cell phone world

April 17, 2006: Cell Phones Being Used As "Time-Killers"

While browsing the 'net researching more ideas to write about for this site, I came upon a site titled "Healh Hazards of Mobile Phones." While the article in question has not been updated since September, 2005, (and, hence, all the medical studies listed have been somewhat disproved by the FDA) there was one quote I found very interesting. Here's the excerpt from the article (citations at the end of article):

"It used to be you'd call someone because you had a reason to call. Now you call because you're bored waiting for the bus to come," says grad student Ian Johnson. "It's almost a noise pollution."

This statement hit home because several of my friends do exactly the same thing - call for no reason other than to "kill time while waiting." It also got me thinking of the social consequences.

A cell phone is all about convenience and practicality. It's not so much a luxury afforded to upper classes any more, cell phones have become more of a necessity (although this point is debatable). Generally, people carry around a cell phone so they can be reached at any time OR to reach other people should the need arise.

This is almost a continuation of the argument that cell phones are transforming society into accepting or expecting "instant gratification." Whereas a student waiting for the bus ten years ago would have been waiting patiently - now, there's an excellent chance that student will be on the phone to pass the time.

As I attended Rutgers during what I would term the "cell phone boom" years (2000 and later), I saw firsthand the evolution of the cell phone into society. In 2000, it seemed about 1 in 10 people had a cell phone (my general estimate). By 2004, I believe it was somewhere near 1 in 3 or 4. Now it would not surprise me if the ratio were closer to 1 in 2.

So, does anyone actually benefit from these "useless" cell phone calls? Of course. Your cell phone service providers are making a killing from the hundreds, thousands, and maybe millions of minutes being spent on these calls. And "noise pollution" is a great way to describe it.

("Health Hazards of Mobile Phones" http://www.willthomas.net/Convergence/Weekly/Cell_Phone_Hazards.htm www.willthomas.net 17 April 2006.)

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