Cell Phones and Society

The influence of cell phones in society
In today’s society communication is huge. Cell phones have allowed us to talk to whoever we want wherever we want and whenever we want. “The mobile allows us to communicate whatever we want, whenever we want to, with other people who possess telecommunication devices.”(Rippin) It is not rare in any country these days to see someone talking on their cell phone. It has become part of daily life. Cell phones are not only for just texting or calling; they are also a device that has an influence on your family relations, peer relations, socialization, and identity information.
Parent’s interaction with their kids and cell phones are different in every family. For most parents, giving their child a cell phone is a mark of maturity. Some parents give their kids a cell phone to increase control over their kids, and teenagers take it as a sign of independency. For some families cell phones can have a positive influence on the relationship by having better coordination within the family. “Influencing fashion, giving of phones by parents to children as a marker of “maturity,” privacy, emotional, personal and psychological attachment to the device, and personalization of the device as a statement of one’s identity.” (Nurullah)
Cell phones can also have a negative effect on families. It can bring up issues. Cell phones can’t solve communication between parents and their kids. The flow of the communication and the quality may be in danger. Many teenagers might take advantage of their cell phones to a certain extent and begin to lose communication within their family. “On the one hand it allows for better coordination within the family, and on the other, it brings up issues surrounding the emancipation of the teen across cultures.” (Nurullah)
It is thought that people with low self-esteem typically don’t communicate with people often because they are afraid of the responses they will receive. However, it is thought that people who have a low self-esteem will actually use their cell phone more to try to build relationships without having face-to-face pressure. “…Lack of face-to-face interaction.”(Thompson and Cupples, 2008) They also will try to take more control over their social relationships. Cell phones have made it easy for individuals with lower self-esteem to form and maintain social relationships.
Many individuals have stated that they cannot imagine not having their cell phone with them daily. It is exaggerated in how younger generations talk about not being able to imagine themselves without their phones now. The Author interviewed a girl name Samantha and she said “I just can’t imagine myself without a cell phone.” (Rippin) People have formed a connection with their cell phones making them think that they can’t function without their cell phone on a day to day basis. People that have a lot of boredom and have low self-esteem are most likely to have this kind of relationship with their cell phones. (Corbett)
Many people use their phone for information, including me. Many times it’s easy to be in a conversation and need to find something out. For instance if you are talking about a movie and you picture an actor in the movie and cannot remember the name of the actor then you can quickly look up the movie and find the cast and figure out that actors name. This is an example of how useful a phone can be. The Author interviewed a girl named Clare and she said “I use mine to find things out; it’s quite handy when you need to know something quick. (Rippin) Instead of using a cell phone for only emergencies we find ourselves using it for regular everyday life things. There has been a shift of the mobile’s functionality from actual life-threatening emergencies to superficial use for requests for non-essential information. (Rippin)
It is said that because text messages are private, it’s more entertaining. “The focus groups said that in the past, they would have called the recipient but found text messages to be a lot more entertaining due to their private nature.”(Rippin) Even when you know that you aren’t doing anything wrong deep down you have a sneaky feeling along with a naughty feeling. The author interviewed a girl named Lorna and she said “It feels a bit naughty doesn’t it Even if you’re not doing anything wrong!”
Many people wouldn’t be involved with some people if it wasn’t for texting. “This generational difference between relationship maintenance and relationship creation illustrates that the mobile has introduced complex new boundaries between “close” relationships.” (Rippin) Texting can build relationships or break relationships. For instance if your girlfriend checked your phone all the time and may have come across something that she may think is suspicious, that could be the end of your relationship.
People make inferences on others all the time. “Using a mobile phone in public, whether in discourse or text, is behavior from which others will make inferences.” (Rippin) People can make themselves out to be a different person than who they are. This is showing your identity to the public. It’s very easy for someone to fake. For instance there may be a woman in a bus talking loudly to someone on her phone acting as if she is on her way to see her daughter that’s in labor, excited that she will be a grandmother. Then her phone rings causing the truth to come out. Phones can show off many different identities. You may act one way with one person and a completely different way with someone else. “Mobile phone technology enables users to freely experiment with the identity they want to portray to their audience; they can play many numerous different roles. (Rippin)
Mobile phones have made everything easier. One thing that is has started to hurt is our memory. We don’t have to remember numbers or anything that we may need to be reminded about. “The use of speed dialing has made the phone book and numerical memory virtually redundant.” (Rippin) Losing your phone and all the information that it includes may be awful for some people because they have become so independent on the cell phone that they haven’t remembered anything themselves.