Raelynn Mikell Dec.10 2010

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?