The cell phone is one of the most recent developments in the technology sector. It is an electronic device that was mainly used for communication between people; however, from the advancement in technology many other purposes including entertainment, security, and commerce use have been developed. The reason I chose the cell phone as my potent object is that it is a device that is owned by most people in the 21st century (Green 1).
Cell phones have become part of people’s lives and are therefore used almost everywhere in the world. I was attracted to this potent object because of its widespread and impact on people’s life (McCarthy 1). The cell phone helps people to keep in touch with their families and friends. Its usage is unlimited including shopping malls, streets, offices, onboard, homes just to mention but a few. This paper is therefore a defined outcome of the research I did to gather information concerning the cell phone and its evolution. My research was divided into two sections with the first being the initial data gathering followed by the formal data gathering and thereafter a technological analysis.
My Initial data gathering
During my initial data gathering I found out that the cell phone as a result of technology. In my research, I found out that the cell phone was originally developed by Dr. Martin Cooper, who began by working on whether or not the space could conduct electricity. Later on from the year 1866 to 1873, Dr. Mahlon Loomis developed messages through transmission and receiving messages using Earth’s atmosphere. This was in Virginia between Cohocton and Beorse Derr Mountains 18 miles apart. In 1973, Dr. Martin Cooper, manager of Motorola, was the first person to make a call using a cell phone (Brownfeld 2). Dr. Martin Cooper along with Motorola brought the cell phone and introduced it to the public in New York. Chicago was the first city where cell phones were sold to the public for testing.
Cell phones were long before used in cases of emergency as they were first wired to automobiles known as car phones (Tim 3). However, currently, cell phones have become available worldwide for many purposes making their market very large. It is one of the most convenient and fastest forms of communication. It has the capability to store, send and research information whenever needed. Many manufactures are making hand-free gadgets known as blue tooth which makes it convenient and safe when people are on the road (Koch 4). Since technology is still developing more features to be applied to cell phones are bound to develop.
Many cell phone companies have set up special cell phone plans like the data plan, student plan, and family plan in a bid to attract all ages and to get a broader market. The list of cell phone companies is very long just like the type of cell phones being launched into the markets, for example, smartphones, Blackberry, and iPhone Advertisements of cell phones are found in newspapers, television, magazines, billboards, using celebrities, etcetera.
Despite the fact that Cell phones have made life more convenient through communication research and studies have proven that cell phones are harmful to people in society. It is harmful to live near cellular base stations like cell phone towers as it damages human health. This is because Cell phones emit radio frequency whose absorption depends on a number of factors. For example; close contact with the cell phone and the strength of the signal. Cell phone use may cause changes in brain activity, in reaction times, or in the time it takes to fall asleep. There are also risks of serious injury and increased accidents if people used while driving, walking, cycling, or doing any other activity that requires concentration for personal safety.
Canada recently has ban drivers from using cell phones while driving so as to help reduce accidents on the road. Cell phones have in the recent past become part of learning as most children at the tender ages in developed countries own cell phones. The least developed countries are also following suit (Tim 3). These cell phones become part of their education and life development. If this trend continues, cell phones will overtake book or print materials. Multimedia technology is rapidly maturing on the cell phone screens thus an immediate and practical way to improve education for kids by pushing learning material in the cell phone screens.
The development of cell phones is making the states to cut off wired communication and turn to wireless. This will limit telemarketers from reaching customers as certain lines are still available where home phone numbers are sold to telemarketers (Brownfeld 3). Unlike wired communication, Cell phones give a feeling of privacy, store assisting user’s name and number in the directory, and avoidance of junk phone calls.
The culture of cell phones has taken over most people’s life because it has transformed from being a form of communication to being also people’s entertainment. People of all ages own a cell phone with most people relying so much on their cell phone hence losing concentration on other issues. Cell phones have also become a trend, where technologies advance; people are changing to newer cell phones very often. Cell phones have separated reality from the virtual world because of their many uses like calling, messaging, browsing on the web, emailing, GPS, listening to music, and taking pictures (McCarthy 1).
Formal data gathering
In the formal data gathering, I managed to observe the cell phone and the surrounding environment that is on the bus to and from school. I looked at how people interacted with their cell phones during three different periods, in the morning, afternoon, and evening. I have found out that almost fifty percent of the people on the bus used their cell phones either to talk, text message, search on the internet, listen to music, or play games (Katz 1).
Whereas, other people were sleeping, chatting with other people on the bus, reading the newspaper or book, studying, listening to music or just sitting. When commuting to and from school, the cell phone has become part of my entertainment. I communicate either by calling or messaging my family and friends. The cell phone also connects me with other people’s cell phones on the bus, through ear dropping their conversation or hearing their loud music or video outputted from their cell phone.
I also found out that the cell phone connects to the human body in different ways. It is used to output one person’s messages and input those messages to his or her opponent. These outputs are forms of communication that become part of people’s social life. It is communicated through hearing, talking and text messaging the person on the opposite line. It can be said to be the fastest and most convenient way to keep in contact with someone a distance away.
It could be used as a form of security, where some people use it to contact others in cases of an emergency. The evolution of cell phones has led to smaller and thinner gadgets which make it easier to carry around in the hand, pockets, and bags hence becoming closer to people. The market of cell phones is large ranging from different brands, styles, and variety. Some of the recent phone companies include Rogers, Bell, Fido, Virgin Mobile, Mobilicity, and Koodo (McCarthy 2).
Since Cell phones have become a trend people are changing their cell phones more often to keep up with the newest and fastest technologies. The old cell phones that people do not want have become a problem hence they mostly find themselves in landfill sites. However, some companies and organizations have been retrieving old cell phones either to reuse different parts of the cell for other use or resell them to third-world countries.
The rapid rate of globalisation and the changing technology has led to tremendous changes in the Cell phones design such that it is totally different from the first invention (Britton 1). The first invented design was mounted and connected by wires in automobiles therefore referred to as car phones. This cell phone required an antenna on the top of the automobile so as to receive optimum transmission distances. During this time the cell phones were only used in the car purposely in cases of emergency (Brook 1).
The so called Car phones were later modified and evolved into bag phones. The Bag phones were big, bulky and their battery had a very short life. Their advantage was because they could be carried around in bags. These Cell phones later evolved to small sized gadgets that could just fit just right into people’s hands and pockets of their clothes. As time progressed, the antenna was made internal and was thus not visible. Later on, flip phones were introduced marking a great step in the technology sector (Torero 78).
The ancient Cell phones had black and white screens while The Cell phones themselves were grey and black, which was not very attractive. Soon afterwards, they were manufactured to come in different colors. As time changed, cell phones have changed from black and white to colored screens (Katz 1). Cell phone cases soon became popular, making the manufacturers change the appeal from time to time. The advancement in technology has changed a lot, all the way from pressing on the pad to touch screen.
The circler shape has been replaced with the rectangular shape which is more attractive and good to hold (Sheedy 2). The small screen has been changed to a wide screen and now cell phones are becoming smaller and thinner with time. The design of cell phones clearly connects to their marketing because the colour, shape and design are some of the factors that affect if the consumer will want to buy the cell phone or not in the first place (Koch 5). If the design does not fit the current trend, not much people would want to purchase that particular cell phone hence the reason for imitation in the market as manufacturers try to fit in the trend.
Technological analysis
The cell phone has undergone several technologies for it to become technology itself (Britton 2). Information and communication technology is a technology that concentrates on the role of communication, which includes phone lines and wireless signals. It focuses on the technical elements on information and communication issues including computer and network hardware as well as the necessary software. It also includes broadcast media, and all the other types of audio and video processing as well as their transmission.
ICT may also refer to putting together telephone networks with other telephone networks through a single cabling or link system. The connection between the technological developments involved in cell phone and its role in the culture are technology is what the made cell phone a symbol communication, security and entertainment. Cell phones have helped to build our environment. The cell phone is a great invention but inexpensive.
It can be said that the cell phone has become a kind of art in itself, where many users decorate and personalize their phones, as a kind of personal statement. People seem closer to their cell phone making face to face communication lesser. Also, it has made people spend most of their time with their cell phone and lesser time doing outdoor activities (Watson 6). Therefore, these has created pre-cursors about the people in the future are going to relay on cell phones to get their information and would not explore in the real world to find the answer. Also, the fact that cell phones require no knowledge of keyboarding skills or even literacy has made people talk in their languages like mother tongue and slang.
Therefore, in future; it might cause literacy to disappear. In addition Cell phone has become as culture itself, where people are changing their norms and values to technology. Therefore it creates a negative impact on the local/national or global cultures and environment because cell phone demonstrates consumers’ ability to modify technology for their own use hence creating a space where they enter their own separate world when in use (Torero 105).
The Technologies involved in cell phone have changed the life style of people in society by working with the human body and its sensory needs. The cell phone appeals to people’s senses of touch, hearing, and sight.
Hearing allows people listen to the phone calls in order to communicate back to the sender (Brook 2). Technologies have changed cell phones where hearing is needed else where including listening to music/video and video games with the cell. Information from the cell phone allows people to see the information provided or stored inside. Touch is a sense that cell phone design has changed recently to communicate, where information is transmitted from pressing the pad to simply just touching the screen. Technology has made people think that we need information; therefore technology does help programmers create programs installed in cell phones to output the data we need.
Findings
The patterns and findings that seem to have arisen as part of my research are that cell phones have been a popular device in people’s culture with the advancement in technology. Cell phones can output many information and we can also input and store as much information as well. It is thus very convenient, fast and easy to access the information we need (Green 1). However, it can cause health problems to people.
I also found out that Cell phones are used worldwide and everywhere in the globe. Cell phones have created issues for the society and environment, where people are spending too much time than other activities. A project that I could pursue more in depth is using cell phone to join people closer with each other than making phones calls or text messaging with others from far distance. I can pursue this by, for example by adding an application that can join people together to create music or games together using everyone’s cell phone together as a group.
Conclusion
From the aforementioned findings it can be concluded that the cell phone was developed as a symbol of communication. However, it has revolved from being a device which people used to communicate in cases of an emergency, to where today we use it more to communicate as leisure with family and friends and as a form of entertainment. Cell phones have made people to form their own micro-culture from the technologies hence making information easy and fast to access (Watson 2). Despite the fact that the cell phone may have a few shortcomings, its many advantages outweigh them hence making it an important gadget in people’s lives. Lastly, the research proved futile with so much to learn since the cell phone industry keeps revolving becoming more and more interesting each day.
Works cited
Britton, M. (2010). Learning from a cell phone. Web.
Brook, M. (2009). Safety of Cell phones and cell phone Towers. Web.
Brownfeld, P. (2004). The cell phone politics. Web.
Green, D. (2008).Cell phone history. Web.
Katz, J. (2005). Cell phone culture. Web.
Koch, G. (2004). Technology and Culture. Web.
McCarthy, N. (2010). Mobile Communication: A Troubled Past, a Bright Future. Web.
Sheedy, M. (2010). Cell phones. Web.
Tim, N. (2010). The History of Cell phones. Web.
Torero, M. (2006). The potential of Telecommunications. Johns Hopkins University Press.
Watson, G. (2010). The Evolution of Cell phone Design. Web.