As a
child I can remember life without cell phones. We had home phones that ran
through land lines and dial up modems to connect to the internet. I remember
walking down the street and seeing phone booths all over the place. Then when
the first cell phone came out, I can remember that everyone wanted to have one.
The size of these phones where enormous by today’s standards. Now, cell phones
are a part of our everyday lives and can perform many different functions
besides just placing a call. Now you can send text messages, surf the web, and
even play games on your phone.
Cell
phones fall into the interpersonal type of media. This type of media is person
to person. Messages are sent back and forth between sender and receiver. Phones
are now a part of everyday life. I have forgotten my wallet at home before and
just kept on going. Should I ever forget my phone at home, you can bet that I will
be turning around to go get it. Kids of this generation have cell phones before
they can even drive. This was a rare occurrence while I was growing up.
There
are a few issues with this though. Growing up, I remember growing to someone’s
house to talk to them. Now we just simply place a call and talk to them over
the phone. Our interpersonal relationships have suffered because of these
technological advances. Another issue is that how can we make sure that the
message we send is received the same way it was sent. Messages can be
misinterpreted over the phone as has happened to me on countless occasions. Nevertheless,
phones have provided a significant comfort factor in our everyday lives. Communication
is easier than it was before cell phones. Technology brings about changes every
time, it’s about weighing the pros and the cons. Cell phones definitely have
more pros than cons.
