health issues has been associated with an increase in the cell phone usage. In addition, social issues such as lack of consideration and communication in the family, poor academic results have been observed. This paper focuses on the negative aspects of the cell phone among teenagers and provides information about how it is influencing individual’s life. Impacts on health How cell phone affect out health Cell phone transmits microwave radiation from a cell phone to the satellite between the range of 800 and 2600 MHz. these radiations are absorbed by the human body. However, the radio waves that are emitted through the GSM are relatively low in the watts (Mossam, 2010). The difference between the range of this radiation’s quality and level may increase or decrease automatically with the different level of situation according to the buildings and vehicles in a particular area (Lobo & Calderwood, 2012). The variation in the radiation is observed with the specific surroundings, the low energy radiations do not affect our cell. On the other hand, the ionizing radiation of the cell phone has a specific energy that has ability to damage out cells through replacing the electrons. These radiation damages DNA and our cells that can cause skin burn, sickness or cancer. Cancer Several studies show the connection between the use of cell phone and cancer. This is because of the reason several interpretations about the development of the brain tumor and damaging of the DNA have been associated with the usage of cell phone. It is stated that the use of cell phone affects the salivary gland and brain cells due to which the increased risk of the different types of cancer can develop. According to the study of International Agency for Research on Cancer, the radiations from a cell phone are a cancer causing agent (carcinogenic) therefore the electromagnetic fields of the cell phone greatly affect individual’s health and a cause for the development of cancer (Shammaa, 2011). Increase in the use of Cell phones a cause of Chronic Headaches The use of cell phones for a longer duration calls or to put the phone next to the head while sleeping has become one of the trends among teenagers. A study by George (2012) shows that the increase in chronic headaches has been observed among teenagers. The patients that have been engaged in long duration calls complain about one sided headache and hearing issues. The researches show that the use of a cell phone for more than 50 minutes damages brain tissues on the same side as a result one side of the brain is antenna metabolized more glucose as compared to the other tissues of the brain (George, 2012). Social impacts Cell phones have increased the social communication with the people, it has increased our interaction with the people in different ways as a result physical, psychological and several other problems among the teenagers have been observed (Wilson, Fornasier, & White, 2010). Sharing multimedia, pictures and videos have become a trend between teenagers. The increase in the communication and texting has distracted minds of the teenagers as a result lack concentration, poor academic results, frustration, anxiety and unhealthy habits have become a part of the life. The excessive use of mobile phones has immensely influenced personality and behavior of the people. In addition, personal treats have also been observed due to the multimedia sharing bullying and several other psychological issues have been observed due to the use of a cell phone (Wilson, Fornasier, & White, 2010). It is also observed that the teenagers spend more of their times on using cell phones, getting up late, spending too much time texting has affect routine of the teenagers and their lifestyle, furthermore, the academic results of the student have also been influenced due to use of mobile phone (Wilson, Fornasier, & White, 2010). Texting while driving has caused severe road accidents and a number of other social issues have been associated with the use of a cell phone. Relationship with Family The use of the technology, social forums, networking and cell phone has given birth to ‘cyber friend’. This has eventually altered our face-to-face interactions and conversation with out families. Teenagers are so mesmerized with the different application, texting and interacting with their friends and cyber friends (Wajcman, 2008). Though these children are physically present they are mentally absent. This is one of the reasons that the teenagers have wide interaction and groups they spend much of their time texting or calling with their friend (Horst & Miller, 2006). In addition, excessive use of a cell phone has blurred the meaning of being home or with friends in the current times. This has limited the time that individuals used to spend with their parents, it has eliminated the quality time, activities and discussion with the family members due to which several complains and frustration have been observed among teenagers and their parents. Psychological impacts Cell phones are major causes of distraction among teenagers, it may be their classroom lectures, studies or driving. Texting and talking calls while driving is one of the major reasons of the road accidents. The use of cell phone while driving is considered to be most unsafe and dangerous while driving, while teenagers still make use of cell phones while driving. Researches show that the use of a cell phone creates difficulties in processing, focusing on tasks (Biagi, 2014). This is one of the reasons that the cognitive process of the human mind diminishes with the use of cell phone, therefore, it shall be noted that the use of cell phone can influence cognitive processing of individual that can distract them from focusing and understanding things (Young, Lee, & Regan, 2008). The less cognitive processing can negatively impact skills and learning capabilities of the students. For example, the use of cell phones in the school has lead young children to focus on their text messages more than the lectures and the instruction of their teacher. Cell phones have become of the addictiveness of the students due to which when they are unable to use cell phone during the classroom they feel themselves in a discomfort, therefore, they are frustrated and victim of anxiety during the classroom. This, eventually, leads to lower grades of the students in the classroom. Economical impacts In UAE, the text packages cellular company’s offers are very expensive, the cellular companies firstly introduced texting facilities to its users at a very nominal and cheaper rates. As the users have increase, cellular companies have taken advantage of this and have raised the prices for the texting packages. Therefore, the teenagers that have become addicted to texting spend much of their pocket money on getting texting bundles rather than spending the money in a productive manner. It has also influenced their parents that they have to pay their children more. Smartphone have become one of the symbols of status and identity among teenagers and the continuous development of the technology has brought a number of cell phones with different specification in the market. Every new cell phone that is launched is about $500. These teenagers have an intense desire to acquire this cell phone in order to maintain their status among their peers. This shows that these teenagers are no more developing positive attitudes of saving or investing their money in a productive manner. They rather prefer spending entire money on purchasing new cell phone models or texting packages. In addition, parents also complain about the huge bills and expenditures of the children on the texting and calling just for developing their interaction among people. The cellular companies are playing monopoly in UAE with charging higher tax rate and prices for the cell phone packages. These have cause negative impacts on the economic aspects on the society. References Biagi, S. (2014). Media/impact: An Introduction to Mass Media. Mason: Cengage Learning. George, J. (2012, June 20). Mobile phone related Illnesses on the rise in UAE. Retrieved April 30, 2014, from Emirates247: http://www.emirates247.com/lifestyle/health/mobile-phone-related-illnesses-on-the-rise-in-uae-2012-06-19-1.463740 Horst, H., & Miller, D. (2006). The Cell Phone: An Anthropology of Communication. New York: Berg. International Trade Adminstration. (2011). Telecommunication Market Snapshot: United Arab Emirates. Washington Dc: International Trade Adminstration. Lobo, S., & Calderwood, S. (2012). The BlackBerry Veil: Mobile Use and Privacy Practices by Young. Journal of Islamic Marketing , 2-16. Mossam, K. (2010). Radiation in Risk. Florida: CRC Press. Shammaa, D. E. (2011, June 3). Cancer fears force people to keep safe distance from mobile phones. Retrieved from Gulf news: http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/health/cancer-fears-force-people-to-keep-safe-distance-from-mobile-phones-1.816863 Wajcman, J. (2008). Intimate Connections: The Impacts of the Mobile Phone on Work/Life Boundaries. Mobile Technologies , 9-22. Wilson, K., Fornasier, S., & White, K. (2010). Psychological predictors of young adults: use of social networkign sites. Cyberpsychology, Bhevaior and Social Networking , 13 (2), 173-177. Young, K., Lee, J. D., & Regan, M. (2008). Driver Distraction: Theory, Effects, and Mitigation. Florida: CRC Press. Read More