Mobile Phones and their Impact on Society - Literature Review

Mobile Phones are a vastly developed form of wireless communication. The rise to prominence of this form of technology has been impressive and it is an essential form of technology for many people within society.
Kingston, 2004 cites the ‘increasing importance of cell phones’. Kingston argues that the reliance on these devices is not solely for safety measures; in fact he argues that due to the rise in technology the cell phones advanced features help to make it a necessity along with their expediency and security. He also goes as far as to say that they are almost a fashion item.
However although the benefits are vast there are some problems associated with the cell phone. Turpen, 2009 argues that cell phones pose a serious risk to health. He links in a study that shows an increased risk of the between ’50-90%’ of attaining a brain tumour. He also considers other health risks such as behavioural problems and tumours of the glands.
Health risks are not the only problems. Stewart, 2008 argues that increased usage of the phone means that families may communicate more via a mobile phone than face to face and so making society less sociable. Britt, 2005 states that there are 2,600 deaths a year caused by mobile phone usage on the roads. He goes on to say the reaction time of a person with a mobile phone is 18% slower and thus makes them a danger to the roads.

References

Kingston, K. 2004 – ‘The Importance of Cell Phones In Modern Society’ http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Importance-Of-Cell-Phones-In-Modern-Society&id=7446 . Accessed on the 28th of October.

Turpen, A. 2009 - ‘New studies Link Cell Phone User to Cancer and other maladies.’http://www.naturalnews.com/027232_cell_phone_use_cancer.html. .Accessed on the 28th of October.

Stewart, D. 2008 – ‘Cell Phones and Social Skills.’ http://www.articlesbase.com/computers-articles/cell-phones-and-social-skills-533703.html. Accessed on the 28th of October.

Britt, R. 2005 –‘Drivers on Cell Phones kill thousands, snarl traffic.’ http://www.livescience.com/technology/050201_cell_danger.html. Accessed on the 28th of October.

Mobile Phones Essay - Mind Map.

Mobile Phones - Are now the social norm. They are portable forms of communication and have various add-ons.

Technological Aspect - Offer calling and texting facilities. Many features have been added on - camera, video playback, music facilities eg: mp3 files and also the Internet. Internet capabilities have allowed social networking to become easier as well - eg: facebook. Features are added on to innovate and add value to the mobile phone industry. Leads to an extended product life cycle. First infra-red and now bluetooth have been implemented to enable high speed data file-transfer and communication. Other functions are important. eg: organising capacity - ensures regular use.

Social Aspect - important part of society today. Improved communication, affordable prices and relatively low priced contracts ensure that the industry is available to everyone. Teenager appear to be especially induced into this market. However they are catching on fast and are essential to a business persons armoury.

Strengths - Affordable, portable form of communication with an extensive array of options and functions.

Problems - Cyber bullying via video or photos as well as texting facilities. eg: 'happy slapping'. Dangers include phoning whilst driving - law. Infra-red - health risks - cancer?

SWOT Analysis

Strengths: I believe that I am a very good team member and work best as part of a team. I am a good listener and carry around bags of patience, I would also like to consider myself as organised. I also have determination to achieve what I want.

Weaknesses: I have confidence in my ability but on occasions my confidence levels can also drop. Also I believe I have another main weakness. This is presenting for large groups.

Opportunities: A chance to attain a degree, which will then hopefully further my career prospects.

Threats: Mainly Student Finance. Distractions. Although I have determination, who knows when an unexpected distraction may come up in life?

VARK Questionnaire Results

The results labelled me as someone who learns best with the Aural and Read/Write learning styles. This did not suprise me very much as i had thought that they were quite likely to be the results that would be identified. Although just being labelled into one learning style does seem very restrictive. I think that in different environments people can respond better with different styles.
The Visual and Kinesthetic styles do appeal to me as each style is different therefore i do not really have a least favourite style. However in order to perhaps become better at improving my all-round learning ability it may be a good idea for me to use graphs and charts in my work and to also become more practical.
The VARK questionnaire was an interesting exercise but it lead to the conclusion that i had already guessed.