Cell Phone Pandemic
Comments (2)Over the past years technology has undeniably progressed immensely. Advancements in the technological industry have innovated the way people communicate. Communication amongst people has enhanced amazingly. One very significant and ubiquitous evidence of this progression headway is the mobile cellular phone. We are all familiar with the forgotten land-line. Yes, that annoying ring that we block out when we’re sitting on the couch too busy text messaging on our cell phones; the house phone. The house phone has nearly become antiquated too many. Landlines are less common in family households since most people now carry cell phones. Cell phones are favored since they are more convenient, miniature enough to fit in our pockets and they ease our access on a moment’s notice.
Cell Phone Evolution
Cell phones are incredibly versatile. I think we can all agree that cell phones make communication very feasible, but they also come in handy for various purposes.
Because people enjoy being connected with family and friends from various distances, cell phones are most importantly used for communication. Cell phones make it easier to connect with people in seconds. The internet and cell phones are the leading greatest impacts on the quality of communications with family elsewhere. Another form of communication widely used is instant text messaging. Text messaging is very convenient for sending out a brief text to someone or sometimes even to carry out a full conversation. Some cell phones are equipped with internet access so many times people use their cell phones to communicate through emails. Communication is necessary on various occasions. We use our phone to call up an old friend and catch up, or a new friend we would like to know more about. We use it to call our families to see how they are doing. We use it for business purposes, to call a client or coworker and talk about business matters or to reach that very very busy boss at work who is hardly ever home. Other occasions, less desired, are during emergencies. Cell phones are a great help when we need to call someone for help. Say you just experienced a car accident, you can easily call an ambulance and family members. Or say you simply run out of gas, you can call someone for assistance. According to surveys done by the website Pewter Internet, 74% of cell phone users say it has helped in emergencies.
Second, cell phones are used for convenience. The advancement of cell phones has eliminated the use of multiple devices. They are no longer use only for the sole purpose of communication. Cell phones have eliminated the inconvenience of heavy watches by displaying the date and time on the screen. Some people no longer carry agendas/calendars because cell phones now have this feature. Cell phones can be programmed to remind of event, important dates, appointments, birthdays and so on. You no longer see huge alarm clock in our bedrooms because the cell phone is also an alarm that can be programmed a lot simpler than those complicated alarms that don’t always go off. We don’t have to turn on the television to check the weather, many cell phone have a forecast feature. Address books are not necessary because our contacts are saved on our phones. When traveling, we don’t need the bulky, extensive maps that block our road view, many cell phones, such as the iphone, have GPS system or internet for a quick map quest search. We don’t have to carry cameras, mp3 players, video cameras, or radios anymore because most of these are integrated in our phones.
Finally, cell phones are used for our entertainment. According to Pewter surveys, 41% of cell phone users use their phone for fun while traveling or waiting. If we are ever bored out of our minds with nothing to do, (which doesn’t regularly happen when you have an iphone) we reach in our pockets and take out one of the most amazing devices ever created by man, our cell phone. We can call or text a friend. We can listen to music since most cell phones store mp3 files and some even have a radio feature. We can play and download games on our phones. If I am ever bored, a quick game of tetris on my phone keeps my brain active. We can take a funny picture or video, send and receive them, with our cell phones. There is always something entertaining to view on the internet, so whoever conquered the idea of internet in our cell phones is/was a genius. With internet access in our phones we can socialize on our myspaces or facebooks anywhere.
I created a survey myself to compare my research. The survey was done through text messaging. In the survey, I asked various peers. The survey consisted of twenty six people, mostly teens.:
On a scale from 1-10, how important is your cell phone to you?
Half of the people, 13, rated a 10. Only two rated a 9. One rated an 8. Seven said a 7. One said a 4 and the last person said 100000!
The Second question was, how would you feel if you had lost your phone?
Many people said the words lost, dis-communicated, naked, isolated, and screwed.
“My cellphone gives me a sense of security because I know that anywhere I am if I am ever in trouble, someone is only a call away.”
“My cell phone is my life. I have all my personal information and pictures in it.”
“It helps me communicate with peers easily when I am not at home and it keeps me organized because it is my planner.”
“It helps me get around town with my GPS”
“My phone has my life, If i lost it i would have a panic attack.”
“I love my phone because I always wonder what time it is.”
” I paid almost $400 for my cellphone”
“I have my work schedule, bill/school due dates, my class mates numbers in case i forget an assignment and or co-workers in case i need a shift covered.”
“My kids have to be able to get a hold of me at all times, I have five and i am a very busy busy mom.”
“Since I am away and in the military, it’s the only way i can talk to my wife.”
“I use it to talk to my girlfriend and people i don’t regularly see.”
“I got my first phone thirteen years ago and it was necessary because i had just started my own business. It is highly convenient because i need to be reachable at any time. It also comes in handy on emergencies.”
“I use my iphone for email, ebay, games, gps, and phone..I can do everything!”
How Often do you use your house phone?
More than half said never. Some didn’t know they had one. Many didn’t know what their house phone looked like. One person, jokingly said, “Uh what’s a house phone?” Still, some said it came in handy because they couldn’t afford to waste so many minutes.
Cell phones are not only useful, but have become a must-have. The importance of our cell phones is apparent. Cell phones use to be a rare thing, almost an impossible but now days,children as young as eight years old carry their own cell phone. They have become very popular amongst young people and people of all ages. Communication seems to be the trend to follow. Everyone is communicating. Text messaging seems to be one of the greatest uses of cell phones.Lately, text messaging seems to be an obsession amongst young adults and teens. Many people enjoy text messaging because it is simpler than a one on one conversation. Personally, I really prefer text messaging over talking on my cell phone. I am a “texter” and my inbox is usually full.
It is now apparent that cell phones are only progressing and here to stay. It has become a world of technology. The use of all these new high tech devices has opened new doors for us. They have connected the world in better ways and made of the world a smaller place. From calling, text messaging to email and more, we can communicate in all sorts of ways with almost anyone. The cell phone has revolutionized our lives and has become a part of us and our culture. The cell phone is not only popular in our country, the US, but it is well known in developed countries like China and Europe. It is also being developed in poorer developing countries. It is definitely a pandemic, the cell phone pandemic. I have caught it 
About the podcast..
For my podcast, the kind of format i chose was a video slideshow of various pictures that represented me; my favorite things, music, family, hobbies, goals and dreams. I found it easier to make a slideshow than an actual video and to me this was the best way to represent me.
The content in my podcast, again pictures that could give someone a good idea of what kind of person i am. It included pictures of me, my family, my nephew, my closest friends, sports i love, favorite places, and goals and dreams. Most of the content was things that make me the happy person that i am.Also i included one of my favorite songs that can very well expose some emotions.
I decided this would be the best way to portray myself in a nut shell
The tech shaped my decisions because i would encounter problems with a video i would try to add or the song was too long or sounded cut off badly. Another problem i had was when i was using a different program called muvee maker. This program didn’t work out too well so i ended up using windows movie maker.
Overall, this was an enjoyable project. I had a lot of fun completing it and i learned a lot of tech skills along the way.
Project Proposal
As my project proposal i would like to explore and present more in depth the way media and new technology has shaped and remodeled peoples’ lives today.
I would like to analyze better how life would be without all these technologies.
I would also like to emphasize the greatness of these technologies.
Technology makes me Happy (Final)
Technology has become part of the world. When we hear the word technology we think computers, cars, and video games. What is technology? Dictionary.com tells us technology is the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment. In short, technology is the creation for technical use. Individuals have stated that technology began with the creation of fire, a very good argument. Others believe that the birth of technology began with the creation of the light bulb, another good argument.
The definition of technology varies in everyone’s mind. Regardless of our opinions, most people over look the fact that technology is a part of their everyday lives. Tooday technology is as great an influence in our lives as it is to drive a car.
Technology is being used to save peoples’ lives in hospitals. The great advancement in technology has increased the life expectancy. With advanced medical tools, xray machines, and other devices, it is easier to save a life today than it was fifty years ago.
Technology is being used to find cures for some of the deadliest diseases or cancers. Although cures for such cases like cancer and diabetes have not been found, technology has gotten us closer to a solution than we were one hundred years ago. Advanced technological studies give us hope for a cure someday.
Technology is being used for military and foreign affairs. We can all recall watching a battle scene from the 1900′s on the history channel. Huge cannons were used to attack the opposing side. Now, if we go farther back in our memory we can recall watching scenes of medieval times when men would attack each other with swords or catapult a huge boulder with a huge catapult that usually took various men to prepare. Now picture war today. We imagine machine guns with lazers used to eliminate the opponent in a split second. Technology has changed the method of war. Besides dealing with enemies, technology is being used to create alliances for trades, importing and exporting goods and services as well.
Overall, we can all agree that technology is important to the life of the country. How does technology influence me as an individual in my everyday life? Technology is all around us. It is nearly impossible to resist the temptation to join in on the use of it. Technology is a great part of our lifes. Technology makes life easier; communication wise and it makes life more exciting.
We stopped using watches, we have cell phones for time now. We stopped using A tracks and we upgraded to cassettes, then CD players. Now we use mp3 player and simply use adapters to connect them to our stereos. We stopped using VHS players and we now use DVD players. We stopped using type writers and now we use computers and printers. We have stopped using candles and now use light bulbs. We have stopped using fires and now use oven or heaters. We have stopped using dial up internet and now we use wifi, etc.
Technology affects me greatly and it affects each and every one of us. Technology makes us happy . I wake up every morning to the alarm of my cell phone. The first thing i check every morning is my cell phone. It takes me thirty seconds to text message my friends, “good morning .” I get ready to the music on my ipod adapted to my ihome. I continue my day. I log on to the internet and check my myspace and twitter with fast 3G network. I get in my car and drive to school. As i arrive to the campus i see a mother duck with its new baby ducks. I take out my cell phone, set it on camera mode (2 mega pixels) and take a picture of the beautiful scenery. It’s a great picture to share so i send it to a friend. I show up to my first class, English composition. To my surprise i don’t need to purchase a two hundred dollar book, all text will be online and instead of desks we sit on office chairs with 20 inch plasma monitor mac computers. I walk to my car and unlock my car by clicking a button on a small remote. I get home and i play some video games on my little brother’s portable game system (PSP) that is also an mp3, DVD and photo saver. I drive to work. I clock in on the touch screen computer. The phone rings and i answer it, the second line rings i answer it and put it on hold. “Thank you for choosing Pizza Guys on Hatch Rd, How may i help you?” The customer wants an extra large pepperoni. I run the dough through a machine that prepares it for me, no need for hand tossing or flipping. My shift ends and i clock out on the touch screen computer. I go home and watch some television on my high definition television. I text message my friends and talk about how the day went. I get ready for bed and i remember to connect my cell phone, it must be charged. I text message my friends “Good night .” It was a great day!
Two of the greatest technological influences in my life are my cell phone and the internet. I am an absolute text addict. I cannot go a whole hour without my cell phone, let alone without text messaging. When my phone dies i feel dis-communicated from the world. My cell phone is my alarm clock, reminder, calendar, address book, camera, calculator, mp3 player, information storage, and my best form of communication with friends and family. The internet is the best tool. I can communicate with my friends on social networks like myspace or facebook. I can learn information about any subject on search engines like google.com. I can read peoples opinion locally and from all around the world. I can download my favorite music. I can make a video or even download videos. I can play games on entertainment sites. I can purchase merchandise. When it comes to school, i can use the internet for research purposes.
By far, the best reason for my use of technology is communication. I use my cell phone to communicate with my family. I can communicate with family from far distances. For example, I call my brother who lives in Oxnard, California, with my cell phone. I can also communicate with my closest friends and make plans for the week end. My employer can communicate with me on my cell phone if he needs me to cover a shift. Communication is a vital part of my life. With means of communication, such as the internet and my cell phone, I become aware of things going on in the world or in other people’s lives. By communicating, I feel more powerful, in a sense.
The advancement of technology has modernized the way we live. Life is easier. Tasks can be completed by the click of a button, sometimes even simpler. For example, some cell phones come with a feature that you can call someone by voice recognition. People used to walk down the street and ask, “Sir, may i have the time?” the next person would look at their wrist and call out the time. Today a person reaches in their pocket and will tell the time, and while they’re at it they might call a friend. It is inevitable to come accross technology. Technology is everywhere. Why avoid it? It makes life easier! The possibilities are many with the way technology has become.
Video Games are good..
Technology has definitely modernized the world of gaming. Video games are more advanced, better graphics, more controversial topics, etc.
Many people can agree that video games can be too violent. We believe that this violence can be embedded into our childrens’ minds and create criminals. Video games are thought to be bad influence and a waste of time. Video games are a detriment to a person’s necessary physical exercise and social interaction. Video games create a lazy society focused on imaginary worlds rather than reality. Too much money is spent on video games.
However,i believe a video game will only become what the gamer allows. We can all agree that there are many disadvantages to video gaming. However, we can also find some very good advantages.
Why do we play video games?.. Our brain becomes bored when it is not being exercised. Video games exercise our brain and allow us to think at higher levels. I believe that challenging your brain this way has got to have a positive affect on our brain. Gaming can advance our problem solving skills. Like Daniel Floyd’s video on youtube says, video games can open up our interest to important subjects. For example, war games will make us curious about world wars. This is called tangential thinking, states Daniel Floyd in his video. Tangential thinking is not what you learn by being taught rather taught by being exposed to it.
Therefor, it is safe to say that video games are not entirely bad.
Reliable Resources
The internet can be a very useful tool when it comes to research and finding information. However, we must be aware that now days anybody can post just about anything they like on the web.
Some reliable sources i like to use are dictionary.com, bibliography.com and google.com.
Dictionary.com can give you definitions for almost any word you can think of. It makes a list of definitions from various dictionary sources.
Bibliography.com is also very reliable for gathering all types of information not found in one single bibliography.
Google is reliable because it gives you quick links to many possible websites for you search.
Literate??..
When i come across the word literate, I think of reading and writing. I was taught that a literate person is someone who can read and write. Dictionary.com gives you the same definition, a person who can read and write. However, i believe that the meaning of this word has been modified, not in dictionaries, but in our minds. A literate person is smart in computers and technology. A literate person knows how to use microsoft word, powerpoint, database, etc. Because technology and computers have become a essential part of life, a person must understands this new “language.” A literate person must be able to use a computer and understand it as well.
In his article, Will Rich discusses the arrival of new technologies and changing the way we handle information. Rich makes great points. He states that in order for students to become independent, literate learners how we expect the to be we must teach them this way. In order to become these independent individuals students must become self-directing, self-selecting, self-editing, self organizing, self-reflecting, self-publishing and self-connecting.
I believe that Rich has created a very reasonable structure. His framework for independent students is very well thought out and i agree with his ideas.
