ways in which cellphones can impact our relationships negatively

ways in which cellphones can impact our relationships negatively

For the last 15 years, the industry of technology has seen significant advancements. The cellphone industry has witnessed much improvement, replacing many traditional modes of communication like a letter or direct meeting. The inclusion of features like video calling enables people to communicate while they are far away from each other. The cellphones are capable of delivering messages within seconds over long distances. In the age of the smartphone, different applications such as Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp bring people from different parts of the world together. This has made many people adopt the use of cellphones, especially smartphones, as a means of communication. However, according to research, smartphones can be addictive, as people use their mobile phones everywhere, even when it is not necessary. The use of mobile phones has negatively affected how people interact with friends, family members, fellow workers, and society in general. This paper examines the different ways in which cellphones can impact our relationships negatively.

Not only can phones interfere with relationships with others, but they can interfere with our own lives. Being addicted to phones is very dangerous. First, it makes us lose attention to things that we are doing. Notably, the teens, it is possible to find them still browsing or scrolling on their mobile phones while they are again doing house chores. Sometimes, I even find myself cleaning the house while being on twitter or chatting with friends. In most cases, a task that could take thirty minutes, I end up making one full hour. This is a clear indication that cell phones waste a lot of time. The second means by which cellphones waste time is through postponing activities. It is even worse when phones can make you postpone simple tasks like sleeping and waking up. Very many people have charging sockets or devices around their beds so that they can chat or use cellphones at their beds. Most people go through their phones as the first thing when they wake up, even before they step out of bed. They can even do it for an hour. Likewise, they also use phones for long times before they sleep. This makes them wake up late the following day.

The issue of cellphones is affecting family relationships, either parent to child or the spouses. In America, the number of divorces has increased in the recent past. One of the critical causes of separations is the use of mobile phones. Couples do not have that time to discuss pressing issues because everybody is busy scrolling his or her phone. What comes to the partner’s mind when you are talking about a severe problem is that you are conversing or flittering with someone else. They also assume that you are not attentive to what they are saying. However, sometimes this is not the case as people have learned to multitask when using mobile phones. If you tell the person to repeat what you have said while he was using the phone, he or she will probably say it. The use of cell phones affects attention, which is a necessity in marriage or a sexual relationship.

Unlike old-time, today, there is little or no relationship between parents and their children. This is not always facilitated by the fact that parents are busy in the workplace but because they are using their mobile phones. Some parents, when they get home instead of checking the welfare of their children, they sit in front of televisions scrolling their phones. For instance, a 15-year girl explained to Turkle during an interview on how his father was busy with a phone while she wanted to have a serious conversation with him. The girl shouted, “Daddy, stop Googling. I want to talk to you.” This shows that phones make parents inattentive to their children’s needs.

Cell phones lead to inattentive in classrooms as students use phones during classes. Some schools prohibit students from using phones while in levels, but this cannot stop them from doing it. They will do it while in front of a teacher he won’t notice. They have mastered the keyboard of the phones, and thus they can chat while in classrooms as Turkle notes in his article. However, according to research, the use of phones during lessons lowers concentration and attention. Additionally, the students are likely to forget easily what they learned in the classroom. The issue of students using phones at the classroom has become a controversial issue in the US, with some education leaders proclaiming that it should be banned.

People often interact with their friends in serious meetings. However, the presence of mobile phones makes people perceive that you are not attentive. As Turkle and Pugachevsky argue, the presence of a mobile phone in meetings without even use portrays a negative view of a person. At times it may also lead to fading or end of friendships. Nobody wants to spend time with someone who spends his time on the phone while they are conversing.

Cell phones affect how we socialize and talk with other people in workplaces or social areas. It is alarming that people who are used to phones lack skills to interact with people face to face. People converse so well through phones, but when they are let to interact face to face with friends, they can barely chat for half an hour without checking their phones. As a result, many people especially, the “smartphone children,” are unable to read vital face to face conversing skills such as facial expressions. They also don’t have interactive capabilities, which makes it hard for them. For instance, a teacher noted that the students “sit in the dining hall and look at their phones. When they share things, what they are sharing is what is on their phones.” The teacher concluded that the students did not understand each other well. Yalda, a psychologist, carried a study to examine the difference in how children interacted face to face without the presence of cell phones. She led children on a device-free outdoor camp and observed how the children physically interacted without phones. After five days in the field, Yalda noted that the children were able to read facial expressions and showing empathetic responses. This study concluded that the absence of cell phones enables people to understand how they should relate with others, attention as well as showing empathy.

The use of smartphones in the workplaces affects the relationship with core workers and with superiors. Though many scholars have argued that cell phones in workplaces can lead to efficiency, its excessive use leads to negative impacts. Many companies embrace teamwork as a way of increasing production in workplaces. The presence of cell phones can interfere with how a person interacts with team members. People who spend time on their phones during working hours lower productivity, and they may get hatred from other employees. Nobody wants to work with a person who is always on the phone. Likewise, no manager wants to be still cautioning an employee on the use of cell phones in the workplace. Even the use of mobile phones in the workplace has been labeled as “bad manners,” and thus, it is not acceptable in many firms. As a result, this ruins the relationship between an employee and fellow employees or employees and superiors.

The use of mobile phones can affect how people solve problems with their family or friends. The cell phone generation (children and adults who grew up with phones) is unable to settle disagreements. They mostly depend on social media or the internet for reference to how they should deal with issues. Sometimes, the media can mislead them, and instead of solving the problem, they let it go. For instance, severe discussion or forgiveness is the best way to solve a cheating issue. However, the people on social media may advise you to move on with life, which does not help to solve the problem.

Cell phones have negative impacts on our daily lives. It is suitable for people to limit how, where, and when they use their cell phones. If not controlled, the excessive use of phones can affect attention, which eventually leads to destroyed relationships with family members, friends, coworkers, and society in general. In conclusion, people should ensure that cell phones do not interfere with what they are supposed to be doing.