The inseparables; people, and cell phones 1
The inseparables; people, and cell phones
Submitted by: Yasmeen al zayer
ID: 200900479
Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd University
Writing and Research, COMM 1312
Section: 206
Submitted to: Dr Adele Madacoma
Due Date: October3, 2012
The inseparables; people, and cell phones 2
The inseparables; people, and cell phones
Introduction and Background:
I am a freshman student at PMU studying finance. In my learning outcome
assessment class I was assigned to do a research. I had many ideas running through
my head of what to research about. But then it came to me. It’s a device we all use.
Wherever you go, you see everyone using cell phones. They have become a huge part
of our lives. We’re living in the 21st century, and phones nowadays are developed as
to the point where the need for computers is decreasing day by day. I find myself very
curious to measure how big of an effect has the cell phones have on the society. That
is why I asked the following research question:
Research Question:
Have we underestimated the power of cell phones in effecting our lives negatively?
Rationale:
I choose this subject based on a personal experience that happened to me while I was
in the car with my little brother who was driving the car and calling by his phone. In
addition to the other negative effects such as weaken the person relationship with his
family and losing the attention to education.This pepper will seek to increase the
awareness of bad effects of mobile phones.
Literature Review:
The only database available at my university is the EBSCO library database.
Therefore, I conducted my search by using it. Using the keywords “cell phones” and
“effect”. With 166 results, and a variety between medical and social articles, I’ve
The inseparables; people, and cell phones 3
chosen one named “Effect of Cell-Phone and Text-Message Distractions on True and
False Recognition, 2011”. is based on experiments, which focuses on false and true
memory. The one that interested me is the one, which included the effect of engaging
in cell phone conversations during driving. The result showed that the participants’
recognition memory was poor in the driving environment, even though they were
looking directly at the objects. Yet, what I found astonishing, and I quote:
“Strayer et al. demonstrated that the cognitive impairments associated with using
communication devices while driving can be equivalent to those associated with
drunken driving” (A Comparison of the Cell Phone Driver and the Drunk Driver,
June 2006).
From this, we can obviously conclude that the problem is bigger than we might have
imagined. Lots of people now text and drive, which increases the chances of car
accidents. Yet again, safety is not the only issue. When it comes to education, cell
phones have opened a whole new door for entertainment. Lots of applications can be
easily downloaded, including games.
As a result, that distracted teenagers from focusing on their school home works and
their studying according to “Effects of a Cell Phone Conversation on Cognitive
Processing Performances, 2009”. (They found that after note there are decline of the
functions of vision and hearing). Moreover, cheating has become easier because of
cell phones. The part in which I believe effects society the most, is relationships. If
you take a look at how relationships has become, it’s quite saddening. You could be
sitting right in the middle of your living room, with your entire family, but with your
mind elsewhere. Ironically, technology was supposed to bring people closer, and yet it
has managed to create a distance in the same house. We cannot deny that cell phones
were designed to make our lives easier, and it indeed succeeded. But on the other
The inseparables; people, and cell phones 4
hand, how people are using it is where the problem lies. So yes, that is an issue in our
society, and it definitely needs to be fixed.
Methodology:
I will conduct a survey as required by my instructor. The easiest way to reach people
nowadays is via instant messaging applications. Therefore, I created my survey and I am
going to send it to family members, friends, and colleagues. And since this research is about
cell phones, I found that the best age to focus on is between fifteen and twenty-five. What I
hope to achieve by doing this survey is to know how deep people are attached to their mobile
phones. And through the answers, discover if perhaps there will be exceptions to what is
apparent of people’s addiction.
Expected Findings and Implications:
It is expected to find what the bad effects of using phone how people can solve this
problem in their homes if they could not live without it a seconds. Moreover I
expected to know what the people think about future if the problem continues.
Bibliography:
1) Effect of Cell-Phone and Text-Message Distractions on True and False
Recognition The article- Smith, T. S., Isaak, M. I., Senette, C. G., & Abadie,
B. G. (2011)
http://web.ebscohost.com.library.pmu.edu.sa:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=01
0deb67-114f-49ae-a24f-247951b35830%40sessionmgr11&vid=6&hid=19
2) (A Comparison of the Cell Phone Driver and the Drunk Driver, June 2006)
David L Strayer, Frank A. Drews, and Dennis J. Crouch, University of Utah, Salt
Lake City, Utah
The inseparables; people, and cell phones 5
http://web.ebscohost.com.library.pmu.edu.sa:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=01
0deb67-114f-49ae-a24f-247951b35830%40sessionmgr11&vid=7&hid=113
3) “Effects of a Cell Phone Conversation on Cognitive Processing Performances,
2009
Brett E. Kemker* Julie A.G. Stierwalt { Leonard L. LaPointe { Gary R. Heald{
http://web.ebscohost.com.library.pmu.edu.sa:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=01
0deb67-114f-49ae-a24f-247951b35830%40sessionmgr11&vid=11&hid=111