In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone and the world of communication would never be the same. Talking to someone miles away became possible and a new era in technological advancement was in the making. Bell would probably never imagine the importance of his invention, nor expect the effects of an expansion of his invention: the cell phone. With cell phones, users can take their phones anywhere they want instead of being grounded to a home based landline. The development of cell phones has possibly affected the world even more than the telephone due to its functionality and impressive features. But at the same, time, the phones have made negative impacts due to frequent and obsessive use.

Cell phones first gained popularity at the prospect of being able to access a telephone whenever you want and wherever you go. When this became dream became reality, the portable phones became household items and part of modern culture. Their reputation increased as they got cheaper, smaller, and more high-tech. As with the telephone, cell phones revolutionized long distance communication. This time, instead of simply being able to make a call to anywhere, you can also make a call from anywhere. Now, cell phones are becoming so commonly used that they are starting to replace telephones altogether. But the fact that you can take the phone with you everywhere is bothering to some. As you go about your daily business away from home, you are now at risk of being interrupted by a sudden call. This can become bothersome when you are in important meetings or in a discussion. The fact that the phone is with you at all times seems to encourage calls at anytime. Calling hours are not nearly as enforced as they were before. In addition, many cell phone users talk while driving, occupying a hand that is supposed to be on the wheel and stealing the attention that is supposed to be on the road. Accidents due to cell phones are quite common all around the world, and because of this, many countries and states have to pass laws to prevent any more accidents from cell phone use in the car. But the very fact that people are using them while driving is shocking in itself. It shows that people use their phones at all times, no matter what the circumstances are. Research is being done to see if frequent cell phone use can cause memory loss or even cancer. And although most studies say there is no connection, studies by the Wireless Technologies Organization have found a faint relationship between frequent cell phone use, long term memory loss, and a higher incidence of brain tumors.

But perhaps the reason the cell phones are so commonly used lies in the available features on the phone, which have made an impact by themselves. Today’s cell phones offer a diverse selection of applications such as internet capabilities, e-mail, instant messaging, text messaging, games, camera, video recorder, MP3 player, and many others such tools. Apple’s new iPhone holds revolutionary surprises by combining touch-screen technology, a computer, the internet, an MP3 player, a GPS system, a video player, and a high resolution camera all onto a handheld phone. The functionality of this arrangement is to minimize the space that is used by other devices such as PDA organizers and laptops by combining them into a single, portable device. This significantly reduces the size and materials used to satisfy your same needs. Japan displays the practical uses of cell phones very clearly. Whenever there is an earthquake or other natural disaster, networks will send alert messages to everyone with a phone. Rescue crews locate trapped and injured people by following signals given out by the cell phones. The user can also notify the network station their current status. However, even though cell phones are meant to be practical and useful, some users, particularly teenagers, choose to abuse the cell phones features. They use the phones obsessively, 24/7, and barely stop for air. Cell phones are starting to control teens’ lives as they spend hours on the phone talking with their friends in their rooms, avoiding contact with all other people. Bluetooth® also took cell phones a possible step too far as they made hands free devices. And though this is useful while driving or doing some other task, it becomes rude as people walk around with pieces of metal behind their ears. They never seem to take them off and they hold conversations with you and the person on the phone at the same time. Cell phones can also prove to be distracting. They are used, against the rules, in classrooms as a means of silent communication via e-mail and text messaging. I have seen plenty of students “stealthily” type away to their friends under their desks. Students are so obsessed with their phones that they are driven to use them in class. Some are even motivated to buy the ring tone that teachers supposedly can’t hear. The abuse of cell phones is a problem that is only made worse by adding the diverse features to the phone.

The practicality and features of cell phones are both amazing and disturbing at the same time. While offering communication from anywhere to anywhere, cell phones are used almost too often and it has affected the rules of social interaction. Cell phones offer numerous applications and tools all on a small, handheld device, yet these features provide distractions that become obsessions to some people. From one side of the scale to the other, cell phones can take lives by distracting drivers and causing car accidents or save lives by helping locate trapped earthquake victims. But despite what you might think of cell phones, you cannot deny that they have helped us take another step toward the technology of the future.