Cell Phones and Our Society
charles angle
Writing Comprehension 107
11/29/12
ann smith
The Cell Phone and Smartphone Generation In most cases, the cell phone has become the first thing grasped in the morning, and the last thing read before you go to bed. The Cell phone has grown throughout our society in drastic numbers as generations continue to progress and develop new tools and features in each generation. The overwhelming amount of technology beginning to enter our society is starting to bring up questions and concerns involving face to face contact within communication. Are smartphones and cell phones impacting negatively on family, business, and relationships? In April of 1973 the first portable cell phone call was made by Dr. Martin Cooper. It weighed 2.5 pounds and was 9 x 5 x 1.75 inches and was a luxury possession. The talk time was 35 minutes and its recharge time was 10 hours. In 1982 the first cellular network was approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Following improvements in the 2nd and 3rd generation cell phones, they soon became no longer a luxury. In 2000, the SMS (short message service) was created which began a decade of a technology obsessed population. The smartphone was soon introduced and it created a world of communicating opportunities. Smartphones give the human access to the mobile web, email, GPS navigation, text messages (sms), phone calls, music, social networking, and small computer programs known as apps. This gives the consumer the ability to basically do anything imaginable with their updated technological devices. 50% of U.S cell phone users have smartphones (Nielson, 2012). Of those cell phone users, 75% of Americans under the age of 43 own a smartphone (Leggatt, 2012). The numbers are rising drastically for the ownership of smartphones projecting that by 2013, 3 in 5 consumers will own a smartphone (eMarketer, 2012). According to Nancy Gibbs, a Time writer, in her article, “Your life is Fully mobile”, these phones such as
Writing Comprehension 107
11/29/12
ann smith
The Cell Phone and Smartphone Generation In most cases, the cell phone has become the first thing grasped in the morning, and the last thing read before you go to bed. The Cell phone has grown throughout our society in drastic numbers as generations continue to progress and develop new tools and features in each generation. The overwhelming amount of technology beginning to enter our society is starting to bring up questions and concerns involving face to face contact within communication. Are smartphones and cell phones impacting negatively on family, business, and relationships? In April of 1973 the first portable cell phone call was made by Dr. Martin Cooper. It weighed 2.5 pounds and was 9 x 5 x 1.75 inches and was a luxury possession. The talk time was 35 minutes and its recharge time was 10 hours. In 1982 the first cellular network was approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Following improvements in the 2nd and 3rd generation cell phones, they soon became no longer a luxury. In 2000, the SMS (short message service) was created which began a decade of a technology obsessed population. The smartphone was soon introduced and it created a world of communicating opportunities. Smartphones give the human access to the mobile web, email, GPS navigation, text messages (sms), phone calls, music, social networking, and small computer programs known as apps. This gives the consumer the ability to basically do anything imaginable with their updated technological devices. 50% of U.S cell phone users have smartphones (Nielson, 2012). Of those cell phone users, 75% of Americans under the age of 43 own a smartphone (Leggatt, 2012). The numbers are rising drastically for the ownership of smartphones projecting that by 2013, 3 in 5 consumers will own a smartphone (eMarketer, 2012). According to Nancy Gibbs, a Time writer, in her article, “Your life is Fully mobile”, these phones such as