Cell Phones Are Dangerous to Health: An Essay

Are cell phones dangerous to your health? The answer to that question is ‘yes’; cell phones are dangerous because it can cause traffic accidents, germs and eye strain.

The first reason why cell phones are dangerous is because it can cause germs if you don’t wash your hands very often. According to the article ‘Health Risks of Mobile Phones’ states that, “In 2011, researchers from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine at Queen Mary University of London found that 1 in 6 cell phones is contaminated with some sort of fecal matter, probably because their owners didn’t wash their hands with soap after using the toilet. Swabbing a sample of 60 phones were frequently contaminated with methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Staph skin infections, including MRSA, can quickly turn into deep, painful abscesses. The bacteria might remain confined to the skin, or burrower deeper into the body, causing potentially serious life-threatening infections in bones, joints, surgical wounds, the bloodstreams, heart valves and the lungs” (‘Health Risks of Using Mobile Phones’, 2021). If you don’t take care of your phones, you’ll get sick.

The second reason why cell phones are dangerous because it can cause traffic accidents. According to the study, 69% of drivers in the US ages 18-64 reported that they had talked on their cell phone while driving within 30 days before they were surveyed. In Europe, the percentage ranged from 21% in the UK to 59% in Portugal. Activities such as driving takes the drivers attention and hands away from driving more frequently and for longer periods than other distractions, making it dangerous. Younger, inexperienced drivers under the age of 20 may be at a higher risk. They have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes. Pedestrians using cell phones are just as dangerous as drivers using them. A study published in Injury Prevention last year says, “1 in 3 pedestrians is distracted by a mobile device while crossing the busy streets. This type of distraction could lead to accidents that injure the pedestrian or drivers” (‘Health Risks of Using Mobile Phones’, 2021). When driving, sometimes it’s difficult to focus on the road which makes it easy to forget that the roads are shared by everyone and not for your exclusive use. Other drivers on their cell phones take notice of drivers whether or not because of the hazards they create. Erratic driving is something that’ll get us worked up about, especially if it makes us late or else.

The third reason is that cell phones can strain our eyes and cause health problems and emit radiation. “Small text and bright screens can strain mobile users’ eyes. Users’ eyes must constantly refocus and reposition to process the graphics and text on screen. Symptoms include digital eye strain, dry eyes, blurred vision, back and neck pain and headaches” (‘Health Risks of Using Mobile Phones’, 2021). According to another article, ‘Do Cell Phones Pose a Health Hazards?’ states that, “Cell phones emit low levels of radio frequency, a type of non-ionizing radiation”. Another article ‘Electromagnetic Fields and Public Health: Mobile Phones’ states that, “Tissue heating is the principal mechanism of interaction between radiofrequency energy and the human body. Most of the energy is absorbed by skin and other superficial tissues, resulting in negligible temperature rise in the brain or any other organs of the body”. Mobile devices emit a lot of blue light, it reduces contrast and can contribute to digital eye strain. When you are on the phone too much, your eyes will become blurry. It’s going to mess up your eyes and it’s very bad for you. But it can damage your eyes. If you read the screen, your muscles will begin to tighten and you have to constantly have to rest it all the time. It can reduce stress levels and has a possible risk of considerable oxidative stress on the glands and tissues. They have problems in their muscles in different parts of the body. Cell phones emit radiation of the body. For example, standing in front of a microwave, the heat starts to emit in your body and it can make you vomit, nausea and weakness of the body and it’s very dangerous to your health.

In conclusion, cell phones brought on a new age of technology and they make life more convenient in terms of communication. However, the side effects of cell phones and the distractions that they cause many dangerous and unhealthy situations to occur. They can cause traffic accidents, germs, emit radiation and strain your eyes. They can do more harm than good to our health.

Evaluation Essay on Cell Phones

The cell phone is a modern technology that is known as one of the greatest inventions after it was invented in 1973. It actually makes our lives more convenient while some opposite voices claim that individuals, especially young people, are likely to be the puppets of cell phones (Simile) since they are usually addicted to them. Once the phone users start to degrade in their lives, the cell phones become the first thing to be blamed by people, which is the reason causing all of the faults.

Personally, I believe that cell phones have become a scapegoat (Metaphor) that takes responsibility for making mistakes and is used by people to successfully cover the actual reason that causes the faults. Also, it would be annoying for me if someone complained that cell phones should be responsible for their own degradation especially when the main problem occurs on them.

While cell phones are being condemned, myopia is always mentioned as a consequence of using cell phones. It is common to hear a voice from moms shouting out loud angrily: “You are nearsighted because you spend too much time on your cell phones!” It sounds ridiculous to me (Pathos, imagery). According to the article posted on “All About Vision”, people are nearsighted because of genetic inheritance, and overuse of eyes (Ethos, reference to authority) however, cell phones should not be the first ones to take responsibility. Genetic inheritance of myopia, in which infants whose parents are nearsighted are more likely to have the same symptoms as their parents, happens before infants come into this world and it is obvious that cell phones are not able to affect the genes. The eyes are one of the most important parts of the human, and except for sleeping time, we need to use it for approximately 15 hours a day. According to the article posted on CBS News, the research found that 60 percent of interviewees say they spend more than five hours a day on screens including laptops, tablets, and cell phones, while the purpose of working takes up 44 percent of total usage of digital devices (Statistics). Even if I spend five hours on my phone, it takes me another five hours to look at the notes and blackboards in school and at least two hours for homework. Apparently, a normal high school student would spend more time on their study than on cell phones. Moreover, adults would spend more time on their work instead of cell phones. Therefore, cell phones are not the first reason that causes our myopia and it is nonsense to judge cell phones that it is guilty of myopia (Pathos).

Poor academic performance and low work efficiency are usually considered as consequences of spending too much time on cell phones if people degrade after they are found spending time on their phones occasionally. Cell phones for most phone users are like a drug for drug abusers, which makes phone users indulge in it. (Simile) There is no doubt that some phone users are addicted to cell phones, and spend so much time on them, that their academic performance and efficiency would definitely be affected due to insufficient working time. People always try to find whether there is a kind of magic existing in the cell phones that makes it so attractive (Sarcasm), however, the truth is that people are addicted to cell phones since they have the desire to receive the interesting information on their phones. Phone users usually receive different levels of influence from cell phones depending on their controlling desires. If they always dream about interesting things, they are not only addicted to cell phones but also to other devices, Therefore, phone users, especially those who cannot manipulate their desires properly, cause problems of degradation.

Cell phones should not be a scapegoat, instead, it is modern technology that pushes our lives forward. The connection between people became necessary after civilization occurred. Before cell phones were invented, people used to send letters or order messengers to deliver information. After the Battle Of Marathon in 490 BC, the messenger who ran for 42 kilometers to deliver the message that their country had won the battle died because he was exhausted after long-distance running. (Logos, historical allusion) Imagine that, if they had cell phones at that time, it would be much easier to send information and the messenger would not die for delivery. Furthermore, cell phones are able to provide entertainment for people since people can use them for chatting, watching videos, and playing games. It would be wonderful to entertain oneself while people feeling bored on any occasion. The fact is, these two main advantages acquired by cell phones not only provide convenience but also entertain our lives, it is not rational to make it a scapegoat by blaming the cell phones.

After people’s lives become better, everyone starts to have their own desires. Some people love to read and spend a lot of time on fiction; some people like to watch videos and spend a lot of time on television; some people are fond of playing basketball and they spend a lot of time on basketball. (Parallelism) Hobbits are good for people which stimulates them to work harder for the things they love, but it is a trouble if the hobbits become desires. Desires are usually hard to control and when degradation happens, cell phones, television, fiction, and basketball are not supposed to be blamed, instead, people might blame themselves since they lack the ability to control themselves. Here comes a question: “Should people blame their shoes if they don’t run fast enough in the competition?” (Rhetorical question) The answer is clear people who run slower than others because they don’t do enough training and the shoes are innocent.

Cell phones bring significant changes to our lives and we should appreciate it. When degradation happens, phones are not the ones to be blamed, and it is crucial to find the actual causes of degradation and fix it before the situation gets worse (thesis).

Rogerian Argument Research Essay: The Effects of Cellphone Use

Is one of the world’s most profound inventions becoming an issue? In today’s day in age cell phones have played a vital role in the way people communicate with one another. There are multiple ways rise of the cellphone has changed the life of the average person, and research supports that assertion. One way they have an impact on our daily life their increasingly widespread use while driving this poses a danger to almost all of us, one statistic from Adolescent Cellphone Use While Driving: An Overview of the Literature and Promising Future Directions for Prevention worries me is that “texting while driving increases the risk of crashing by at least 3-4 fold.” The increase in use of cellphones has completely reshaped the life of nearly everyone. I have been around to witness the rise of the cellphone, all of the sudden you have a computer and access to the internet in the palm of your hand. I have seen this constant connection wreak havoc on the capacity for social interaction of the average person. People seem to have lost the ability to engage in normal conversation with each other. I find this topic really interesting because we all use our phones seemingly constantly, and I feel as if I have noticed a change in my life since having one. This sparked my interest in finding how they actually influence us.

Sherry Turkle, an author and two-time TED talk show guest, argued a strong case for connecting face to face rather than through a screen. Sherry claimed that we never have to be alone when we our constantly glued to our screens and that we can distribute our attention anywhere at any time. She argues that being connected all the time and never being alone in the end actually leads to us being lonelier. This is due to the fact that we never have time for self-reflection when we are always connected. Constant connection gives the illusion that people are always listening to us and what we say. That is powerful beyond measure, and the withdrawals from this constant connection are significant. When we don’t hang up and hangout, especially at a young age, Sherry claims that due to this we don’t develop face-to-face relationships.

Sherry’s claims are that we have to use technology in daily life, not use technology to better our social life. She agrees that when she gets “I love you” texts from her daughter it feels like she’s really hugging her, but it’s when we allow ourselves to become slaves to the screens, texts, and social media platforms that we begin to see problems. She argues the theory that technology is indeed a very easy and efficient way of communication but we cannot allow it to become our sole way of communicating. Sherry states that human relationships are rich, messy, and demanding and we clean them up with technology. Actual human interaction is not clean and tailored. She claims that in those points of conversation where we stumble or we trip up our words or we mess up that is when we are actually revealing our true selves to each other. This way of constantly cleaning up our interactions sacrifices the experience of being in actual conversation and the inability to control what you are going to say is what the human experience is about.

Sherry makes very compelling points of people losing connection to the real world. Thusly, PLoS One, a peer-reviewed science journal, backs this point up by stating that “high phone dependency individuals have high rates of anxiety, social dysfunction, and insomnia…”(PLoS One 2). This idea of psychological damage is further supported by PhD graduate, Tak Yan Lee, who conducted a research study in Hong Kong about adolescents and their addiction to cell phones. Lee found that “A survey involving 471 Hong Kong youth aged 11-21 years old found that… students use text messaging more often than voice-based communication” which is extremely alarming as it is another example of doctored interactions instead of genuine ones (Lee 435).

Although cell phones have some downsides there is still a significant benefit to having them. One example of which being in Uganda where “[t]ransportation to clinic visits and communication between patients and providers are among the challenges that complicate optimal health care delivery in rural, resource-limited settings” it is a means of communication for the people and having cellular devices assists in bridging the gap in their societal needs (Siedner 1). Cellphones have been instrumental in helping our society become more connected, and they have given us the ability to keep connected with people we otherwise would not have been able to keep in contact with. They are revolutionary, you can find the answer to any question you could ever ask instantly. They give people in developing countries more access to healthcare, which is incredibly important in a fledgling society. One can see it is where this technology is useful but when it is abused for extreme leisure we start to see problems surfacing.

Furthermore, many people claim that they “need” their phones, and although that can be true in case of emergencies, excessive surfing and binging on these cellular devices can be harmful to one’s health. BioPsychoSocial Medicine has conducted research among college students at a university and found that the “phenomenon of access and addiction to the internet and social networks has been developed among students… students can be exposed to abnormal patterns of sleep, lifestyle changes, and poor academic performances” which can affect relationships, your own sanity, and many more factors (Kawyannejad 2). We all know an addiction rarely good, but when this addiction comes to affect how we live as well as who we are it is concerning. If it is affecting your lifestyle, it changes how you view the world This change due to cell phone addiction can be detrimental to the effort of having, maintaining, and forming meaningful relationships in life.

I believe that we need to disconnect from our phones so that we may see what’s really in front of us. Too many people in our generation surf the web in business meetings, during school, at dinner, and basically anywhere that they have access. I am interested in this topic because I believe having all of this social media, this constant connection is contributing to the increase in issues in our society like anxiety, depression, and high levels of stress. This point is cemented by the evidence presented in Association Between Cellphone Use And Depression Among Medical Students In Hamadan, West of Iran. This study pointed out “cellphone overuse had a significant positive correlation with depression” and also the study stated, “cellphone overuse is associated with and increased risk of stress and long-term depression.” I believe we need to bring more awareness to the fact cellphone use and overuse can lead to these adverse effects. I also think we need to shed the stigma around having these issues and provide more support for people who are afflicted with these issues. I think that this constant need to be connected and this newfound ability to shift our attention from thing to thing on a whim as it interest us is creating difficulties in not only your general everyday interaction but it is also creating a wall between us and our emotions. When we are never alone we never reflect upon ourselves or how we live our lives. You very easily can become absorbed into this digital world of endless size, endless content at the press of a button at all times. This endless amount of content can be a form of avoidance for both our emotions and dealing with the real world along with all the difficulties that life presents. I believe one having access knowledge of all human existence you become locked into this cycle without interaction leading to extreme isolation leading to not only social, and physical problems, but also significant mental issues. If you are constantly bombarded with the highlights of the lives of others you begin to think things along the lines of what am I doing wrong, why is their life seemingly perfect and mine is not. You only see the cultivated image people create and you are not shown the hardships that people have and due to this cultivated image you begin to become disillusioned into believing life is actual just all sunshine and rainbows. I believe this a large contributor to the feeling of constantly being lonely like you are the only one in world facing the issues having. Proponents of cell phone usage may say that being connected allows you access to more resources that can be used to help alleviate these issues, while in theory this is true how many people actually use those resources. Compare that user base to the amount of people that use apps such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter all of which are filled with these cultivated profiles of people with “perfect lives.” Others may say it gives you the ability to communicate with others who may be facing similar issues, but the lack of social skills, the increase of anxiety, among other social issues caused by cellphone makes people who are facing issues less likely to ask for help when they need it. Cell phones are a double-edged sword because while they give you the world at your fingertips, at the same time they create significant problems in our society.

Cell phone addiction can also carry over to your driving habits, thus causing danger not only to yourself but also those around you. The Journal of Family & Community Medicine published an article sampling young adults in Saudi Arabia and found that “young people are likely to have their mobile phones with them when driving, and 85% of them use them” and distracted driving has become an even more prevalent issue with the advent of cellphones (Al-Jassar 2). The number of teens who die every year in vehicular accidents can be directly correlated to the widespread adoption and use of cellphones in recent times.

The evidence presented has shown that cellphones are both a blessing and a curse. Cell phones are extremely useful and convenient for things such emergencies, base communication, and as tools for access to information. At the same time, using them can lead to effects such as sleep deprivation, mental health problems, a lack of social skills, and many other negative consequences that can negatively impact your life. A discussion of both the negative and positive effects of cellphone use can allow all of us to use them more efficiently while at the same time bringing more awareness to how they can be detrimental to both the individual and society.

Works Cited

  1. Delgado, M. Kit, et al. “Adolescent Cellphone Use While Driving: An Overview of the Literature and Promising Future Directions for Prevention.” Gale In Context Database, Title, 22 Aug. 2000, kidd.blinn.edu:4414/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=Journals&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosition=4&docId=GALE%7CA459001258&docType=Abstract&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=ZXAY-MOD1&prodId=OVIC&contentSet=GALE%7CA459001258&searchId=R6&userGroupName=txshracd2489&inPS=true.
  2. Al-Jasser, Fahad S., et al. “Mobile Phone Use While Driving and the Risk of Collision: A Study among Preparatory Year Students at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.” Journal of Family & Community Medicine, vol. 25, no. 2, May 2018, pp. 102–107. EBSCOhost, doi:10.4103/jfcm.JFCM_139_17.
  3. Kawyannejad, Rasool, et al. “General Health of Students of Medical Sciences and Its Relation to Sleep Quality, Cell Phone Overuse, Social Networks and Internet Addiction.” BioPsychoSocial Medicine, vol. 13, no. 1, May 2019, p. N.PAG. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1186/s13030-019-0150-7.
  4. Markowitz, David M., et al. “Psychological and Physiological Effects of Applying Self-Control to the Mobile Phone.” PLoS ONE, 2019. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0224464.
  5. Preety, R., et al. “Sleep Deprivation and Cell Phone Usage among Teenagers.” Drug Invention Today, vol. 10, no. 10, Oct. 2018, pp. 2073–2075. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=131602202&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
  6. Siedner, Mark J., et al. “High Acceptability for Cell Phone Text Messages to Improve Communication of Laboratory Results with HIV-Infected Patients in Rural Uganda: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study.” BMC Medical Informatics & Decision Making, vol. 12, no. 1, Jan. 2012, pp. 56–62. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1186/1472-6947-12-56.
  7. Tak Yan Lee, and Diego Busiol. “A Review of Research on Phone Addiction amongst Children and Adolescents in Hong Kong.” International Journal of Child & Adolescent Health 9, no. 4 (October 2016): 433–42. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=120830556&site=eds-live.
  8. Barati, et al. “Association Between Cellphone Overuse and Depression Among Medical College Students in Hamadan, West of Iran.” Avicenna Journal of Neuro Psycho Physiology, Avicenna Journal of Neuro Psycho Physiology, 10 Nov. 2016, ajnpp.umsha.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-2-60&slc_lang=en&sid=1.

Why Cell Phones Should Not Be Allowed in School

Introduction

In this essay, I am going to discuss why cell phones should not be allowed in schools, and how banning cell phones in schools will benefit us in many ways.

Students, according to this new rule, will be required to switch off their phones and store them securely in lockers from the start of the school day until the final bell. When emergencies occur, parents or guardians can reach their child by calling the school. Cell phones will be banned for all students at Victorian state primary and secondary schools from Term 1 2020, to help reduce distraction, tackle cyber bullying and improve learning outcomes for students.

One reason for the restrictions is due to the fact that cell phones are often a major source of cyberbullying. This problem is serious to the point that Headspace estimates that at least 53% of teens have been cyberbullied at some point during their school years. In addition, to address this problem, which infects so many young people, the Labor Party has invested $51.2 million to ensure that every public high school has a medical practitioner to help address any mental health issues students experience during their school years, and also another $65.5 million in student health and well-being.

With cell phones being less distracting during school hours, it will also allow students to focus more on their studies and improve their grades. The Minister of Education said: “This will remove a major distraction from classrooms, so that the teachers are able to teach, and students are able to learn in a more focused, supportive and positive environment”. Students have shown to increase their test results by 6% since they have been more concentrated in class without their phones.

Also, I think that the government, by making this change in Australian secondary schools, is also helping children in terms of reducing the amount of time they spend in front of a screen per day. If children spend a lot of time in front of a screen a day, it may cause them to develop diseases caused by the blue light filter over time, which may also affect students’ sleep. Since the maximum amount of screen time for teens these days should be at least 2 hours, introducing this new rule will be very beneficial and will obviously reduce screen time.

Conclusion

Overall, I believe that there are more advantages than disadvantages in banning cell phones in schools, so it will be better for children and the entire educational process if cell phones are not allowed in schools.

Cell Phones Should be Allowed in School: Argumentative Essay

Introduction

A cell phone is an electronic device. The device has many uses including social networking, gaming, productivity and entertainment. Cell phones should not be banned for students, especially in 10th, 11th and 12th grades, because they can be used for school work and are a cheaper alternative for laptops. Banning cell phones for students will not stop them using them.

One of the many reasons why cell phones should not be banned for students is because they can be used for school work. Cell phones have the ability to download apps that can be used in everyday schooling such as a calculator, dictionary, maps, novels, etc. By the time students are in 10th, 11th and 12th grades, they would have their futures to think about and would gain a sense of maturity that they did not have in their younger years. With this sense of maturity, they are most likely to stay on task and do their work. A cell phone has many utilities that would help students with their work as well as make it is easier for them. Cell phones are also a cheaper alternative for laptops. In the modern society, students will often need an electronic device. Many schools in Australia provide laptops. However, some children go to schools that can’t afford this luxury. Cell phones would be a great alternative as they are cheaper than laptops. Students in 10th, 11th and 12th grades need to have some sort of electrical device to assist with their studies and not being to afford a laptop should not be a barrier. Instead of paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars students would be able to pay the minimum for the same uses as a laptop.

Moreover, banning cell phones will not stop students from students from using them. Banning cell phones will only cause the students to rebel. If students are not allowed to have their phones with them it may cause them to use them without the teacher’s consent. This may include the use of their phone under the table. This will not help with the work but it is most likely going to distract not only the student using the phone but others around. Whereas if students are allowed to have their phones it will decrease the chance of the students rebelling and their cell phones will be used for productive school work.

Some may argue, if cell phones were allowed in class they would be distracted. This may be true, but cell phones are just as distracting as laptops would be. Many laptops have the same features as a cell phone, so there wouldn’t be any reason why laptops are a better solution in the sense of distraction.

Conclusion

In conclusion, cell phones should be allowed in school, especially for students in grades 10, 11 and 12, because they can be used for school work and are a cheaper alternative for laptops. Banning cell phones for students will not stop them using them.

Cell Phones Are a Distraction in Elementary School: An Essay

Technology is everywhere nowadays and the most common type is in a phone. They are one of the things that people rely on a daily basis. Sometimes, you see young kids, elementary kids holding a phone in their hand, even a kid that doesn’t even know how to walk. Young kids are using a phone not to pay attention to their daily life or school work, but rather using them for distraction. Many believe that this is helping young kids, by teaching them, and helping them with their homework, but I believe this is distracting them, not being prepared for exams, and causing them to be antisocial.

Cell phones are everywhere, even with elementary kids, who use phones as a toy than using them as a tool. Cell phones are a really big distraction for elementary students and only focusing them on their phone rather than schoolwork. “But for all the technological advancement and accessibility of cell phones, these devices can also cause numerous distractions to learning that could be just as detrimental to elementary school students (if not more) than to middle- and high-school students” (Kajeet). According to the article, these devices are causing many distractions to student’s learning abilities, and them not being able to learn right. When elementary students have a cell phone, it makes everything else, such as school not important, but they make their phone their priority. Phones are one of the biggest factors that are affecting elementary students wanting to pay attention during class. Phones affect not only their ability to learn, but also the results of tests and exams.

Exams are a very important element in school, and it requires you to study and pay attention during class. To be prepared for exams, you need to know how to do the lesson that is being taught, but may be distracted by a phone. This results in children failing to pay attention in class, missing out on important lessons, and consequently, being clueless about studies and examinations (Mahak Arora). According to the article, many students are being distracted, and many not knowing the exam dates. When students enter the classroom, they think there is no exam, nor prepared for one, but end up having to take an exam they were not prepared for. This is caused by the use of phones, and causing them to miss out on important lessons, that are on the exams. Cell phones are not only distracting students from exams, and them not being able to do well, but they are also causing students to be antisocial.

Others may argue that elementary students with phones are necessary to have. However, phones are helpful in some ways, but also a huge distraction to students and are failing them in school. Phone are causing students to not pay attention, always stuck to their phone, and them being unprepared for exams. “This erratic activity can cause changes in mood patterns and behavioral tendencies, and children may have trouble learning new things or focusing properly” (Mahak). This is an example of how primary school students’ use of the phone affects them in different ways. Cell phones are a dangerous tool for elementary students and changing their moods, their thinking, or having them focus on what is actually more important. Students with phones aren’t allowing them to get the full experience of schooling and allowing them to do good. Phones are a huge distraction to students schooling experience, and making them antisocial.

Elementary students having phones is a big step into letting them see everything on the Internet, and much more. Cell phones are creating people to think less on their own and instead relying on a phone much more. Phone are sometimes helpful, but also cause students to be distracted, not being prepared for exams, and them being antisocial. These devices are only making it worse for elementary kids, not helping them. Students need to rather focus on important factors, such as schoolwork, rather than a plastic filled tech that is distracting them.

Essay About Bringing Mobile Phone to School by Kids

A mobile phone is a portable device that is used as a tool of communication between people over a long distance. It allows people to make calls and send text messages. Nowadays, mobile phones are being used not only by adults but even the kids now are most likely having them. This leads some of the kids are heading off to the school while bringing their mobile phones along which creates an issue whether should or should not the kids bring along their mobile phones during school hours. As for my opinion, I do not think that the kids needed to bring along their mobile phones to the school.

The first reason for my opinion is mainly because the class hour may be disrupted. Not only the students who bring their mobile phones, but the other students might also be distracted when the phone going off during the class hour. Furthermore, when the teachers who are giving lectures noticed some students playing with the mobile phones, he or she might be losing their focus because they have to stop the lecture for a while to stop them doing that.

The second reason is when the students bring along their mobile phones to the school, their performances in class might be going down and they will be getting bad grades in the upcoming test. This is because they did not pay much attention to the teacher in the class during the class hour. Most of them keep being tempted to playing with their phones and slowly losing their focus on what has been said by the teacher. So, they cannot give their full performances during the tests.

The last reason is the students might spread bad behavior among the students. This is because some of the students are being disrespectful towards their teachers. After all, they keep texting or may also take a call during class hours. It is so rude not only towards the teachers but also the others student who are giving their full attention towards lectures. Furthermore, the students might also get into a fight because of the mobile phones. For example, if there is a case when a student losing their mobile phone, he or she might accuse other students of stealing theirs and get into a fight among them. This might lead the school and also their parents into a difficult situation.

From all of these reasons, it is proved that students should not bring along their mobile phones to the schools. Despite some of the students using an excuse which is their difficulty to contact their parents, they can also use another alternative by asking the teacher to use their mobile phones or the school’s phone to contact their parents. There are more negative influences than positive towards the students when bringing their mobile phones to the school.

Can Cell Phones Be Educational Tools? Essay

Learning can be done in several different ways, methods, and procedures. As what Marvin Minsky, an American computer scientist concerned with research of artificial intelligence, “You don’t understand anything until you learn in more than one way”.

We are now in the 21st century a modern world full of vast technologies to provide wider platforms, and tools. Moreover, what is mobile phones? It is a cellular radio system without any physical connection or wiring that can be used to connect to other people far away from them in just a tap. Cell phones are now developing, the old models are re-invented to create more opportunity, and quicker ways. However, what is the connection of cell phones in learning?

People often see mobile phones as an entertainment, but not a formal usage for educational purposes because it can only lead to distraction. But this statement is so old from the modern situation.

Here are the reasons of this statement, according to 2019 Oxford Learning Research and Studies:

1) Educational learning apps, can help the students be more responsible and at the same time interested that can help them to be on top of their school works, improve study habits, and organizational skills.

2) Digital platforms in lessons, by using this technique students will be hook and give more opportunities to the students who are not comfortable speaking in front of the class, and to do a better and quicker ways to do interaction with tons of class works.

3) Easy access for more information, mobile phones can open up hundreds of information that a student needs to understand and gain more knowledge about a certain lesson or topic without bombarding the teacher with loads of questions repeatedly.

In addition, as seen in these studies, and as stated by Becton Loveless, cell phones will help students complete different tasks at the same time without creating much noise and movement because they are focused on their tasks.

Teachers can benefit from using cell phones as teaching tools, which can help them interact more effectively with their students, especially those students who pay more attention to their mobile phone. For example, by providing a presentation, video, and photos to capture the attention of students.

It can be said that cell phones are harmful and will have a negative impact, however it is a fact that cell phones help students in more ways than just the same traditional ways. People need to change or improve their thinking, especially when it comes to education and learning. We need to accept more changes so that mobile phones are used as learning tools. Teaching should cover more than one method and it is a flexible effort to gain knowledge and explore what students have to give and challenge.

Should Students Be Allowed to Use Cellphones in School Essay

Introduction to Cellphone Usage in Schools

Technologies of Information and Communication have produced important changes in almost all aspects of modern life, and education, of course, is also under pressure to take advantage of innovative resources and to prepare talent with technological capabilities for the future. It implies the introduction of changes in the learning environment and methods of teaching and learning, however, technological gadgets and especially mobile phones could generate distractions and lack of concentration in students, which could produce an underperformance of participants in academic activities. Allowing or establishing restrictions on the use of cellphones in the classroom seems to be a controversial decision that must be addressed after the assessment of potential advantages and disadvantages of establishing restrictions on a device that is nowadays an indispensable part of the life of most people more specifically for millennials and the new generations of young people always connected and completely embodied into the digital society. The assessment of the notions regarding this idea may help to adopt the best practices to obtain a good result in the classroom, fostering the engagement of students and taking advantage of resources available over mobile platforms. Allowing the use of cell phones in class is not harmful because it validates learning between teachers and students, encourages learning engagement, and promotes the development of asynchronous learning. Initially, owning a phone was just a desire that young people who were still in school had to deal with. To parents, children did not need a phone, especially while still in school thus young people were left to wishing they owned one. However, times have changed, and having a phone right now is necessary, not just any phone but a smartphone.

Evolution of Cellphone Perception and Accessibility

Many institutions were against the use of mobile phones in schools but as times changed, schools started allowing students to carry mobile phones but on the condition they do not use them in class. With the advancement of technology and institutions digitalizing their resources like access to online library books, students needed to shift from owning just a phone to owning a smartphone. My parents were not easy on me because despite the other students being allowed to have phones, they did not buy one for me saying I had to clear school first. My school had adopted the use of technology in almost all its activities thus the students who owned phones had it easy. I remember this one time when the teacher allowed students to use their phones in class to access a book that was needed for that period. Everyone got out their phones and quickly accessed the book. I was left there perplexed because I did not have a phone and I was the laughing stock of the class that entire week. I had to use the help of my class teacher to convince my parent to get me a phone. That was back in 2012. Even if the teacher helped me convince my parents, it was not easy still. They were convinced that having a phone can affect my performance in school. My parents were not the only ones who had this perception, a few other parents in the school believed that students should not have a phone, let alone use it in school. This paper discusses why a phone is now a necessity and not just a desire among young people attending school.

Debate on Cellphone Distractions and Academic Impact

Beyond the instructional purposes in the use of cellphones in classrooms, some valid reasons are also exposed in the controversial debate regarding allowing or banning its use in education centers. The massive utilization of cell phones in higher education centers was documented by Tindell & Bohlander (2012) revealing that more than 95% of students take their cellphone to classes and 92% used it to text even during classes. It is important to note that burns and Lohenry (2010, cited by Tindell & Bolhander, 2012) found that by 2010, 40% of students declared to interact with their cellphone during class, causing a distraction for about 85% of students. This would constitute a clear negative incidence in the appropriateness of the learning environment in classrooms and is a potential source of academic dishonest behavior by students. The growing use of social networks and the habits of cellphone use by young people, consequently increase the chances of these incidences in recent years. Regarding the impact that the use of cellphones may be causing in the learning environment, Campbell (2006, cited by Tindell & Bolhander, 2012) found that despite that most students are unaware of the interference of using cell phones during class with the learning process, the ringing of a phone during class or the time spending texting, reduce the ability of students to focus on classes, creating a negative learning environment. The notion of the use of cell phones in the classroom as an impediment to effective student learning is associated with the use for non-academic purposes of the ability of such devices to connect to the internet. Although many students use helpful tools in class such as dictionaries, calculators, cameras, and web searchers. It is also known that smartphones are more commonly used to connect with social networks, texting, and searching information non-related to classes (Synnott, 2015). The author found that the underlying belief in students is supposedly their ability for multitasking behavior, being able to participate consciously in the learning process, and respond to different interactions through their smartphones, however, the evidence documented by the author suggests that this multitasking ability is commonly overestimated by students, which get lower grades due to the interference that the use of their smartphones creates during the learning process. Frequent texting, surfing on the web, visiting social networks, and leaving the classroom to take incoming calls are some identified compulsive behaviors where students focus their attention (Synnott, 2015). The common use of earbuds to listening music establishes also a barrier to effective communication with instructors in the classroom. Furthermore, students surveyed declared that the restriction on the use of cell phones in school would help to increase the overall academic performance of the classes by reducing distractions (Tindell & Bohlander, 2012)(Synnott, 2015)

Integrating Cellphones for Enhanced Learning

The reality, however, is that students take their cellphones as an indispensable part of their lives and it is very difficult that this rooted behavior may change inside the school, therefore they should be used to validate and facilitate learning rather than work against it. The hidden use of cellphones and a creative set of rules that restrict the use of such devices during classes are time-consuming and frustrating dispositions for students. Using these notions as underlying assumptions, the challenge of the academy is to develop mechanisms to integrate cell phones into the learning process to help validate learning. (Scornavacca, Huff, & Marshall, 2009) Several studies have demonstrated the potential that the adoption of mobile cell phones in the classroom may provide a learning resource growingly available (Engel & Green, 2011). The experience referred by Engel and Green consisted in the use of cellphones primarily as a response system, as a research tool, and as a tool for collecting evidence of students’ work by using photography and audio-recording capabilities of mobile phones.

The use of cell phones, a habit initially seen as resource-oriented to wealthy people and business executives, rapidly turned into a massive phenomenon. Several years ago, before the explosion of smartphones, easily downloadable content and social networks, the dilemma of accepting or refusing the use of cellphones in the classroom could be solved by proposing solutions to link the advantages of mobile phones as an instrument of communication, with the needs of the learning process. In this sense, the use of cellphones as virtual clickers was also tested in different real experiences with the purpose of improving the communication and interaction between learners and teachers. By using initially SMSs and latterly mobile apps, students may validate their learning, incorporating even the possibility of providing anonymous feedback to teachers. For teachers, it increases the possibility of follow-up for those students that have not validated the progress with the explanation received.

Benefits of Cellphone Usage in Classroom Engagement

The convenience of accepting the use of cell phones in the classroom has been associated with an increase in engagement in students of different ages. According to Gaer (2011) the use of cellphones in Intermediate-High ESL in high school education for adults, provided positive results in the learning process as these devices were incorporated as a learning resource, fostering the incorporation of some technological features into the common life of students such as Google Voice and the use of mobiles as mechanisms of interaction by using Audience Response Systems (ARS) (Gaer, 2011) As in the case mentioned above, the use of SMSs of any other form of interaction and feedback with teachers, allow the anonymity, encouraging to everybody to participate in the discussion and enable taking the classroom out of the physic limits of the school. A successful experience is also documented by Grant et al (2015) who argue that the potential for the utilization of mobile communication devices in the classroom is substantial. The use of these devices in K-12 classrooms validated some assumptions of the author regarding the Increase in the engagement of learners. The permanent connectivity allows for learners to communicate with classmates and instructors and access relevant content regardless of their location.

Some other advantages observed are that It promotes collaborative learning, as the use of MCDs increases the opportunities to discuss, collaborate, and interchange opinions. Finally, it fosters dynamic learning as learners create multimedia content (audio, video, text) blogs and microblogs, photography, social media posts, and SMSs to communicate with classmates and instructors. Despite the massive adoption of cellphones in the daily lives of almost everyone, the use of these mobile devices in school has been rather slow (Grant, et al., 2015) primarily because at the moment in which the article was written, many schools kept policies that banned the use of these devices in the school. The nature of such measures is based on the potential problems perceived by school authorities, associated with the use of cellphones during the learning process. The promotion of cellphones-based programs faces limitations regarding the cost of devices and services plans for schools, whereas the use of personal devices is commonly restricted due to the impossibility of schools to control, monitor, and filter contents in order to protect students (Grant, et al., 2015).

The potential of cellphone-based learning resources goes far beyond the physical limits of the school. Besides the possibility to create interactive and dynamic classes leveraged by the abundance of possibilities available by mobile communication devices, there’s a promissory field of research in the development of asynchronous learning (Chang, 2010), a resource widely used in distance learning programs. Asynchronous learning allows students to access relevant educational resources in different moments than instructors and peers, enabling the adjustment of study habits according to their own needs. Unlike chats and other synchronous resources, asynchronous learning is ideal even for courses with a reduced number of students, a case that poses more difficulty to coordinate activities.

On the other hand, the use of cellphone-based-learning activities has also been successfully used in large classes, as it enables the participation, discussion, and general interaction of students through their mobile devices. A great consensus around the overwhelming benefits of embracing the use of cell phones as a learning resource and many successful experiences have already been documented. (Pilgrim, Bledsoe, & Reily, 2012)Though there are visible benefits to the adoption of mobile devices in classrooms, the core of the discussion refers back to the debate on the potential interferences that cellphones could produce in the learning environment. However, the very same concept of the appropriateness of learning environments must be assessed according to the new reality. In this sense, today’s (and tomorrow’s) learning spaces are fully networked areas, in which students and teachers use all technological gadgets available for their specific purposes.

Challenges and Considerations for Inclusive Cellphone Policies

In conclusion, a general consensus can be found that supports the idea of allowing the use of cellphones in schools as a natural and unavoidable part of the learning process which validates learning and teaching, increases engagement, and promotes learning inside and outside of the classroom. By setting rules and policies regarding acceptable and unacceptable use of cellphones in learning spaces, by promoting a challenging environment and useful and attractive content accessible through cellphones and mobile devices in general, it is possible to take full advantage of what advances in technologies offer to generations that are today and will be tomorrow in the classroom. A pending issue remains regarding the adoption of cellphones as learning resources which is the exclusion that this element can represent for some students. Despite the that the availability of cellphones is almost universal, today it is possible to find people that do not have a cellphone of their own or that have an old technology with limited capabilities. Taking into account this reality must constitute a guideline when it comes to developing content, applications, and academic requirements. The development of policies that allow filling that gap is an important part of the design of education policies. This topic, as well as the infrastructure of telecommunications, especially in rural areas remains a major challenge in developing countries. Nonetheless incorporating cellphones is not harmful to the classroom learning environment if it is cultivated properly and centered around interactive learning and teaching experience. There is no doubt that owning a smartphone is part and parcel of my and other students’ lives because it is a necessity and when parents accepted this point, they saw too from my point of view that young people need smartphones to operate.

Rogerian Argument Research Essay: The Effects of Cellphone Use

Is one of the world’s most profound inventions becoming an issue? In today’s day in age cell phones have played a vital role in the way people communicate with one another. There are multiple ways rise of the cellphone has changed the life of the average person, and research supports that assertion. One way they have an impact on our daily life their increasingly widespread use while driving this poses a danger to almost all of us, one statistic from Adolescent Cellphone Use While Driving: An Overview of the Literature and Promising Future Directions for Prevention worries me is that “texting while driving increases the risk of crashing by at least 3-4 fold.” The increase in use of cellphones has completely reshaped the life of nearly everyone. I have been around to witness the rise of the cellphone, all of the sudden you have a computer and access to the internet in the palm of your hand. I have seen this constant connection wreak havoc on the capacity for social interaction of the average person. People seem to have lost the ability to engage in normal conversation with each other. I find this topic really interesting because we all use our phones seemingly constantly, and I feel as if I have noticed a change in my life since having one. This sparked my interest in finding how they actually influence us.

Sherry Turkle, an author and two-time TED talk show guest, argued a strong case for connecting face to face rather than through a screen. Sherry claimed that we never have to be alone when we our constantly glued to our screens and that we can distribute our attention anywhere at any time. She argues that being connected all the time and never being alone in the end actually leads to us being lonelier. This is due to the fact that we never have time for self-reflection when we are always connected. Constant connection gives the illusion that people are always listening to us and what we say. That is powerful beyond measure, and the withdrawals from this constant connection are significant. When we don’t hang up and hangout, especially at a young age, Sherry claims that due to this we don’t develop face-to-face relationships.

Sherry’s claims are that we have to use technology in daily life, not use technology to better our social life. She agrees that when she gets “I love you” texts from her daughter it feels like she’s really hugging her, but it’s when we allow ourselves to become slaves to the screens, texts, and social media platforms that we begin to see problems. She argues the theory that technology is indeed a very easy and efficient way of communication but we cannot allow it to become our sole way of communicating. Sherry states that human relationships are rich, messy, and demanding and we clean them up with technology. Actual human interaction is not clean and tailored. She claims that in those points of conversation where we stumble or we trip up our words or we mess up that is when we are actually revealing our true selves to each other. This way of constantly cleaning up our interactions sacrifices the experience of being in actual conversation and the inability to control what you are going to say is what the human experience is about.

Sherry makes very compelling points of people losing connection to the real world. Thusly, PLoS One, a peer-reviewed science journal, backs this point up by stating that “high phone dependency individuals have high rates of anxiety, social dysfunction, and insomnia…”(PLoS One 2). This idea of psychological damage is further supported by PhD graduate, Tak Yan Lee, who conducted a research study in Hong Kong about adolescents and their addiction to cell phones. Lee found that “A survey involving 471 Hong Kong youth aged 11-21 years old found that… students use text messaging more often than voice-based communication” which is extremely alarming as it is another example of doctored interactions instead of genuine ones (Lee 435).

Although cell phones have some downsides there is still a significant benefit to having them. One example of which being in Uganda where “[t]ransportation to clinic visits and communication between patients and providers are among the challenges that complicate optimal health care delivery in rural, resource-limited settings” it is a means of communication for the people and having cellular devices assists in bridging the gap in their societal needs (Siedner 1). Cellphones have been instrumental in helping our society become more connected, and they have given us the ability to keep connected with people we otherwise would not have been able to keep in contact with. They are revolutionary, you can find the answer to any question you could ever ask instantly. They give people in developing countries more access to healthcare, which is incredibly important in a fledgling society. One can see it is where this technology is useful but when it is abused for extreme leisure we start to see problems surfacing.

Furthermore, many people claim that they “need” their phones, and although that can be true in case of emergencies, excessive surfing and binging on these cellular devices can be harmful to one’s health. BioPsychoSocial Medicine has conducted research among college students at a university and found that the “phenomenon of access and addiction to the internet and social networks has been developed among students… students can be exposed to abnormal patterns of sleep, lifestyle changes, and poor academic performances” which can affect relationships, your own sanity, and many more factors (Kawyannejad 2). We all know an addiction rarely good, but when this addiction comes to affect how we live as well as who we are it is concerning. If it is affecting your lifestyle, it changes how you view the world This change due to cell phone addiction can be detrimental to the effort of having, maintaining, and forming meaningful relationships in life.

I believe that we need to disconnect from our phones so that we may see what’s really in front of us. Too many people in our generation surf the web in business meetings, during school, at dinner, and basically anywhere that they have access. I am interested in this topic because I believe having all of this social media, this constant connection is contributing to the increase in issues in our society like anxiety, depression, and high levels of stress. This point is cemented by the evidence presented in Association Between Cellphone Use And Depression Among Medical Students In Hamadan, West of Iran. This study pointed out “cellphone overuse had a significant positive correlation with depression” and also the study stated, “cellphone overuse is associated with and increased risk of stress and long-term depression.” I believe we need to bring more awareness to the fact cellphone use and overuse can lead to these adverse effects. I also think we need to shed the stigma around having these issues and provide more support for people who are afflicted with these issues. I think that this constant need to be connected and this newfound ability to shift our attention from thing to thing on a whim as it interest us is creating difficulties in not only your general everyday interaction but it is also creating a wall between us and our emotions. When we are never alone we never reflect upon ourselves or how we live our lives. You very easily can become absorbed into this digital world of endless size, endless content at the press of a button at all times. This endless amount of content can be a form of avoidance for both our emotions and dealing with the real world along with all the difficulties that life presents. I believe one having access knowledge of all human existence you become locked into this cycle without interaction leading to extreme isolation leading to not only social, and physical problems, but also significant mental issues. If you are constantly bombarded with the highlights of the lives of others you begin to think things along the lines of what am I doing wrong, why is their life seemingly perfect and mine is not. You only see the cultivated image people create and you are not shown the hardships that people have and due to this cultivated image you begin to become disillusioned into believing life is actual just all sunshine and rainbows. I believe this a large contributor to the feeling of constantly being lonely like you are the only one in world facing the issues having. Proponents of cell phone usage may say that being connected allows you access to more resources that can be used to help alleviate these issues, while in theory this is true how many people actually use those resources. Compare that user base to the amount of people that use apps such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter all of which are filled with these cultivated profiles of people with “perfect lives.” Others may say it gives you the ability to communicate with others who may be facing similar issues, but the lack of social skills, the increase of anxiety, among other social issues caused by cellphone makes people who are facing issues less likely to ask for help when they need it. Cell phones are a double-edged sword because while they give you the world at your fingertips, at the same time they create significant problems in our society.

Cell phone addiction can also carry over to your driving habits, thus causing danger not only to yourself but also those around you. The Journal of Family & Community Medicine published an article sampling young adults in Saudi Arabia and found that “young people are likely to have their mobile phones with them when driving, and 85% of them use them” and distracted driving has become an even more prevalent issue with the advent of cellphones (Al-Jassar 2). The number of teens who die every year in vehicular accidents can be directly correlated to the widespread adoption and use of cellphones in recent times.

The evidence presented has shown that cellphones are both a blessing and a curse. Cell phones are extremely useful and convenient for things such emergencies, base communication, and as tools for access to information. At the same time, using them can lead to effects such as sleep deprivation, mental health problems, a lack of social skills, and many other negative consequences that can negatively impact your life. A discussion of both the negative and positive effects of cellphone use can allow all of us to use them more efficiently while at the same time bringing more awareness to how they can be detrimental to both the individual and society.

Works Cited

  1. Delgado, M. Kit, et al. “Adolescent Cellphone Use While Driving: An Overview of the Literature and Promising Future Directions for Prevention.” Gale In Context Database, Title, 22 Aug. 2000, kidd.blinn.edu:4414/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=Journals&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosition=4&docId=GALE%7CA459001258&docType=Abstract&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=ZXAY-MOD1&prodId=OVIC&contentSet=GALE%7CA459001258&searchId=R6&userGroupName=txshracd2489&inPS=true.
  2. Al-Jasser, Fahad S., et al. “Mobile Phone Use While Driving and the Risk of Collision: A Study among Preparatory Year Students at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.” Journal of Family & Community Medicine, vol. 25, no. 2, May 2018, pp. 102–107. EBSCOhost, doi:10.4103/jfcm.JFCM_139_17.
  3. Kawyannejad, Rasool, et al. “General Health of Students of Medical Sciences and Its Relation to Sleep Quality, Cell Phone Overuse, Social Networks and Internet Addiction.” BioPsychoSocial Medicine, vol. 13, no. 1, May 2019, p. N.PAG. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1186/s13030-019-0150-7.
  4. Markowitz, David M., et al. “Psychological and Physiological Effects of Applying Self-Control to the Mobile Phone.” PLoS ONE, 2019. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0224464.
  5. Preety, R., et al. “Sleep Deprivation and Cell Phone Usage among Teenagers.” Drug Invention Today, vol. 10, no. 10, Oct. 2018, pp. 2073–2075. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=131602202&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
  6. Siedner, Mark J., et al. “High Acceptability for Cell Phone Text Messages to Improve Communication of Laboratory Results with HIV-Infected Patients in Rural Uganda: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study.” BMC Medical Informatics & Decision Making, vol. 12, no. 1, Jan. 2012, pp. 56–62. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1186/1472-6947-12-56.
  7. Tak Yan Lee, and Diego Busiol. “A Review of Research on Phone Addiction amongst Children and Adolescents in Hong Kong.” International Journal of Child & Adolescent Health 9, no. 4 (October 2016): 433–42. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=120830556&site=eds-live.
  8. Barati, et al. “Association Between Cellphone Overuse and Depression Among Medical College Students in Hamadan, West of Iran.” Avicenna Journal of Neuro Psycho Physiology, Avicenna Journal of Neuro Psycho Physiology, 10 Nov. 2016, ajnpp.umsha.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-2-60&slc_lang=en&sid=1.