Over the course of the past several years, advanced forms of technology have begun to captivate the minds of individuals and absorb the basis of societies all around the world. As the majority of the scientific and medical realm thrive off of the new and developing equipment, the basic structure of humanity is constantly being interrupted and transformed. Cell phones are a prominent example of a singular form of technology that is causing individuals to far exceed the normal boundaries of a healthy humanity. A device that was originally produced and used for basic communication now has the ability to control almost all aspects of an individual’s life and mind. This generation does not know how to live life simply and productively. Humans have lost touch with the knowledge of basic tasks, and most people no longer know how to check data sheets, only data plans. People now maintain the ability to sit on the couch looking at a screen for hours instead of going to exercise or spend valuable time with family and friends. Priorities have rotated from healthy living to living a life with little motivation and limited movement. Not only are cell phones taking away valuable skills and time, but they also put the user and the people involved with and close to the user in danger as well. People using cell phones often make bad decisions behind the wheel, damage their brains, and even risk getting cancer, and this proves that an individual’s tool often makes a tool of an individual.
Talking or texting while driving gives a very small device the power to injure or even kill thousands of innocent beings. The severe danger of cell phone usage behind the wheel is common knowledge to drivers of all age ranges; however, eighty-five percent of Americans are so consumed with their cellular device that they are willing to put themselves and others in danger just to reply to a few words (Noder 1). In today’s time, it has become a normality and a priority to check cell phone usage after a wreck, and the result often show that the time of the car accident correlates with the time the driver was using the cell phone. Texting and driving has become as dangerous and severe as driving under the influence, because both situations put everyone on the road at a high accident risk. It is impossible to watch a cell phone and the road at the same time, and drivers often choose to look at a screen over a road. When an individual takes his or her eyes off the road for as little as a split second, he or she has given up enough time to brutally change or even end someone’s life. It is obvious that cell phones have become a dangerous tool due to the fact that people often put the small device in front of other beings. Humans feel a strong need to be easily assessable no matter what is going on around or with them or what they are doing at the moment. This necessity frequently leads to having a phone within hand reach while relaxing on the couch watching television, sitting in an important college class, or even driving behind the wheel on a busy road. The pocket sized shape makes the cell phone one of the easiest and lightest technological pieces to carry around. The social media applications and the access to several forms of communication have drawn in audiences of all age groups and make the cell phone impossible to go without, even when driving an automobile. The number of operations a cell phone can complete has significantly increased within the past several years, and so has the number of automobile deaths caused by distraction (Noder 7). Cell phones were invented to assist an individual when in a troubling or stressful situation; however, now cell phones tend to lead people into troubling and stressful situations. A lot of distracted driving starts as an innocent use of technology available on the road. People often begin by using the GPS system on the phone to get to a specific location; however, their eyes glance to a message as it pops up on the screen and it is impossible to ignore. Not only do drivers relying so heavily on cell phones lead to distraction, but the accessibility to technology that cars now possess also has a big role. Automobiles now have the ability to play music and sync information from most devices. This leads to the driver scrolling the playlists and connecting his or her phone as he or she operates the car. The worst part about distracted driving is the fact that the driver never truly knows who all he or she is putting in danger. The car he or she wrecks into could be full of young children or even the driver’s own friends and family. Unfortunately, individuals have turned cell phone usage into a negative concept because individuals do not know when to put their cell phones away.
Cell phones are becoming an item that this world’s generation obsesses over to the point that the technological device is corrupting the human brain. Technology is withering away at the traits and skills that are crucial in order to live a healthy and balanced life. Cell phones start having an effect on a person’s life before he or she is even born, in fact “children and fetuses are the most at risk from neurological and biological damage that results from microwave radiation emitted by wireless devices,” showing that the younger the being, the higher the risk (Newswise 1). Unfortunately, the amount of damage that technology causes on the human body does not stop once a child has exited the womb. Cell phones have such negative effects on an individual’s mental being that “Russian officials have issued the recommendation that all children under the age of 18 should avoid using cell phones entirely,” and technology devices are becoming too advanced (Mercola 1). The extreme use of technology is beginning to control the human mind and alter the human mindset as the urge for love has transfigured into the urge for “likes” on an Instagram picture, and the pleasure of conversation has transformed into the pleasure of updating statuses every few minutes. The majority of people have allowed cell phones to become such an asset that “people have reported feeling so emotionally attached to their cell phones that they have anxiety without their phones,” leading to an unhealthy amount of time spent behind a screen (Galvin 1). Cell phones also have the power to lead the user to depression. Many cell phone users are young teenagers with access to all social media and websites. These teenagers become obsessed with trying to become who they see on the internet. Healthy role models such as professional athletes and world leaders have faded, and internet models with unrealistic body goals and performers with engaging lifestyles have emerged as the new standard of cool. Less followers and few likes leave young minds feeling as if they are not beautiful, popular, or even worthy enough to be a successful individual. Having a cell phone available constantly without parental control leads to children logging onto unmonitored sites and acting anyway they choose. Girl who appear innocent offline turn into bullies on the internet. Other girls lose confidence in who they are because they are told they are not good enough and are picked on by others. The girls with low self-esteem put themselves in risky situations when they turn to internet men posing to be anyone the girl would want. This new and improved technology is giving people the craving to have everything at their fingertips. In reality, cell phones are damaging to the nervous system as they literally take over the brain with a drug like stance. Cellular devices are taking their toll on today’s society as they captivate and control not only people’s minds, but people’s lives as well.
Fear and terror are very rarely triggered when thinking about a cell phone; however, these two emotions fly high when the word cancer comes into play, and even though cell phones and cancer are usually considered to be on two opposite ends of a spectrum, they often relate to the other and can even go hand in hand. This idea seems distant to many people; however, it is realistic. Cell phones give off waves that can have long term effects on the human body. An individual puts him or herself at the most risk for developing cancer when he or she is constantly holding the phone extremely close to a body part. The most common type of cancer related to cell phones are brain tumors. Brain tumors are beginning to be studied, and the fact that “regular use is associated with a doubling of risk (OR = 2.15) with a 3-year latency period, and that regular use is associated with a moderate increase in risk (OR = 1.36) with no latency period” shows that regular use of a cell phone can be dangerous (Boice 4). Even though, as of now, the chances of developing cancer from a cell phone are a long shot, the severity of the tumors should not be over looked. Cancer is a sickness that no cell phone is worth. Limiting cell phone use is worth not having to go through chemo therapy and radiation. Cancer effects the patient and the family, and it is something that is impossible to understand until one has gone through the process him or herself. If the regular use of a cell phone puts an individual at a risk for cancer, the overuse of a cell phone has potential to maximize that risk. In order to reduce the amount of waves that a person intakes, he or she should consider “hands-free kits reduce the amount of radiofrequency energy exposure to the head because the antenna, which is the source of energy, is not placed against the head,” because that is a safer concepts as it keeps distance between the device and the user (Cell Phones and Cancer Risk 5). It is not a common situation where the idea of cancer is pushed to the side or not heavily considered; however, cancer due to cell phone use is an uncommon scenario that is rarely heard of, and people seldom consider themselves at a higher risk than anyone else. Many cell phone users around the world are caught up in all of the positive aspects they believe the phone has that they turn a blind eye to the negative and scary side effects such as cancer.
Cell phones are becoming devices that people obsess over to the point that they are taking over the human brain, robbing people of the skills and needs that are important assets in the journey to success. People are beginning to put their faith in technology instead of in themselves and in others. The scenery of this beautiful world is fading into background scenes as individuals focus more on the light coming from their devices than the light and color that the earth has to offer. Real life relationships deteriorate as people would rather find joy and adventure from seeking connections on line with people they are not likely to actually meet in person. The positive aspects of cell phones are being terminated by people who do not know how to keep a good thing good. Negative people are ruining the opportunity to have a positive thing. Technology’s negative side effects such as distracted driving, brain alteration, and cancer are serious problems that should not be over looked. The moment that a cell phone becomes an individual’s obsession, he or she gets tangled up in a life of possession. The instant that an individual allows a tool to make a tool out of him or her is the instant that the individual is no longer capable of being individual at all.