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Introduction
Mobile phone use has become a global phenomenon among the youth. What used to be a technological tool has turned into a popular social tool and a form of electronic communication that many youth in various walks of life have used in institutions of learning, in family relationships and even among themselves. This essay will examine the negative effects of mobile phones on social interactions and personal well being.
Impact of mobile phones in the society
To begin with, inasmuch as the mobile phone has become a favorite method of communication among many youth, it is important to note that it has impacted negatively in their social life. Some of the issues that this technology has brought up include cyber bullying, ostracism and breaking up of relationships (Campbell 740).
These emotionally distressing issues are common among youth today and according to some sociologists, young people find it difficult to talk about their emotional distress and would rather text. This too plays a role in affecting their relationship with each other as it impacts on their capacity to interact.
To highlight on cyber bullying, it is a way of harming others that most users of the mobile phone have increasingly adopted as it has no escape and can be used anytime of the day.
Young people bully children or other adolescents causing them to suffer from fear, anxiety and depression. Recent research has indicated potential harm of cyber bullying to have more serious consequences more than just psychosomatic symptoms or suicide.
Another negative aspect is ostracism. Young people who don’t own mobile phones normally feel excluded out of the social interactions. Researchers have noted that this can be due to their inability to be accessed and contacted easily by their friends.
The ostracized youth live under pressure of being left out of the social interactions with their peers and this only gets overcome when they get a mobile phone. This social exclusion tends to isolate them from others and poses a psychological problem that affects their well being (Campbell 750).
Additionally, mobile phones affect relationships between the youth with their peers as well as the parents. The youth feel that their parents have intruded into their public space and through text messages and phone conversations, monitor and exert control over their affairs to a certain degree.
Khan notes that “the relationship between children and parents are characterized by negotiations, replacing more conventional relationships and traditional ideas of parental Authority” (292). Mobile phones are tools that parents use to control children. However, the youth counter this through switching their phones off, not answering the calls or diverting them to voice mail.
The use of mobile phone has evoked various negative feelings that have been drawn from areas such as how an individual uses the phone, how and where others use it and the functionalities.
In addition, overdependence on mobile phones as well as liking it too much, a common practice among the women, can trigger negative feelings. These attitudes are inevitable (Kushchu & Kuscu 4). They impact negatively on the well being and social life of an individual. In so far as the mobile phone contributes in many useful and positive ways in the society, its improper use cause a mixture of attitudes.
There are those who dislike certain aspects of mobile phones but use them as a necessity while others hate technology and don’t get on well with those who use mobile phones. These individuals with negative feelings are affected when it’s used in their personal space or in the public sphere
Also, Attitudes towards mobile phones vary from on individual to another. There are those who love it and others who don’t show clearly their feelings for it.
These mixed feelings arise due to the functionality of the phone. According to a research by Mobile Society Research Institute, NTT DoCoMo Inc., Japan, the five most disliked functions of the mobile phone that draws negative attitude are listening to music, calendar, answering machine, and internet services (Kushchu & Kuscu 4).
However, when it comes to social relationships and well being of an individual, bad manners during use of the phone, directly or indirectly impacts negatively on an individual.
It has been noted by many observers that student learning has been enhanced by modern information technologies such as cell phones, PC’s, wireless laptop computers and presentation software among others.
However, researchers have doubted the effectiveness of technology in education based on the drawbacks coming from learning while relying on information technology.
Ubiquitous computing in colleges that connects the faculty and students via Wi-Fi technologies makes dissemination of knowledge to become increasingly complex, participation in classrooms to decrease, increases distraction and lowers the students interest and participation (Kulesza 3).
In addition, even though many have lauded the importance of information technology in most learning institutions, it is worth noting that it can only be appropriate in specialized and specific occasions.
As opposed to the notions of the supporters of technology in learning institutions, researchers have observed that its benefits are neither significant to students nor universal as it has many pitfalls.
Many learning institutions have adopted technology as a way of presenting learning materials to students. In fact, there focus today is not learning by participation but the appeal that they use to attract students is technology. To students, the focus has shifted from learning to what smart phones, cell phones, notebook computers, laptops, and presentation hardware and software technology to use.
The negative is immense as the excitement of exploration and the prospect of learning, thinking and understanding are taken away. In addition, it creates an illusion and unhealthy dependence to technology that limits the students’ ability to analyze and think critically.
In a nutshell, the lack of enthusiasm created by dependence on technology creates pitfalls for students such as relying on malicious, faulty and inaccurate sources to derive information (Kulesza 3). These have impact on their well being and performance in school.
Mobile phones have been widely used by individuals in social, economic and political spheres as a fashion object, to do business and to stay in touch with friends and family.
According to recent research done on the users of mobile phones, findings have indicated that most of them have developed emotional attachment with their devises such that the can not be separated. In addition, the findings of the aforementioned research further indicate that they use their phones to express their feelings and emotions to other people that they are relating with.
The emotions that people express from the use of mobile are normally displayed on their facial expressions. These expressions further manifest in an individuals physical front stage and back behaviors.
Those who show the manifestations of their emotion in the public operate in the front stage while those who hide from others operate in the back stage (Vincent 3). The dramaturgical concept is played out by the effect or symptoms of the performance of an in individual. These behaviors cold be influenced by those who are present in the environment of the cell phone user.
Additionally, the emotions resulting from backstage activities snatch individuals away from others as they lose intimacy with the co-present. The emotions get into the public space. According to Vincent, “the individual releases himself/herself from co-operation with others to the point that he/she (temporarily) ignores their presence.
Yet, after the telephone call, the individual has to find his/her way back into the here and now of his/her real surroundings” (3). It is important to note that the emotional behavior displayed by an individual using the mobile phone regards to a greater extent the absent present than the co-present.
The use of mobile telephones and people’s lifestyles
The practice of beeping began a long time ago with the users of landline telephone. Beeping is normally used to send relational, pre-negotiated or callback messages. However, it is governed by certain rules that guide its users who have increased throughout the developing world. As Pajero observes,
I was angry with my so-called friends who ‘beep’ me all the time—blackmailing me into calling them back. I can understand someone beeping me once and a while. My problem is that so many Ugandans—from MPs to senior military officers…have turned beeping into a profession (par. 5).
The issue of beeping had become a culture that everybody had adopted and that needed to be guided by some laws (Donner 19). Regarding the rules of beeping, callback beeps, pre-negotiated instrumental beeps and the relational beeps should first be made to those who have money to call back.
This would ensure individuals don’t feel used or blackmailed into calling when they are incapable as it would affect their well being. Secondly, beep when you have no money in the pre-pay account. As it would create trust and understanding among equals, it would do the opposite if an individual relies on others to pay for the calls (Donner 16). Thirdly, don’t beep when asking for a favor.
The negative impact of beeping when asking for a favor is that it gives it takes away favorable impression that is expected to influence good treatment. It is true what was said by Nkrumah-Boateng “No self-respecting man would dream of merely flashing his wife or girlfriend… never mind the fact that it was Sugar Daddy himself, who bought the phone and regularly buys her units’’ (par. 6)
Furthermore, the next rule requires that an individual desist from too much beeping. This affects an individual negatively as it bad, causes confusion and irritates the other phone users.
It has been observed that most of the beepers don’t normally have important issues to discuss other than gossip or asking insignificant questions. Pajero in his words complain that ‘‘in 99.99% of the time, there is even no serious issue to beep you about.
It is a beep and when you call back someone simply asks: ‘Where are you?’ (par.4). Beeping impacts negatively on most individuals in its interplay between technology and social structure. Some individuals do not like to be beeped while some don’t entertain being blackmailed to make calls.
People use mobile phones everywhere such as in classrooms, churches, movie theatres, restaurants, grocery stores, trains, buses and sidewalks. The norms regarding when and where to make the call and the conflicting nature of public and private space are all issues that determine the perceptions of mobile phone use in the public settings (Campbell 740).
It is perceived that an individual is rendered absent the moment he or she begins to use the mobile phone around others. As Gergen observed, “we are present but simultaneously rendered absent; we have been erased by an absent presence” (227).
This complicating nature is due to the fact that even though an individual may be present with others during phone communication, in a sense, that person prioritizes the call forgetting those in the surrounding.
This has a negative implication on the forgotten others who feel uncomfortable due to the absent presence. In addition, the co-present individuals who have been rendered absent normally have no choice but to eavesdrop.
Moreover, the perceptions of other people about mobile phone use in the environment where people are similar to a theatre stage which contains the back areas and the front areas (Campbell 740). The social and physical surroundings represent the front stage.
This is where self is enacted. On the other hand, individuals try to create a good impression by hiding from others information and artifacts and this represents the backstage.
Goffman claims that “to be engaged in an occasioned activity means to sustain some kind of cognitive and affective engrossment in it, some mobilization of one’s psychobiological resources; in short, it means to be involved in it “(63).
The perception is that individuals in the physical environment of the mobile phone user get fully or partly engrossed and so it cause disturbance and becomes a nuisance to a multi-focused or partly focused gatherings found in the streets, classroom or even the restaurants.
Social interaction with latest mobile phone technology
The technology of smart phones have enhanced and augmented communication as the phones have come with an in-built computing system. This technology has enabled social interaction through a smart phone that would not have been possible with the ordinary mobile phones.
Its effectiveness which is due to the endowment it has with a degree of utility has made its users to develop dependency on it and this has led to its pervasive use (Beale 35).
To begin with, the fact that it supports social interactions makes its users to pervasively use its systems to create and consume text, audio and video information. It has become a main user devise as it supports all forms and styles of communication.
However, this gives the users an opportunity to infringe on copyright, stalk others, cyber bully and access dirty and dangerous material. These issues have negative impacts on the users of the smart phones as well as the victims.
Additionally, the smart phone through its blue tooth service enables its users to acquire dating services. An individual shares his information and interest with other users through the same system. It searches, alerts and matches partners to date (Beale 36).
It allows anybody to date whoever is on the net without determining the impacts this would have on an individual well being. That is the reason why such social sites have paved way to unfaithfulness and divorce and other related issues.
Furthermore, through smart phone, individuals have been able to share materials such as videos, pictures, literature and music (Beale 36). This has been enabled by the systems blue tooth. Information that could have been sent to other users is now shared over the phone.
However, this has a negative impact on copyright owners as well as on the young users who share adult materials and other related materials.
Smart phones have expanded the social dynamics of many individuals. The organizational and social structures have been made accessible through mobile communication and therefore power dynamics, new relationships and expressions of social selves have emerged.
Quite often, smart phones have been associated with better communication, checking with the boss at workplace and sending e-mails with disregard to its pervasiveness of a culture of “busyness”.
People use them for other issues besides interpersonal communications creating a difficulty in understanding its use for business or “busyness”. Its culture of “busyness” demands an immediate and mediated presence of an individual and this may cause tension between physical and virtual presence (Mazmanian & Harmon 3).
Therefore, the impacts of smart phone on social dynamics of “busyness” in everyday life is seen in the cultural narratives on the perspective of the technologies, the negotiations between multiple personal spheres and work stemming from the expanding capacity to connect with people and how these technologies are embedded in peoples lives.
Works Cited
Beale, Russell. Supporting Social Interaction with Smart Phones. Pervasive computing. (2005): 35-41.
Campbell , Marilyn. “The impact of the mobile phone on young people’s social life”, Paper presented to the Social Change in the 21st Century Conference. 28th Oct. 2005. 20th May 2011.
Campbell, W. Scott. Perceptions of Mobile Phone Use in Public Settings: A Cross Cultural Comparison. International Journal of Communication 1 (2007): 738-757.
Donner, Jonathan. “The Rules of Beeping: Exchanging Message Via Intentional ‘‘Missed Calls’’ on Mobile Phones”. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13 (2008): 1–22.
Khan, Mujahid Muhammad. “Adverse effects of excessive mobile phone use.” International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health, 21.4 (2008): 289-293. ProQuest Medical Library, ProQuest. Web.
Kulesza, Justin. More Technology, Less Learning ? 2010 ISECON Proceedings, 27 (2010) 1-10.
Kushchu,I. & Kuscu,M. H. Negative Feelings Toward Mobile Phones. A Research Report for the Mobile Society Research Institute, NTT DoCoMo Inc., Japan.28th Feb 2007. 20th May 2011.
Mazmanian, Melissa & Harmon, Ellie. Smartphones and the social dynamics of “busyness”. (n.d): 1-4.
Vincent, Jane. Emotion and the Mobile Phone, Presentation. Web.
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