Raelynn Mikell
Dec.10 2010
Cell Phones
Technology has shaped our world in numerous ways. Inventions such as
computers, cars, and electricity have changed life from the early 1900s to the present.
Although those three things seem to be necessities to people now, I feel that the
technology of cell phones have affected the world greater than people realize.
The cell phone is a wireless phone that almost everyone uses these days to
communicate with each other. In 1843 Michael Faraday studied to see if space could
conduct electricity. With his hard work and dedication to his theory, this eventually led to
the creation of the wireless phone. In the year of 1865 Doctor Mahlon Loomis was the
first person to communicate through a wireless atmosphere. He came up with the idea of
transmitting and receiving messages through the atmosphere as a conductor. Loomis was
awarded 50,000 for his research. Shortly after in 1973 Martin Copper came up with
Motorola. He took the project and let the people of New York see it. In 1977
the first cell phone was made in Chicago. When it first came out 2,000
people were given a free trial. The feedback from the users had been so
great that other places started to make cell phones to, and different
companies began to build.
When the cell phone first came out they were huge and very
bulky, nothing like today. People documented that it reminded them of a
big brick they would lug around for emergencies. Technology
eventually came out with a way to condense everything into a smaller size. These men
had no idea of the affects that their invention would have on the world years later.
Today people are constantly on their phone, weather they’re shopping or driving,
their always talking and texting. I think that the wireless technology has effected the
present both positively and negatively. When you first think of your cell phone nothing
negative seems to come to mind. It all seems great because you have the satisfaction of
getting in contact with someone in the matter of seconds. It even allows you to send a
quick text to someone if you can’t talk on the phone. Nowadays you can even do work
on your phone, which is very convenient for many companies who need to distribute
information out fast. Another positive thing about cell phones is it helps in emergency
situations. If someone has been badly injured and you’re not by a house, you can call for
an ambulance. It has saved many lives and valuable time. At the same
time it allows relatives to stay connected with one another. Family
members who are forced to move away can keep a relationship
through the phone.
There are some negative things about this invention also that
people don’t always realize. A major issue that’s happening today is that
people are so addicted to looking at their phones or being on them, that they
aren’t learning any social skills. Kids who have received cell phones at a
young age aren’t forced to socialize with people because they can just sit
somewhere and play games. Kids aren’t the only ones at fault for this issue. Adults have
been knows to be in a restaurant with family, friends, ext and rudely answer their phone
in the middle of a conversation. Another negative issue that cell phones bring on is when
they go off while a person is driving. This has been a high cause of accidents and deaths
that are increasingly going up throughout the years as more and more people get cell
phones including teen drivers. Why do people find it necessary to constantly check their
phones?
For my own curiosity I decided to ask one-hundred people at the University of
Hartford if they felt it necessary to have their phone with them at all times. These people
ranged from students, teachers, coaches, and parents that I ran into. As you can see in the
chart, males seem to view phone usage a lot different then females.
Is it necessary to have your cell phone with you at all times?
YES
NO
Males
62%
38%
Females
87%
13%
Maybe it’s because females tend to be more social and keep up with things compared to
males. I find the results about right considering everywhere I go people have their
phones out.
All and all the technology of the wireless phone has changed the way we live.
People have become dependant on this object. But is the dependency really worth your
life?