Smartphones: Does The Good Outweigh The Bad?

Smartphones: Does the Good Outweigh the Bad? “The first smart phone became available for purchase to the public in 1993. This ‘smart’ phone was referred to as Simon” (History of the Smartphone) (QRCodeScanning.com). Today there are thousands of phones that can be referred to as ‘smart’ phones. Smart phones have become a part of most American’s daily lives. While smart phones can be very beneficial, they also have the potential to be dangerous. Smart phones are used in multiples ways for many different reasons. They can be used for research, easy communication, and emergencies. They can be used as an alarm clock, a calendar, and way to document one’s life. While these reasons are beneficial, most people don’t realize the negative effects that smart phones can bring to a society. The question that remains unanswered is does the good outweigh the bad when it comes to owning a smart phone? We live in a world that is connected with endless modes of communication. We can send off a quick text message or call a friend in a matter of seconds. Communication through a smart phone is a wonderful way to connect with our world but can it be detrimental? Smart phones today are equipped with the ability to connect with 911 in the case of an emergency. It is amazing that a small device that we use to communicate with family and friends can actually save one’s life. Aside from an emergency, smart phones have the capacity to hold the phone numbers and contact information of every person one knows. With the touch of a button we can connect with anyone, anywhere, at any time. This makes it easier to stay in touch with friends or relatives that we do not see each and every day. There is no excuse to lose touch with those close to us because a smart phone gives us the power to speak to our far away friends and family no matter our location. Along with these great communicative functions, smart phones can also create grave problems. Being able to communicate with people through a screen is a seemingly wonderful concept, but it creates limitations that may never be overcome. Texting has taken away social skills that are necessary to human interaction. Words are broken down into abbreviations to the point that texting has a language of its own. As smart phone use grows, face to face communication withers. Smart phone use has revolutionized society into a group of people who lack connection to one another but hold a device in their hands that is connected to the world. Worst of all, smart phones have become a danger. People walk down streets not looking at where they are going because they are so engrossed in communication, they cannot even take a moment to look up. Texting and driving has become a killer as well. Over “three thousand people die yearly because of smart phone use while operating a vehicle. In 2013, texting and driving became one of the leading causes of teenager’s death” (trw.com.). Does the good outweigh the bad? Drew P. Cingel, Alexis R. Lauricella, Ellen Wartella, and Annie Conway’s article on Predicting Social Networking Site Use and Online Communication practices among adolescents looks at studies of teenagers that own and use smart phones to communicate. Their research states that “Adolescents who own smart phones engage in more constructive online communication practices than those who have a regular cell phone, or those who have no cell phone. People who choose to post …show more content…
Smart phones have begun to play a pivotal role in society. The wonderful resources and easy to access communicative functions are balanced out by the harmful qualities and the dangers that lurk behind a screen. No group is left untouched by the smart phone revolution. To answer the question would be impossible. With an endless list of possibilities, the good and bad constantly cross each other and cancel each other out, resulting in a piece of technology that can accomplish more than what meets the eye. It all depends upon who is using the smart phone and what they are using it for. The good and the bad can be found with one simple function, but the operator is the real dependent for how good or bad a smart phone may