Many people these days have mobile phones, but one question remains and that is the question of whether mobile phones improve people’s daily lives or whether they hurt them.
Here is a brief overview as to some of the advantages and disadvantages of mobile phones, there are more details below this list as to how these points affect our daily lives and society.
- It allows people to contact others in an emergency.
- Some of the newer phones allow access to the Internet from any location with a mobile phone signal.
- It allows people to send emails and business messages on the move.
- Having a mobile phone usually means that people expect to be able to reach you 24/7, even when you don’t want them to. Although mobiles can be switched off, it can often hurt relationships, both business and personal.
- There are potential health risks from using mobiles and, as with all radio transmitting equipment, it is unclear exactly what these risks are at this time, although various studies have been conducted.
- People with mobiles can often be disturbing to those around them, especially in public environments, e.g. someone on a bus talking loudly to a business colleague or friend.
It would seem that there is a pretty much-balanced argument when it comes to how mobile phones have affected our daily lives.
Allowing people to contact you in an emergency is probably the best advantage there is, as this can provide reassurance to family, friends, and relatives that they will be able to contact you at any time.
Internet access is essential for most people as everything from online banking to messages from friends and family nearly always involve using the Internet.
As for people being able to reach you 24/7, some of the adverse effects it can have on relationships include people becoming rather annoyed if they cannot get hold of you because you have had to switch a phone off for some reason; or if there is someone you simply don’t want to talk to but feel like you have to anyway.
The biggest problem out of all of the above is people disturbing others in public situations, which is why a lot of people are grateful that airplanes are mobile phone-free zones.
Overall, it would seem that mobile phones are a good thing to have, but only if people are considerate of others around them when making use of this technology.