Free English Language Essays - We Would All Be Better Off Without Mobile Phones
It seems everywhere one looks these days someone is chatting on his or her mobile phone. People of all ages, even youngsters, cannot be without their phones. Whilst the cellular phone has increased convenience and even provided some safety measures to its users, however, the annoyance, cost, changes in lifestyle and privacy issues posed by mobile phones more than outweigh the benefits. We would all be much better off without them.
Much initial opposition to mobile phones was based on health concerns. Some studies had indicated that the phones posed an increased cancer risk to those who used them often, but were largely discredited, by report such as that by the UK government (Cameron 2000). The potential health risks caused by base stations and transmitting towers is still contested, with an 2003 Italian study finding the waves from such may encourage growth in cancerous tumours (Anon 2003b).
Mobile phones are also expensive, causing resources to be used for them that might be spent on other things. “According to the Wireless World Forum's annual research mobileYouth 2005 report released in late March, $1in every $10 that children and young people now spend is related to their cell phone” (Gwinn 2005). This is money that might have been spent on other items such as trips to a sporting or music event, books or even comics, or hobbies. Additionally, many young people now take jobs to pay for things such as their mobile phones, leaving them less time for participation in school and extracurricular activities. In the US, for example, “Fifty million cell phone owners are younger than twenty-five and will collectively spend US $20 billion this year on their cell phones” (Gwinn 2005). Some families who cannot afford mobile phones feel pressured to have them for work or safety reasons, although the expense puts a strain on the family budget. In addition, each new feature further increases mobile phones’ costs. Carriers in Europe typically charge thirty-five to forth pence to send a picture message, and more features mean more fees (Anon 2002).
Having a mobile phone makes a person always available, making it difficult to have leisure time, devote attention to family, or in general maintain a balance of life and work. With a mobile, people expect to be able to reach the phone owner at all hours and have the phone owner respond. This makes it difficult to have personal time, or invest undivided attention into relationships. Peter Panos, an owner of three restaurants in the US, states "I'm convinced that everybody would be better off if not for these cell phones, because they can't separate any kind of leisure from work" (Romell 2005). He no longer has a mobile phone, and reports a great improvement in his family relations and reduction in stress as a result. If a businessperson takes the mobile phone on vacation or home over the weekend, that time of rest and relaxation is at the mercy of those who can call him or her on the mobile phone. A parent is no longer free to take the kids to play at the park, protected from work and allowed to concentrate on the family for a few hours. We need to ask, are the things people call us about that disrupt our family or relaxing time really of such importance that they couldn’t wait a few hours? This is almost never the case.
In addition, people talking on mobile phones are often annoying. Sometimes this is just from being forced to listen to another person’s conversation whilst waiting in line or at a coffee shop. At other times, when out with friends, for example, it makes one feel that the person talking on the phone is more interested or more highly values the caller on the other end of the line than the people he or she is physically with. I personally loath being in a restaurant with someone when they get a call on their phone. You have to sit there and pretend to be busy about something other than listening to their conversation, whilst they chatter on and on in a conversation in which you are not included. I find this very rude. These kinds of disruptions and rudeness can damage friendships and family relationships.
Mobiles have changed communication and social life for many people, reducing the time we spend with each other and making communication more impersonal. Instead of talking with each other, more and more people are spending their time downloading news reports, sport scores, stock prices, or the weather report (Anon 2002). Whilst at one time a person had to drop by or at least speak over the phone, leading to a bit of chatting or conversation, now a one-line text message is often sent. UK network operator Vodafone’s “customers can already use their phones to find the nearest ATM, cinema or a plumber through WAP (wireless application protocol), the stripped-down web service designed for mobile phones” (Graham-Rowe 2003). This has obvious benefits in terms of convenience. However, the mobile phone user and friends no longer venture into some strange restaurant to try a new experience, when they can locate a McDonald’s a few blocks away. No more wandering into an art movie or local theatre production, the group now looks up a cinema chain on the phone.
Phones can also be dangerous. Using a mobile phone whilst driving is a major safety concern in many countries. The Toronto Star reports surveys by British insurance companies have found that “drivers chatting on cell phones suffered slower reaction times, took longer to stop and missed more roadside warning signs than drivers who were legally drunk” (Anon 2003a). Not surprisingly, parts of Canada and the United States ban cell phone use whilst driving. This is one area where being always available is not only detrimental to balance in life, but the lives of the phone user and those around him or her.
Mobile phones do offer safety features of value, although the use of such features is rare. For example, the New Statesman reports of a Kurdish boy who was illegally stopped by police in London. The policeman swore at the boy, indicated he would frame him, and violated most of the regulations protecting citizens from being stopped without cause. The boy, unbeknownst to police, recorded the incident on his mobile phone and the judge in the case, after hearing the recording, stated he could not believe a word of the police evidence and let the boy go. The officer is facing dismissal (Howe 2005). This does, however, bring about the potential for people becoming drawn into crimes that result in their hurt or death. Alan Reiter, president of Wireless Internet & Mobile Computing, predicts that "in the future, people are going to get killed over their (camera) phones… They are going to take photos of bank robberies or of the police beating up people at a riot or of tanks rolling into their city" (Anon 2005).
Technological advances now allow people to be located through their mobile phone. The EU directive E112, instituted in September 2003, “requires mobile phone networks to provide emergency services with whatever location information they have about where a mobile phone call was made” (Graham-Rowe 2003). Obviously, this be of benefit to someone who can dial but not speak or give their location for whatever reason. The response time of emergency services improved significantly when Britain introduced a similar scheme for landlines a few years ago (Graham-Rowe 2003). Some phone companies are now considering placing additional tracking features on their phones, supposedly so a child with a phone could be located, or the like (Hull 2005).
This, however, only adds to the privacy concerns already present from phones and phones with camera features. “ In Japan, camera phones already dominate the mobile phone market. In Europe they make up more than half. In 2004, camera phones made up 36 percent of U.S. mobile-phone shipments” (Anon 2005). This means a lot of people have the opportunity to take pictures, often of unsuspecting others. “The YMCA became one of the first groups worldwide to introduce a camera ban after pictures reportedly taken in a YMCA locker room in Australia last year appeared on the Internet showing unsuspecting patrons taking a shower (Hull 2005). Other gyms and work-out facilities have similar bans. A number of companies prohibit camera phones in certain parts of their offices or manufacturing plants to protect trade secrets. “Courts have banned them to keep the public from documenting private proceedings” (Anon 2005). Whilst before people could expect a certain amount of personal privacy, each new technological advance present additional opportunities for privacy to be violated, whether by unscrupulous individuals or by government or other agencies.
In short, the advantages of mobile phones are far outweighed by the adverse effects they have had on our lives. They take up increasing amounts of our money, impede our relationships with others, and put our privacy at risk. Without the phones, we would have more balance in our lives and be healthier, more well-adjusted individuals.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anon 2002. British Cell Phone Operators Still Dispute Terms on Sending Photos. Sunday Business (UK), Dec 15, 2002.
Anon 2003a. Get off the phone. Toronto Star (Canada), May 05, 2003, pg. A18. Available at www.ebscohost.com, accessed 31 May 2005.
Anon 2003b. Europe. Earth Island Journal, Spring 2003, Vol. 18, Issue 1, p7-8.
Anon 2005. Restrictions placed on camera phones. San Francisco Chronicle (CA), May 23, 2005, Final Edition, Business Section, p. E2. Available at www.ebscohost.com, accessed 31 May 2005.
Cameron, I. 2000. UK report urges curbs on use of mobile phones. Electronic Engineering Times, May 22, 2000, Issue 1114.
Graham-Rowe, D. 2003. Lost without a mobile phone. New Scientist, October 18, 2003, Vol. 180, Issue 2417, p26.
Gwinn, E. 2005. Americans are top cell phone spenders. Chicago Tribune (IL), Apr 12, 2005. Available at www.ebscohost.com, accessed 31 May 2005.
Howe, D. 2005. Mobiles Reveal Police Malpractice. New Statesman, 30 May 2005, Columns, p. 25.
Hull, P. 2005. Increasing popularity of camera cell-phones gives rise to privacy concerns. The Island Packet, (Hilton Head Island, SC), May 15, 2005. Available at www.ebscohost.com, accessed 31 May 2005.
Rogoff, B. 2002. Cell Phone Companies Fare Poorly in Britain in Recent Months. Sunday Business (United Kingdom), Jun 16, 2002.
Romell, R. 2005. Hanging up the cell phone. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI), May 17, 2005. Available at www.ebscohost.com, accessed 31 May 2005.
