It was in 1983 that cell phones started rolling out commercially, and since then they has seen many technological advancements. The first decade of the 21st century however, was when it really went from being a rich-only commodity to being everyone’s pal. Now, it seems odd when someone doesn’t have a cellphone.
Cell phones now totally dominate people’s lives, especially after the advent of smart phones. They have virtually become indispensable. Many of us can’t even comprehend staying away from our phones.
There is a reason why cellphones have taken this important role in people’s lives. They make life so much easier. Every smart phone has a decent camera to capture important moments; they can be used to stay in contact with one’s friends through various social media apps, and they can act as a notebook.
For students, they provide an instant access to learning material. Even though their wrong usage can waste a lot of valuable time of students, however, that’s not necessarily the problem of a cell phone. It all depends on how one makes use of this technology. If used positively, a cellphone can prove a great resource to help students learn.
However, recent research suggests that most of the college students consider a cell phone primarily as a leisure device, and mostly use it for social networking, watching various videos, and playing video games. An online study on this subject concluded that 60% of the students said they were addicted to their phones and mostly use their phones only as a leisure device. This type of usage especially can disrupt students’ attention from their studies and waste a lot of their valuable time.
The question we should be asking is that can we blame technology for its wrong usage? If we do, it would be like blaming life when someone decides to do evil things in his life. Life is neutral. It’s what one decides to do with it that makes his life positive or negative. The same is the case with technology. Cell phones are neutral, it’s up to use how we use them.