Effects of Cell Phones

Outline
Thesis: Unless the risks of usage of cell phones outweighs the benefits, we should educate people on how to manage their usage of cell phones or use a different mean of communication.

The Effects that Cell Phones have on Society

Introduction
In the United States of America, there are over one hundred million cell phone users. This number is growing at an astonishing rate of more than sixty thousand people per day. (Cellular Telephones) Thirty percent of all Americans have joined the mobile-phone revolution. A decade ago, cell phone usage in the United States was a rarity. (Raloff) The most common domestic appliance that Americans use every day is the cell phone, and we deserve the right to know the effects that this appliance is having on us. There are also many risks associated with cell phone usage. We must outweigh the risks and benefits for ourselves to decide if using cell phones is really worth it. Unless the risks of usage of cell phones outweighs the benefits, we should educate people on how to manage their usage of cell phones or use a different mean of communication. Cell Phones can be Distracting!

Cell phones can be a distracting nuisance in the busy life an American. People have been encouraged to carry on phone conversations in inappropriate situations. Many citizens complain that cell phones often interrupt church services and other activities that require silence or concentration. Cell phones frequently disrupt recreational and cultural functions, breaking down traditional lines between work and leisure. (Cellular Telephones) Many people complain that cell phones are invasive devices. Events such as weddings, funerals and live theatre productions are often interrupted when cell phone calls are received. Cell phones have made uninterrupted private or leisurely activities a rarity. Some citizens are also concerned that cell phones can cause car accidents by encouraging drivers to talk on the phone while behind the wheel.

Cell phone conversations can diminish the ability for a driver to identify hazards and avoid accidents. Benjamin King, a spokesperson for Highway Watch, a California-based highway safety organization in Los Angeles, says that carrying a conversation while driving is just as dangerous as driving drunk. “If the phone is on, you’re asking for trouble,” King says. “It’s the equivalent of having a couple of drinks before you start the car.” (Cellular Telephones) Cell Phones and the Weakening of Relationships

Would you really want to spend time with someone who does nothing but sit there looking at their phone, texting and getting on social media, or are you the person sitting there on their phone nonstop for hours on end each day? It’s sad that this is what people in our society encounter each and every day. Many people claim that cell phone usage irritates them. They claim that it detracts people from the quality of life in general. As cell phone usage increases with little restriction, some citizens are demanding limits on when and where phone conversations can take place. According to Jill Andresky Fraser, author of “White Collar Sweatshop (2001),” many parents feel obligated to spend less quality time with their children. (Cellar Telephones) Cell Phones can make you dumb!?

Do you use the recent “text-lingo” when texting your family and friends? Do you use shorter versions of words or even use letters to symbolize those words? Do you use “lol”, “jk”, “brb”, “gtg”, or “lmbo”? If you do, then you may have fallen prey to the latest “text-lingo.” People in other countries would be surprised to find out what those letters from earlier actually stand for. Why can’t people use proper grammar while texting? They don’t realize that it will only take about two more seconds of their time to spell the whole message out instead of shortening everything. Plus you wouldn’t lose brain cells! People are in such a rush that they have to shorten everything that they send in a text message, and this causes them to want to use this “text-lingo” all of the time, rather than correct grammar. If people would practice using correct grammar more often, they wouldn’t have as much trouble doing things such as writing a job resume and writing an essay. Can I die from using cell phones?

Will one phone call to your grandmother be the last phone call that you ever make, or will you get cancer from the radioactivity that cell phones emit? Many citizens have become concerned that cell phones can cause cancer. For many years, health experts have investigated claims that the radio waves emitted and received by cell phones could heat brain tissues, leading to genetic mutations that cause formation of cancerous and noncancerous tumors. (Cellular Telephones) Cell Phones generate electromagnetic fields that affect biological tissues and create diseases, putting millions of people at risk. EMFs are all around us in any object that has an electrical charge.

There are invisible lines of force that surround all wiring and electrical instruments. The strength of these fields varies from indoors to outdoors along with the individual’s surrounding environment, which changes from day to day. EMF waves from cell phones challenge the human body’s natural electrical frequency by continually penetrating the entire body and disrupting homeostasis within neural transmission. This increases the risk of harmful diseases. They also damage DNA and cause headaches, tumors, brain cancer, and loss of hearing. (Wimmer) Benefits of Cell Phone Usage

Increase in Public Safety
Cell phones are hailed as a boon to public safety. They provide citizens the ability to respond to emergencies regardless of their location. Cell phones are often used to alert authorities in the event of accidents or criminal activities. They have decreased the amount of time that it takes for emergency assistance to help citizens in distress. Each day more than one hundred thousand emergency calls are made using cell phones, according to the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association. Cell phones can also be used to prevent crimes such as domestic abuse. Some organizations in the country have been funded to collect used cell phones, and give them to shelters for battered women. The phones have also been distributed to victims of spousal abuse, who can call 911 in the event of an emergency. Cell phones can also be used to ensure the safety of citizens in high risk occupations. Examples of these occupations are security guards and taxi drivers.

Many people also consider cell phones to be an excellent means for parents to watch over their children who are at school or with friends. These parents are concerned by high rates of crime among many young people and by recent outbreaks of violence on school campuses. They allow their children and young people to carry cell phones for personal protection. (Cellular Telephones) Cell Phones can be a fuel for Economic Growth

Cell phones have spurred economic growth through increased sales of telecommunications equipment, and by creating thousands of jobs. Some say that cell phones have increased productivity by allowing private companies to facilitate better communication and cooperation between employees. Sales for cell phones have generated vast amounts of revenue for companies that sell subscriptions to cellular network services. High demand for cell phones is also fueling growth in sectors such as advertising and electrical components manufacturing. Growth of the economy that is fueled by sales of cell phones will also be fueled for many years to come. Cell phones have also been credited with increasing worker productivity. Analysts say that cell phones have allowed employees to take work home and to continue working while in transit. That development has decreased the costs required to operate businesses and the amount of time that it takes to complete projects. (Cellular Telephones) Cell Phones can help maintain relationships

Many people have welcomed the proliferation of cell phones as a positive development. Cell phones are a convenient means of maintaining relationships, organizing social activities and conducting occupational activities. (Cellular Telephones) Cell phones have made it more convenient to communicate, work and live. They are put on the market to assist in our “quality of life,” and does a great job in doing so. (Wimmer) Cell phones can be used to talk to relatives or friends that live anywhere in the world. They can be used quickly organize any activity such as a birthday party, flag football game, or even a family dinner. Outweighing the Risks and Benefits

Health Risks and Benefits
EMF waves are all around us. They come from any appliance with an electrical charge. Too much exposure to these waves can be dangerous to humans. When a person puts a cell phone up to their ear to talk on the phone, EMF waves are being transmitted through their ear canal to their brain. The results from these studies can be very disturbing, but the truth is that we don’t know if they are actually true. According to The Food and Drug Administration’s chief of Radiation Biology Branch, “There is not significant new evidence in the past year that there is need for greater concern than already exists.” Many say that it will take several years for scientists to reach a consensus on how dangerous cell phones actually are to human health. (Cellular Telephones) Alan W. Preece of the University of Bristol in England did many studies on the effects of cell phones on human memory. He stated “I was looking for memory effects but didn’t find any.” There are many studies on the effects on cell phones but ask yourself “Is this really credible, or are we too early in the game to see these effects?” (Raloff) Cell phones can also cause cultured human blood vessel cells. They can make genes less active than usual and even increase blood vessel permeability in the brain. (Pickrell) Communication Risks and benefits

Though cell phones can be used to communicate in very positive ways that can also be used to do harmful things. For example, people can use cell phones to communicate with each other in a group of people who plan to rob a bank. If they did not have cell phones they could have more trouble communicating with each other to get everything together to rob the bank. Another example of people using cell phones to harm other people is through bullying. Most teenagers send text messages to their friends very frequently. Many times teenagers text their friends about the latest gossip. Often the latest gossip includes something negative about someone. If that negative thing gets back to the person that it was about, it can severely hurt their self-esteem. If people are getting made of through social media too much, they can have suicidal thoughts and may actually kill themselves.

There also positive means of communicating through cell phones. If someone has a relative that lives across the country, they can keep in touch with that person through cell phone use. If a woman has a husband who is overseas at war, they can use a cell phone to communicate with each other. There are many negative and positive things when communicating through cell phone use. Economic Risks and Benefits

The impact of cellular technology, along with devices such as portable computers played a direct role in fueling economic growth throughout the nineteen-nineties. (Cellular Telephones) Cell phones have spurred economic growth for many years. There are not many negative aspects of cell phones economically. One negative aspect is that it creates a great ordeal of competition between cell phone companies because cell phones are so popular. Another negative aspect would be that cell phones have decreased the sales in newspapers and magazine articles all over the country. Conclusion

From the moment that cell phones were invented and sold, people all over the world went crazy. There are so many benefits to cell phone use but there are also many risks. Some benefits include that they are a distraction, education threat, and can cause distractions, cancer, and other health risks. Some benefits include that it is a fuel for economic growth, maintains relationships, and can increase public safety. People use cell phones every day, and would be lost without them, but they need to do their research and assess the risks and benefits of cell phones. If people find that the risks outweigh the benefits, simple modifications such as turning off cell phones while driving, and keeping conversations to a minimum, may be the most effective means of fixing the problem of cell phone use addiction. These efforts could prove more effective to restore the peace of the pre-cell phone era. It’s sad that it may take years for people to learn how to use cell phones in a manner that is mature, safe, and acceptable to everyone.

Works Cited:
Kavoori, Anandam. “Mobile Communication and Society: A global perspective.” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. Mar. 2009: 161+. Academic OneFile. Web. 24 Oct. 2013. Pickrell, John. “Contradictory Studies Heat Up Radiation Question.” Science News 161.26 (2002): 404. General Science Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 24 Oct. 2013. Raloff, Janet. “Researchers Probe Cell-Phone Effects.” Science News 157.7 (2000): 100. General Science Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 24 Oct. 2013. Wimmer, Ronda. “Minimizing the long-term effects of EMFs from cell phone use.” Acupuncture Today Feb. 2008: 34+. Health Reference Center Academic. Web. 24 Oct. 2013. “Cellular Telephones.” Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 2 Mar. 2001. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.

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Effects of Cell Phones. (2018, Jul 25). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/effects-of-cell-phones/

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