Tia Jeffries English 101 Mrs. Baker 17 March 2013 Positive Effects of Cellular Phones in Society The cellular phone is perhaps one of the greatest innovations known to man. The cellular phone coupled with technological advancements has influenced the lives of people from all lifestyles globally. However, the cellular phone has undergone massive evolution over time from the bulky hand-held telephone at its beginning to the hand-held mobile devices it is today. Through evolution the cellular phone has a positive effect on society. The cellular phone started essentially as a communication device.
However, it has evolved into a personal organizer, a mobile office, an instrument of distribution of culture and knowledge among other utilities. The society has seemingly evolved alongside the cellular phone. Notable, is the effect the cellular phone has had on the manner the society communicates, engages in business, entertains itself, and generates popular culture (Hanson 213). The present society is so reliable on the cellular phone that it cannot imagine a day without it. In essence, the cellular phone has helped today’s society to be what it is by influencing literary every aspect of living in the twenty-first century.
This includes being interconnected, more knowledgeable, innovative, and globalized. What follows are a few aspects of the society that have benefitted from the cellular phone. Communication is perhaps the single biggest gain for the society because of cellular phones. Although this was the original intention of the cellular phones during their inception, advancements in this area has seen increased benefits to the society (Murray 59). To begin with, people may easily keep in touch globally through voice services and short messaging services (sms) also known as texting (Baldwin, n. d. . In addition, advanced models of cellular phones allow sending of electronic mail and sharing of photos and videos (Pandey, 2012). Major advancements in the increase of frequencies of cellular communication and broadening of data transfer bandwidths allow exchange of large contents of information. One of such advancements that come with improved cellular phone models is video calls that allow regular phone voice calls to be accompanied by videos of the caller and the receiver (Katz 212). This gives a near realistic effect to communication that resembles face-to-face communication.
Increased accessibility to mobile devises has also contributed greatly to the number of people able to communicate using cellular phones (Pandey, 2012). Cellular phones have also drastically reduced the cost of communication. This has been occasioned by the low costs of calling as compare to the previous models of using fixed line telephones, which cost more especially for long distance calls. In addition, the cost of the cellular phones themselves has drastically reduced due to increased competition among manufactures and improved manufacturing technologies. The fact that cellular phones are hand-held devices makes communication convenient.
One can communicate while engaging in other activities like walking, queuing at a bank or supermarket, and riding in a bus, train, or car. This allows people to multitask which saves time (Pandey, 2012). Cellular phones have increased the level of safety and the feeling of security in the society. This is because a cell phone is a mobile device that is carried by people everywhere they are. Therefore, the cell phone becomes useful in times of emergency. For instance, one may call for help in cases of motor accidents, sudden sickness, robbery, elevator failure, and other similar events (Stewart, 2008).
In fact, cell phones are coded at the manufacturing factory, with emergency call numbers that one can use, even if one does not have calling units; what is referred to as emergency service. These include 911, police line numbers, ambulance numbers, customer care numbers for calling the cell phone service providers among others. There are also other service numbers that may be used on emergencies where the receiver of the call absorbs the calling charge also known as 0-800- service. The cellular phone, through GPS may be used to track individuals and determine the location of a cell phone carrier.
For example, parents can keep track of their children through this service (Goggin 136). This is especially useful when dealing with teenage children who may sometimes involve themselves in deviant behavior if not well supervised by the parents. In addition, if one is lost, one can determine the location by using the GPS service in the cellular phone (Stewart, 2008). In fact, this service may also be used to track vehicles in case of a car robbery. This works by fitting a vehicle with a SIM card, which the vehicle owner can communicate with to determine the vehicle’s location.
The cellular phone acts as a transmitter, which makes this kind of tracking possible (Unhelkar 36). This application has also gained prominence in the tracking of lost cellular phones even if they are switched off. The Samsung Corporation presently has phone tracking as a standard feature in its cellular phone models, which makes it possible for a person to track a lost or stolen phone. Cellular phones have greatly reduced in size since their inception. This has made them become known as mobile devices meaning they can be easily be carried along, fitting in confined spaces like in the pocket of an individual.
The miniaturization of this device has gained much from advancement in technology. One of these gains is from the increase in range that the device can be used. Cellular phones can now be used over longer ranges than before (Baldwin, n. d. ). Secondly, the cellular phone incorporates multiple devices, all compressed into a mobile device. Thirdly, with the use of accessories like hands free, the cellular phone may allow increased mobility of the user (Unhelkar 98). Fourthly, the present cellular phone has almost similar capabilities as a laptop computer, only smaller.
For instance, the Iphone by Apple Inc. is able to do anything, similar to a regular laptop (Goggin 77). However, the Iphone has the advantage is being smaller thus enhancing mobility of the user. Cellular phones have gained tremendously from major technological advancements to the benefit of the society. Originally, cellular phones only provided voice call services. However, cellular phones now provide a varied bouquet of services, which include messaging, video calls and video conferencing, chatting, and sharing of photos (Stewart, 2008).
Major innovations in cellular phones have seen them become more that communication devises due to incorporation of other functionalities. Firstly, one of these functionalities includes calculators, alarms, and reminders, which assist in personal organization (Easton 291). Secondly, the cellular phone has incorporated entertainment applications, which include games, music, and video playing capabilities (Goggin 130). Thirdly, the cellular phone has also incorporated traditional mass communication devises like the television and radio (Hanson 73).
Finally, the cellular phone now includes cameras, voice and video recorders and flashlights (Hanson 91). All this make the cellular phone a compact tool with multiple functions for the convenience of the user. The cellular phones have contributed to enhancement of economic productivity in various ways. Firstly, cell phones have removed the necessity of physical meetings by offering video conferencing services and other services where more than two people can speech to each other at the same time (Baldwin, n. d. ). Secondly, business transactions can take place faster and remotely.
For instance, one can pay for goods using mobile money transfers via cell phones without having to send the money physically (Easton 19). Thirdly, cellular phones now have several applications like calendars, reminders, voice recorders, alarms, and note keepers that help in the organization of the activities of an individual (Admin, 2010). Lastly, businesses can now advertise their products through the cellular phone. Such advertisements come in form of text messages and picture messages and may sometimes be accompanied with prize rewards (Easton 121).
This phenomenon is proliferated by the low cost of using cellular phones as opposed to the traditional advertisement that uses commercials and posters to get the attention of probable customers. All this applications have improved efficiency and convenience of doing business while keeping the cost low thus enhancing productivity. The cellular phone has immensely increased the access to internet and its related services. It is now possible to obtain an internet-enabled cellular phone at a low price depending of the connectivity technology used.
There are several technologies in use for accessing internet via cellular phones and these include GPRS, EDGE, 2G, WAP, 3G, 3. 5G, UTMS, and HSPDA among others (Hanson 42). These technologies differ in speed, range, and volume transfer capabilities. Access to internet opens up a world of other possibilities of applications of the cellular phone, which include modes of communication, commerce, knowledge acquisition, health and other social issues. For instance, increased internet access increases the proliferation of online communities where individuals can discuss and share their interests through social media (Katz 78).
Secondly, increased access to internet facilitates commerce. This includes online business transactions, marketing, and product improvement through customer feedback among others (Hanson 59). Thirdly, it broadens and even transforms the ways of doing business by offering low cost alternatives suitable for small business startups, which may have a positive effect in the society’s wellbeing (Unhelkar 41). Lastly, increased internet access facilitates globalization (Katz 33). This is due to the increased sharing of culture and broadening of economies without the confines of geographical borders.
It is evident that the cellular phone has had profound effect on the society, which is largely positive. These include enhanced communication speeds and quality, increased feeling of security among individuals, increased mobility of the user and advancement in technology, which has brought many devices and functionalities into the cellular phone. In addition, the cellular phone has contributed immensely to increased productivity and increased internet access. From these aspects, the society has gained much from the cell phone. Works Cited Admin. "Cell Phones and Their Positive Effects in the Society. Cell Phone Brands and News for Cell Phone Fans. N. P. , 30 Aug. 2010. Web. 10 Mar. 2013. They have played an important and positive role when it comes to the operation of different businesses. Baldwin, Anya. "Positive Effects of Cellphone Technology in the Workplace. " Small Business. n. d. Web. 10 Mar. 2013. Multiple Lines, More Direct Line of Communication, On-Call Availability, and Texting, is all available when using a cell phone. Easton, Jaclyn. Going Wireless: Transform Your Business with Mobile Technology. New York: Harper Business, 2002. Print.
In this journalist story, Jaclyn Easton talks about the advantages of wirelessly fortifying your mobile workforce of itinerant executive, sales personnel, also field service technicians as well as how wireless is dramatically redefining customer service, marketing advertising. Goggin, Gerard. Cell Phone Culture: Mobile Technology in Everyday Life. London: Routledge, 2006. Print. Drawing on a range of national, regional, and international examples, this text explores the new forms of consumption and use of communication and media technology that the phenomenon of mobiles represents.
Hanson, Jarice. 24/7: How Cell Phones and the Internet Change the Way We Live, Work, and Play. Westport, Conn: Praeger, 2007. Print. The revolution in online services and mobile phone use changed our lives at the turn of the 21st century. This book demonstrates that these technologies enable us to work and play 24/7 Katz, James. Magic in the Air: Mobile Communication and the Transformation of Social Life. New Brunswick, N. J: Transaction Publishers, 2006. Print. In this volume, James E. Katz, a leading authority on social consequences of communication technology, nalyzes the way new mobile telecommunications affect daily life both in the United States and around the world. Murray, James. Wireless Nation: The Frenzied Launch of the Cellular Revolution in America. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Pub. , 2001. Print. Wireless Nation details how the genesis of the cell phone business.......... But this colorful, engaging account of cellular's strange history is much more than a business narrative. Pandey, Kundan. Advantages of mobile phones. 3 December 2012. Web. 15 March 2013. It is hard to imagine a world without cell phones now. Stewart, Douglas. How Cell Phones Have Changed Our Lives. " Articlesbase. com. 28 May 2008. Web. 10 Mar. 2013. Cell phones made multitasking a brand new meaning. You can talk to family members that far away, if you are lost you have GPS or can call for help. Many more advantages come from cell phones. Cell phones are a great asset in aiding in our everyday lives. Unhelkar, Bhuvan. Handbook of Research in Mobile Business: Technical, Methodological, and Social Perspectives. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference, 2009. Print. This book collects the latest research advances in the rapidly evolving field of mobile business
