Cell Phone Use :: Technology Essays

Cell Phone Use With technology on the rise, an important issue of social interaction and communication has risen with it. Many people have become heavily dependent on technology, unable to make it through a normal day without it. Granted, technology has provided society with many beneficial inventions, and for that we are grateful; yet, the sense of community that once resided around our homes has seemed to have all but diminished. For every branch of expansion this new technology â€Å"tree† grows, a new root ensnaring society grows with it, causing us to become ever more dependent on technology. I have found that many people are oblivious to the clear cause and affect system that is inseparable from growing technology. Being a student at a Public University, I have noticed an increasing amount of students who talk on their cell phones between classes. It has gone unnoticed that this limits the amount of interaction among students on the campus. With people ranting all over the media about what great opportunities technology provides to reach those across the globe, I began to wonder if technology was actually holding a positive effect of society. I wanted to find out how others viewed the situation. I decided that a good way for this to be done was by survey. In conducting this survey, I chose to question twenty random students at James Madison University. The survey was given at the on campus food court, PC Dukes. Its purpose was to investigate the topic of cells phones, attempting to discover whether cell phones expand our everyday life or if they constrict us to our own individual world. While eighteen students of the twenty surveyed felt cell phones actually do expand their life, a more in depth look was necessary. Other questions on the survey (questions four, five, six, and nine) contradicted this statement. For example, ten students who found their life to be expanded felt that they would be more socially active if they did not have cell phones. To me, this shows that cell phones keep people from reaching out and meeting new friends. I feel this is largely due to the fact that with cell phones, people are extremely easy to get in touch with. By having this luxury, a small group of friends can stay closer and more sociable with each other rather than keeping a large group of friends.