Cell phones negative effect on society.

Cell Phone Negative Effects on Society
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Abstract
The use of cell phones has gained worldwide acceptance over the years making the mobile devices be a familiar if not a necessary component of human communication. Cell phones have eased communication between people separated by long distances. However, various studies have revealed different findings concerning the adverse effects of prolonged use of cell phones to individuals and the society as a whole. The use of mobile phones has altered and reshaped different aspects of communication as well as personal health. The way people communicate and interact with each other has changed drastically with the adoption of cell phones. The consequences and concerns in the use of mobile phones have also been recorded in other areas such as road carnage. Drawing arguments from previous research, this paper analyzes the harmful effects of cell phone use to the society and suggests the necessity of understanding the consequences of mobile phone use if some of the concerns are to be addressed.
Keywords: cell phones, face to face communication, road carnage, hearing impairment

Cell Phone Negative Effects on Society
Introduction
The growth in mobile phone telecommunication has been on a significant rise for the past two decades. Data collected around the world indicate that up to half of the total population use the technology. Rapid achievement witnessed in cellphone communication begun in the 1980s when devices would only transmit sound based on analog technology while the second generation cell phones were pegged on digital transmission.

The third generation mobile phones are more sophisticated with the development of data and image transmission. Third generation mobile phones offer additional services never witnessed before like email, video recording, internet access, chats and photo taking among other numerous features.
A look at how the world’s population has embraced the application of mobile phones indicates that a large part of the society does not perceive mobile use to poses potential hazards. A lot of peer reviewed literature point to the health, social, personal, road carnage effects of continued utilization of mobile phones. Even though the use of cell phones has enormous advantages, there are a lot of adverse consequences that need serious considerations since the usage of such devices affect individuals. In particular, the third-generation cell phones with their enhanced features mostly contribute to some of the challenges witnessed in the society. The paper investigates some of the undesirable results associated with utilization of mobile telephony in the country and the world as a whole.
Effects on face to face Communication
When it comes to enhancing the connection between family members, cellphone technology has helped in bridging the gap between people staying in different geographical locations (Wajcman, Bittman, & Brown, 2008). However, the pertinent question that arises is how the use of such devices affect the daily face to face communication. Most of the people around us have access to cellphones which has made communication over the devices to be an integral part of our daily activities considering the busy schedule of the modern society. The third generation mobile phones have made internet access easier. This coupled up by the creation of social media sites have led to a reduction in face to face communication as people have found technological avenues for passing their messages.
Similarly, the use of instant messages and phone calls as a means of communication destroys the available opportunities to engage in face to face conversation with the people around us. Mobile phone communication does not only limit one on one communication but also results in instances of separation from family members and close friends (Wajcman, Bittman, & Brown, 2008). For example, the nature of the modern day work environment requires a person to spend a lot of time away from home which makes the use of mobile phones to be important in keeping in touch with other people while away. When a person depends entirely on cell phones as the only means of communication, they may not obtain the personal touch that comes with face to face communication.
On the other hand, the continued use of cellphones applications like messages, social media, and calling among others leads to the displacement of a user’s physical proximity as far as interaction is concerned. Also, heavy reliance on mobile phone applications as the primary means of communication increases separation from others thus hindering face to face communications since such media lack nonverbal and environmental techniques necessary for interaction.
Effects on daily activities and weakening human interpersonal skills
The use of cellphones has several effects both on a person’s daily activities and interpersonal skills. A little message notification is an enough distraction from the focus on an individual’s work that may require a lot of concentration such as computer operations. When a task that a person is undertaking is attention demanding, then there is a high chance of delay or making an error when they are distracted by the conversation with another individual on the cell phone (Emberson, Lupyan, Goldstein, & Spivey, 2010). People find it to be more irritating when they hear a person converse over the cell phone than when the conversation takes place on face to face basis.
Even though the cell phone notifications might pop up for a short while, they can consistently make a person’s mind wander away from their tasks thereby directly affecting the performance of a given task. The association between the use of a cell phone and performing a given task is that individuals have limited attention to be divided between tasks. The psychological effects are severe even in waiting to receive or reply a text or a call.
On the other hand, interpersonal communication both at business and individual levels is highly affected by the increased use of cell phones be it through the use of platforms such as messaging, making a call or surfing the internet. Greater use of mobile phones has made people forget the nonverbal cues necessary for professional and personal development. Continuous use of cellphones as the primary means of communication makes a person forget some of the important non-verbal cues such as a handshake and facial expression necessary for interpersonal development. Communication through the use of text messages is a perfect example of how people have entirely cut out the non-verbal elements of communication as a person expresses his or herself only through a short message.
Correspondingly, individuals who primarily engaged in communication via cell phones may suffer from the long-term effects of the inability to have a one on one connection with another person (Wajcman, Bittman, & Brown, 2008). The ability to meet and hold a face to face conversation with an individual who might assist a person to develop professionally is widely undermined by the use of mobile phones applications like messaging apps. The disadvantage is that the applications leave the important aspects of tonal variation, body language and communication etiquette and further make a person to lack the need for the one on one verbal exchange.
Cell phone use and road carnage
The established leading cause of road carnage is related to the use of cell phones while driving. An individual has higher chances of getting involved in a traffic accident while driving and using a mobile phone at the same time. The adoption of mobile telephones particularly by the youth has led to increased road accidents as they are more likely to engage in unrecompensed road behaviors which include using cell phones while driving (Cox, 2003).
The use of mobile phones when driving increases the chances of road carnage since the art of driving requires a lot of concentration (Strayer, & Drews, 2007). When a person receives a notification on a cellphone while driving, his or her focus will most likely shift from the road to the phone which increases the likelihood of veering off the road or colliding with other road users. Strayer and Drews (2007) notes that the use of cell phones while driving results in inattention blindness, a situation in which a driver loses his or her focus on whatever is happening in their environment. The case can occur when a motorist gets their hands off the vehicle controller to respond to the call or texts. Therefore, inappropriate usage of cellphones while driving is directly related to road accidents.
Another view is the cognitive aspect of driving. Drivers, just like any other human being, find it difficult to multi-tasks, that is, processing two different kinds of information such as driving and receiving a call. The most likely cause of accidents among drivers who use cell phones is texting while driving. Cell phone use causes riskier decision-making, poor control of brakes, wandering from lane to lane, reduced awareness of the other drivers using the same road, and ineffective reaction to a road situation among other (Abouk, & Adams, 2013).
Effects on young people’s interaction with the world
With the evolution of mobile phone technology, bullying has taken an entirely different direction from the traditional forms which involved verbal and physical methods. Technologies such as mobile have exposed children and teenagers to strangers more than before. The research by Yavuz, Yusuf, and Bahadir (2010) indicates that the increase in the use of cell phones among teens has seen an upward spiral in the practice of online bullying among the youth. Since the young people are more exposed to the use of mobile phone devices like tablets, phones, and notepads, they have greater chances being bullied or becoming one of the bullies.
The most common form of bullying involving the use of cellphones is cyber bullying. The use of cell phones has opened up a new world to young people through platforms such as social media or virtual chat rooms (Yavuz, Yusuf, & Bahadir, 2010). Bullying a stranger or a friend via text entails sending a story that might be mean, embarrassing, untrue to a to someone with the intention of hurting them in one way or the other. Cyber bullying is prevalent among middle school aged children since it is the time when the majority of them get cell phones to schools. Young people are exposed to dangers of bullying as an older person may use his or her cell phone to threaten a younger person to submit to their demands.
Another risk associated with the use of cell phones at a young age is exposure to strangers with evil motives such as sex offenders. The use of mobile phones has given way to the development of the new phenomenon of sexting which exposes young people to pornographic materials and other illegal sexual acts based on mobile applications (Thomas, & Cauffman, 2014). Some sex predators may take advantage of the mobile platforms to recruit young people to such criminal activities (Potter, 2011). It is true that young people, especially teenage girls like to communicate in internet chat rooms as a means of sharing with the other friends. Due to the anonymity offered by such platforms, strangers may take advantage on an innocent young person by engaging in conversations while hiding their identity.
Effects of cell phone connection on the user’s health
When a person uses a mobile phone continuously, it becomes addictive, and he or she finds it difficult to stop the use due to the fear of being disconnected from the outside world. The third generation mobile phone functionality enables a person to be connected to the internet on the go. The ease and constant connection to the web becomes a habit over time, and it may reach a point where a person cannot to log out of the various chat platforms and socialize with the friends.
Mobile phone use puts the physical health of the users who spend a lot of time online without physical exercises is also put at risk. It is common for heavy users of cell phones to spend the whole day glued to their devices without engaging in physically demanding activities. The majority of the addicts of mobile phone usage connect to the outside world via social media phone applications like Facebook and Twitter among others.
Another significant health concern relating to the use of cell phones is the emission of radiofrequency energy (Ahlbom et al., 2009). This form of energy can be easily absorbed by body tissues of those who are in proximity to the phone. The level of exposure to the radiofrequency energy depends on factors such as the distance between the user and the phone and the technology used by the phone among other factors. Radiations emitted from mobile phones are classified as carcinogenic due to their potential risks of causing brain cancer when used over an extended period.
In the same manner, the use of mobile phones may result in the development of brain tumor and other related head tumors (Ahlbom et al., 2009). People who have used the mobile devices for over ten years are at a higher risk of developing the tumors. The brain and the head as a whole have the highest exposure compared to the other parts of the body. However, some other areas of the body such as the skin and other regions where hands-free devices are held are also potential sites for harm (Ahlbom et al., 2009).
Cell phones and hearing impairment
Using cell phones has become a norm in the modern population. Regular use of the devices has also been growing among the younger part of the population that includes children. Previous research on mobile phone use shows that there is a potential relationship between hearing loss and cell phone use among children and adults.
The primary concern in the use of cell phones regarding hearing loss is the exposure of users to radio frequency radiation. Today’s children are more susceptible to this exposure since they start using the devices at a young age. People get exposed to the radio frequency emissions as the devices require to be in proximity to the head during a call (Sudan, Kheifets, Arah, & Olsen, 2013). Also, the organs and tissue systems of children are still developing making them more exposed to the risk of hearing loss. When a person is exposed to more than an hour call daily, their hearing system may be damaged as they become less likely to perceive high-frequency sounds (Sudan, Kheifets, Arah, & Olsen, 2013). People who have lost the ability to perceive high-frequency sounds may lack the capability of grasping small elements of speech such as consonants. Even though hearing loss can also be associated with high sounds used on cell phones, the primary cause remains to be the exposure to radio frequency radiation. Due to several reported effects of radiofrequency radiation on human health which include fatigue, changes in cognition, and headaches, it is believed that prolonged cell phone use can negatively affect the normal auditory functions (Sudan, Kheifets, Arah, & Olsen, 2013).
Potentially, the use of mobile phones for extended periods of time exposes an individual to tinnitus due to the harmful radiations they produce. Tinnitus a health condition where a person is ringing sounds or noises around in their ears when there are no outside noises in the surroundings (Hutter et al., 2010). The research conducted by Hutter et al. (2010) reveals that there is a higher potential of someone being faced with the condition after long periods of exposure to mobile phone use.
Conclusion
Even though using cell phones is an essential means of communication in the modern day society, it has proven to have some major shortcomings. The use of mobile phone has negatively affected various aspects of our social lives. Whereas cell phones were made to fill in the communication gap, their use has altered the traditional face to face communication mechanism which has further worsened interpersonal skills. Further, the use of cell phones have posed health related problems and contributed to rising instances of road carnage. Therefore, users need to be enlightened on the potential effects of cell phone use since the lack of knowledge may result in undesired results for the individual and the society as a whole.

References
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