Many studies point out how cell phones have changed our lifestyles dramatically over the years. They’ve become a part of people because as many can’t go anywhere without a cell phone at their side. Cell phones began as just a talking device, but today, one can now call, store contacts, text, email, surf the web and have access to endless apps. Though much has been said about cell phones becoming a huge distraction in today’s society, less attention has been paid to how much cell phones have transformed over the year and the advancements they’ve given us. (Ray)
Today’s modern, fast paced lifestyle is unimaginable without cell phones. Since the advent of cell phones, society has had the ability to make phone calls while being mobile, send text messages, and access the Internet from practically anywhere in the world. In the beginning, cell phones served as a way to make phone calls to others from places other than at home using the landline. They soon evolved into a device with the capability to send text messages and, shortly after, they had become a mobile device with the capability to access the Internet. This technology has changed how society performs everyday tasks.
Mass Media and Its Influence Negative Influence on American Society
“It is the power that shapes and molds the mind of virtually every citizen, young or old, rich or poor, simple or sophisticated” (Sweet Liberty, 2000, 1). The media is a part of everyday life in America. News and events outside of one’s home or neighborhood are brought to their area via the newspaper, magazines, radio, television, and the internet. As the quote above mentions mass media, and its components, are very powerful and are capable of influencing one’s mind, as well as their behavior. The images and stories introduced to children and young adults make it difficult for these viewers to distinguish between fact and fiction (Cable News Network, 1998, 3), thus stimulating confusion and blind emulation.
Cell phones are gradually affecting American culture today because they are becoming a key part of everyday life. The cell phone is "?an indispensable companion that serves without favor or prejudice. It has reached into every civilized corner of the world--and often brought civilization with it. From its wires spring the words of history in the making, the chatter of daily life" ("43 Years" sc. 1). The cell phone enables individuals to communicate rapidly over great distances and obtain information like never before. People can now pick up the phone and get information on the weather, time, stock market quotations, and other things simply by dialing a few numbers. Cell phones connect the world together, to the point where individuals become almost helpless without it. The next time you find yourself waiting at a stoplight, take the time to observe the people around you. There will likely be at least one person in the surrounding cars who is talking on the phone. Even on the streets, people continue to chat on the phone. Cell phones are everywhere. One resident in Greenville, S.C. admitted that he uses his cell phone at least 15 times a day (Chany sc. 2). The cell phone is in such high use that the traditional phones in homes and offices almost become antique devices on display. Although traditional phones are still around, individuals are quicker to pick up their cell phone.
A smart phone has an enormous amount of abilities for the public to use to their advantage, and many are doing just that. In a survey in 2014, smart phone owners talked about how they used their phones in the past year. Of the users surveyed, 62% of them said that they looked up information about a health condition. Over ninety percent of every age group had sent a text and made a voice or video call to another person (Smith). Smart phones usage for everyday endeavors is the future, and the future starts
In recent years, cell phones have become highly accessible and a necessity in the United States and around the globe. Since their beginning, they were very uncommon, but now, they have become an everyday need and are portable and pocket-sized to perform a wide variety of tasks. Cell phones were exclusively used for making calls, but now they perform numerous tasks besides just being a phone. Sometimes we get a little bit anxious the moment we realize we can’t find our phone, but is evidence that, phones have taken over our lives in ways that we could not anticipate (Arandilla,2012). In a recent study, individuals are communicating more via text messages and cell phone than face-to-face interactions, changing our social surroundings. According to a CNN article publication, “the telephone call is a dying institution and the number of text messages sent monthly in the US exploded from 14 billion in 2000 to 188 billion in 2010” (Klugar,2012). We take our cell phones with us everywhere we go either to the workplace, on dates, to parties, ceremonies or even to religious meetings. Modern cell phones help in so many tasks such as text messaging, emailing, internet access, video gaming and among several others. In a report by the Huffington Post, “about 88 percent of American adults own a cell phone” (New, 2012). Mobile phones dictate the way we live and unfortunately, have a negative impact on our social relationships in terms of trust and empathy, replacing face-to-face interaction, making people less aware of their surroundings and becoming too attached to their cell phones.
“You know when that hotline blings, it can only mean one thing.” The phone is ringing. According to the Morningside Recovery Rehabilitation Center “the average American spends hundred forty-four minutes a day using his or her cell phone during a sixteen hour period.” At first glance this may not appear to be a great deal of time, but it equates to a total over four years out of a life time. Technology has made amazing advancements over the last decade and cell phones have revolutionized the way people communicate in the twenty-first century. With an estimated six billion subscriptions worldwide, cell phones have become one of the primary way people communicate today. Cell phones are no longer only used for just telephone calls and text messaging.
The telephone is one of the greatest inventions of all time. Without a telephone, life as we know it today, would be much more difficult and time consuming. Some of life’s activities might even be impossible. Talking to loved ones that live far away, changing work schedules, making appointments to have the utilities turned on in our homes, paying the bills, and calling 911 are all actions that can be completed in the blink of an eye, by using a telephone. Ironically, improved communication, the biggest asset to having a phone has been significantly destroyed by the use of the newest technologically advanced cell phones. Furthermore, despite all of the wonderful benefits there are to having a telephone, the transformation and advanced technology of the new and improved “smart” mobile phone has created a world geared toward speed and quantity; while on the other hand promoting haste, less than acceptable customer service, dreadful family relationships, impatience, poor spelling, and memory problems.
In the article entitled, “Our Cell Phones Ourselves”, Christine Rosen describes how cell phones have changed the way we communicate. Rosen tells the readers the main purpose for cell phone use in the past, versus present day. Her purpose is to make society aware of how cell phones have influenced our lives in order to inspire change as to how we view our cell phones. Rosen directs her writing to everyone in the present day by describing the negative results of cell phone use and how it impacts our lives and those around us. Without a doubt, cell phones are going to be a part of our world, but it is the responsibility of every cell phone owner to exercise self control and understand that a cell phone is nothing more than a device.
The Role of Mass-Media in the Contemporary World
The power of the mass media has once become so powerful that its undoubtedly significant role in the world today stays beyond any questions. It is so strong that even politics uses it as a means of governing in any country around the world. The mass media has not only political meaning but also it conveys wide knowledge concerning all possible aspects of human beings’ lives and, what is utterly true, influences on people’s points of view and their attitude to the surrounding environment. It is completely agreeable about what kind of virtues the mass media is supposed to accent.