Mobile phones have become an integral part of our lives as one cannot imagine about a life without them. Gone are the days when one had to stand in queues at PCO to make a call as today mobile phones have become accessible to everyone. Messages can be sent in real time basis. Imagine you can catch up with your friend any time, even during the wee hours. If you are bored on a weekend, you can just call him up and have an interesting conversation with him.
Falling mobile tariffs have made things easier for everyone as nobody worries about the call rates anymore today. People can send text messages and forward jokes. With the advent of 4G one can also send video messages, video clips and download data. On the other hand, excessive usage of mobile phones is creating a huge distraction for students as it is adversely affecting their studies. Some of them keep mobile along with them while studying as they remain glued to their handsets to check for any incoming messages. They remain awake at night to chat with their friends and lose their sleep. Mobiles are also causing disruptions at workplace as employees tend to check their messages thereby hampering their productivity. Moreover, a person may get irritated when he receives a huge number of calls while attending an important meeting at his workplace.
Many young people reported mental and physical symptoms of distress if they remain without mobiles for a full day. Frequent texting has also had an adverse effect on children’s fingers which have become dysfunctional. If the trend continues, young people will soon be incapable of forming and maintaining relationships without the help of a mobile. Speaking on the phone and sending lots of text messages will give children many more acquaintances but fewer friends. They are replacing quality with quantity. There is huge peer pressure to have a mobile phone with the latest technology and design. Many homes have even done away with “land line phones” adopting just cell phones as a means of communication. New phones are introduced every month which comes with latest technology.
Psychologists have asked people to cut down the number of calls they make in a particular day. People have been instructed to streamline the number of calls according to its relevancy. They should not chat on mobiles for a long time and have brief conversations. Students can switch off their mobile phones while studying for improving their concentration. They can also stay away from logging into social networking sites while preparing for examinations to reduce distractions. Thus it is good to become tech savvy but not remain overdependent on it.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
