Internet and Cell Phone

What did you find most interesting and/or surprising? What information really stood out for you when researching this topic & why? What’s the most important thing we, your audience, should take away from your research? -Originally the cell phone served as a tool for business management. Now, cell phones serve as a tool for social connection, in other words, managing social relationships. Across qualitative and quantitative studies, users of the cell phone all report using their phone for social purposes.

However, scholars have argued the cell phone might actually serve as a tool for social isolation (Bugeja, 2005). On the other hand, the cell phone has been argued to function as a social connection device, especially among teens (Ling, 1999a). Therefore, the social use of cell phones has proven to be a rich area for communication research, with researchers exploring various ways in which cell phone use affects social interaction, both isolating and connecting involved persons. -Although observational research shows that most cell hone users retreat from social settings when they are using the cell phone in a public place (Ling, 1999b), findings also suggest that cell phone users use the cell phone in public spaces as a form of exclusion (Bugeja, 2005; Ling, 2002). The survey found that 13% of surveyed adults said they had used their phones to look busy, so they wouldn’t have to talk with others. That percentage more than doubled among young adults aged 18 to 29 years, 30% of whom said they’d faked cell phone use as an avoidance mechanism.

Only 2% of the oldest (65 and older) respondents reported using cell phones to avoid dealing with others. unplugging may actually improve your social interactions. As Healthland reported last year, many people would argue that turning your phone off is a gesture of intimacy and affection for the people around you -The implications of this study are not only empirical, but serve to demonstrate the dangers that mobile communication technologies may pose if not used properly. Discretion of cell phone use is even evident in current state laws that prohibit drivers from talking on the phone while driving.

This alone testifies to the potential risk of danger that interactive mobile technologies pose for its users. A possible solution is to make users more aware of the effect of these mobile technologies on their attention, not only to strangers but even their surroundings. As proper etiquette exists for internet behavior, perhaps we ought to develop a social code of behavior for proper cell phone usage. http://healthland. time. com/2011/08/15/survey-1-in-8-fake-using-their-cell-phone-to-avoid-talking-to-others/