I was walking around the University of Guelph campus a few days back and I actually took a look at the people around me. Out of the fifteen people that I focused on, thirteen of them were on their cell phones. Cell phones are a form of communication that are at your fingertips. Did you know that ”the number of cell phone users in Canada has risen from 100,000 in 1987 to more than 9.5 million in 2001″? (Health Canada). What does that tell us about our society? We are afraid to be alone. Even if the person is not physically there, we want to know that someone is interacting with us. A lot of people even pretend to be on their cell phone because they don’t want to seem like they are a “loner.” Many females do this if they are walking down the street alone so they won’t be harassed by males. We are a restless fast-paced society that wants to get things done quickly and wants to be doing something at all times. I rarely see people on the bus just sitting on the bus anymore. They are always listening to their Ipod, talking on their phones, or doing the most common one, texting.
Texting is a form of communication that allows users to communicate with each other without actually speaking. They can type messages on their phone and send it to whoever they wish. Texting has created a whole new language on its own. People have become too lazy to actually type out words so they use “abrevs.” This has not only interfered in dumbing down society but it has also seeped through the world of speech. I have actually heard people say “brb,” which means be right back, in a face to face conversation. More people text now than actually call each other. We are having less and less physical interaction as the days go on. The focus of the cell phone when I was younger was to use as emergency purposes to call someone if I needed help or if needed to know something. It has become the major source of communication, many people do not even have house phones anymore. Cell phones have become an attachment to the human body. Almost everyone has one. My ten year old cousin has one!
There have been many speculations and research done that cell phones can cause cancer because of the radiation, but not many people seem to care because hey! What doesn’t cause cancer now?
Although we have become a global village, we are also becoming more and more isolated. We no longer have to meet up with someone to talk to them; we can stay in our rooms all day and text whoever whenever. These gadgets have gone from being brick sizes to pea sizes, I guess it’s just trying to keep up with our technology advanced society!
Health Canada. “Safety and Safe Use of Cellular Phones.” http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/prod/cell-eng.php. December 19, 2006. October 4, 2008.
