Cell Phones and Relationships

I do feel that cell phones have created such great opportunities for society and is a great technology, but it does have a few negative effects as well.

A cell phone is a great technology. It has become so normalized. Almost everyone I know has a cell phone and when someone does not I always wonder how they could live with out one. I know that sounds funny but I use my cell phone all the time and so does the society I'm surrounded by.
It is great to know that I can be driving down a road in the middle of the night and be able to get in contact with someone if an accident were to occur.
It is also great to be able to be on the go and be talking on your phone. With land lines you are refrained to only your home or work. But with cell phones you can run all your errands and still stay connected with your friends or family.

Also it is just so much easier to get in contact with someone anytime and anywhere almost.

Text messaging is also something that goes along with cell phones. Texting is a great way to talk to someone quickly and cut out a long conversation or talk with someone if they are unavailable to speak. I feel that texting is over rated. I think that many people would disagree, but I do like talking on the phone with people better.

A negative effect of cell phones is that you are made available to people almost all time. People will expect you to answer while your at work or in class. It can be a bit distracting when someone is calling you while you are busy.

Also texting cuts out personal relationships. It does not allow one to portray their feelings or tone of voice. It is easy to misunderstand one another.

Texting cuts out some groups of people such as people of lower economic class or the older generation. According to Jenkins article, "Eight Traits of the New Media Landscape," he says that young people adopt cultural styles and values radically different than the older generations, and this may put us at odds with our parents. Historically cultural traditions are passed from one generation to another, so there is a large change for many.
I have taught my parents how to text message but it took them a few months to finally figure it out. Even now they still would rather talk on the phone. It makes it difficult for the older generations and younger generations to connect because each of them prefer to communicate in a different way.

The technology of cell phones and texting divides the lower economic class because they may not be able to afford the products many others enjoy. In Lagdon Winner's article, "Do Artifacts Have Politics?" he explains that technologies are political because of the way technology divides or governs communities.

"In the processes by which structuring decisions are made, different people are situated differently and possess unequal degrees of power as well as unequal levels of awareness."

This is true because those who cannot afford the newest technologies can't stay quite as united with others or do not have equal chance.

Probably the largest negative effect is that we are so focused on our conversations on our cell phones that we cut the world out around us. We are so focused that we fail to interact with those that surround us. Wherever we go we see people talking on their cell phones, while they are driving, shopping at the grocery store or even while we are engaged in recreational activities. Many people begin to feel ignored when the person they are with is on their cell phone or texting the entire day.

A study conducted by the Herman Group and presented in the article, Ubiquitous Cell Phones Blocking Relationships, says that an amazing proportion of people actually prefer a phone conversation then the opportunity to talk face-to-face with an individual. I think that does disrupt conversations and that this makes our lives impersonal.

Cell phones unite and divide us with others. They are a great way to stay connected, but people should be aware of the growing problems that come along with them.