MOBILE PHONE EXPLOSION!

What device do you think has changed the average person’s life the most over the past 25 years? It’s the cell phone or more commonly known as the mobile phone. Technology is increasingly invading our everyday lives, we wake up with alarms, listen to the radio on the way to work, turn on the kettle to make a cup of coffee and rest ourselves in front of a computer. What defense can we put up; technology has become a major part of our lives. Over the last decade in particular, the use of mobile phones within careers as escalated dramatically. The ability to communicate on the move is in high demand, for business, commerce and everyday social interaction (http://www.smartthinking.ukideas.com/Dependability%20and%20and%20AT.html)

We can all think back in time to when we were small children and the most technologically advanced form of communication we knew of, was the familiar cup and string telephone. These two polystyrene cups and few metres of string formed a way of communication between children.

To truly examine when the first form of communication was created we need to take a step back even further in time. Back many years in fact to the year 1876. It was on March 10th 1876, in Boston, that the telephone was first invented by Alexander Graham Bell. The first device itself was fashioned by Thomas Watson. It consisted of a wooden stand, a funnel, a cup of acid and some copper wire, and was a rather makeshift looking invention. The invention of the telephone came about because a number of pioneers contributed their knowledge to create a shared accomplishment. The creation of the telephone was a result of mankind’s need and want for communication from long distances. (http://www.privateline.com/telephonehistory/History1.htm)

Alexander Graham Bell with the first prototype.

Yet where has the first invention of the telephone brought us today? The structural changes in economies of developing countries throughout the world, has changed families’ lives dramatically. Due to the creation of the telephone we are now a mobile race of people. The average telephone is no longer useful, new goals were established to accommodate this changed family, in the form of wireless telephone (Buskart, 2007). This year the mobile phone turns 24 years old and yet its popularity continues to expand (Ankony, 2003). Mobile phones are no longer merely a phone; this cellular technology has created social networks.

An example of the social structure between people.

A social network is a social structure of nodes that are tied by one or more specific type of relations, in this case friends. Our world has been made up of continuous connections, hence leading to social networking playing a huge role in the popularity of mobile technology (Harrison, 2007). Mobile technology can be linked to youth culture through texting. For both teenagers and adults the main form of communication today is via text messaging. Texting is a cheaper way of having a conversation without actually exchanging words through voice (Harrison, 2007).

Teenagers are becoming the largest users of mobile phones. Though for most teens it’s not a necessity, but merely a fashion accessory? $57 is the average monthly mobile expense for teens. Teens between the ages of 13 to 17 have practically glued their mobile phones to side of their face or to their hands. This habit is restricted mainly to this age group. A whopping 57% of teens now own a mobile phone (Johnson, 2006). The main need for mobile phones is for emergencies. This is why parents justify the purchase of them for their teenage children. Yet the teenagers themselves would not view it this way. Advertising has displayed this cellular technology mainly as a fashion accessory. The mobile phone continues to evolve. They become smaller with the introduction of each model. They are offered in a variety of colours to suit the customer’s individual choice. Mobile phones provide the buyer with a variety of technology- internet, alarms, blue tooth, video recorder, voice recorder and camera, just to mention a few.

In a teenagers eyes these programs are a must have on their mobile. With each new model brought onto the market new and updated technological advancements are added. This results in the purchaser wishing to upgrade to the new model. Phone manufactures are finding out what is hot and persuading the target market it is exactly what they want and need (http://www.content-articles.com/article.aspx?i=61212).

Let’s not neglect the adult population though, as 80% of adults have a mobile in their possession. The notion of dependability, technology has become like a life raft to the average person, technology has become an integral part of our everyday existence. Mobile telephones have received much negative attention in the press, yet there are also reports stating that mobile phones have saved lives, proving that there are positive and negative arguments towards the mobile technology. I’m sure we can all say that we have been in a scenario where a mobile phone has gone off in the movie cinemas, or off in a classroom. This distraction makes mobile phones appear as a nuisance, as some people are careless and do not use the volume levels to their convenience. Yet in association with this argument, over 140,000 calls are made to emergency services a day from individual’s mobile phones. The positive factor of most people now owning a mobile phone is that if there was an accident the likelihood of someone being there with a mobile phone is high, so help can be called more rapidly (Lacohee, Pearson & Wakeford, 2003).

What began with Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the simple telephone, a way of communicating between people, has now evolved into the modern day mobile telephone explosion. What was a simple form of communication has now become a necessary part of everyday life. With the busy lives that we now lead, the need for technological advancements in communication will need to continue. The need to keep abreast of global trends is never more warranted. With this in mind most people in the world own a mobile phone. This will ensure that people are contactable anywhere, anytime.

Reference List

Ankony, J. (2003). Now and Then. Chicago; Telephone. Volume 244, Issue 6, p.25.

Buskurt, P. (2007). Moving Targets: Introducing mobility into universal service obligations. Kidlington: Telecommunications Policy. Volume 31, Issue ¾, p.164.

Harrisson, J & Hirst, M. (2007). Communication and New Media. Victoria:Oxford University Press. Chapter 1 & 7.

Johnson, B. (2006). Wireless Generation eager for innovation. Chicago: Television Week. Volume 25, issue 13, p. 26.

Lacohee, H, Pearson, I & Wakeford, N. (2003). A Social History of the mobile Telephone with a View of its Future. BT Technology Journal: Volume 21, Issue 3.

http://www.content-articles.com/article.aspx?i=61212

http://www.privateline.com/telephonehistory/History1.htm

http://www.smartthinking.ukideas.com/Dependability%20and%20and%20AT.html