The Cell-Phone Revolution

Picture courtesy of www.wirelessfundraiser.com

A recent post made by Dr. Deb entitled "Cell Phones and Pagers, Stop the Madness," completely caught my attention. First of all, the title itself made me reflect on ten years ago when cell phones and pagers didn't really exist. It was a pain in the rear end to get ahold of someone however, the age of the cell phone has began. Nowadays, it seems like noone can get by without one. The people that have one can't stay off of them. Pagers kind of wore out and aren't really used anymore; but cell phones haven't. You can't drive a single block without seeing three quarters of people paying more attention to who they are yacking at than the road.

In Dr. Deb's blog, there was a statement about research done that followed over 1,300 adults over a process of two years "found that those who consistently used a mobile phone or pager throughout the study period were more likely to report negative "spillover" between work and home life -- and, in turn, less satisfaction with their family life." This is a huge statement. However, I completely agree. Now it isn't just cell phones. It is also internet that is causing problems. They are all addictive. Myspace is a huge addictive internet site. I personally have an account on it, as well as do most of the people I know. They have to check it every day and spend hours on it. Those same people also carry a cell-phone everywhere they go and God forbid if someone can't get ahold of them. I again am a willing victim to this over-accessability. This brings me to a halting question from Dr. Deb: "What happened to quiet and stillness?"

When you think about it, what did happen to it? Dr. Deb believes that this over-accessibility has been caused by the availability of these technologies. She also believes that research being an example, along with her own personal thoughts, that this revolution is jeapordizing family life because of the constant "addiction" people of today have to cell phones, and ten years ago pagers. She also states her belief that it has taken away some of our values such as patience. It also in her opinion causes massive amounts of stress to the psyche and body for the burden over accessibility, because of the constant need of that "fix of gratification." I completely agree as I feel victim to this exact point myself that she is trying to make.

Today's revolution of cell phones boomed from pagers in just a 10 year time. I can't imagine how bad it is going to be in another 10 years. What are they going to come up with next?