You are on page 1of 7

Essa Alrobeh Professor Presnell English 1102 11 April.

2014

IPhone Addiction Smartphones are playing an important role in our everyday lives as the ma e life easier and more convenient. Smartphones had gained popularity all over the !orld in the past fe! years. "ith the huge development of technology# Smartphones is overta ing our daily lives every passing day. It$s not %ust an ob%ect# it$s a phone# computer# tablet# or for many# a best friend. &his e'plains !hy some people get agitated !hen they don$t have their Smartphones. I someho! feel panic ed !hen I reali(e that I left my iPhone at home# even for a short time. And that$s !hat made me !ondering !hether there is a specific neurological function for this# and I found out in one of my sources that these reactions are common# especially among teenagers# and clear evidence that Smartphones have ta en over our daily lives.

)eminiscing &a ing a loo bac before the first generation of iPhones !as released in 200*# most people used to have small conversations !ith strangers on their !ay to school# or !or !hen ta ing one of the public transportations. +ost people used to as strangers do!n the streen !hen they get lost# but they usle ,oogle +ap application on their smartphone to get to the direction. +ost people have lovely dinners full of conversation !ith their families !ithout any distraction. -o!ever# family dinner turned into a meal full of interfering ringers or vibrations. "hich I guess

started from the older generations !hen it comes to receive emails regarding !or during dinner. It is al!ays the same even !hen it comes to dining out !ith family or friends# there is al!ays that person !ho is so attached to his phone. In some countries li e Saudi Arabia# using iPhones started as a fad among teenagers !hich led us to do things that !e never imagined# and then it started to influence on our !ay of living and communicating. I have never thought I !ould access any !ebsite to get any information I !ant from my phone no matter !here I am. Also# my smartphone has helped me improve my English language since I had used it in English instead of my o!n language. I started to te't in English instead and !ith the .Auto correction/ I learned ho! to spell many !ords correctly. Since I moved to the 0nited States# I !asn$t really surprise that people are really attached to their phones. I guess Saudis are more addicted than American because !e carry them around all the time# and use more than one social app to communicate !ith each other all the time# such as "hatsapp# 1lac 1erry messenger# &ango# and 2iber. 3ot to mention the social net!or apps such as 4aceboo # Instgram# and &!itter. Social 3orms Smartphones5 -as it made us more sociable or it is the other !ay around6 I feel li e social media has ta en over our social life. 7ur conversations become shorter and most of the information that !e used to tal about could be found online in our social net!or pages such as our schools# ma%ors# !here !e live or !or # our date of birth# and favorite activities. "hen I go out to eat dinner !ith my friends# !e used to discuss our orders# but no! !e %ust google up about the dish and see ho! it loo s instead of as ing one of the group or the !aitress. I feel li e social media has desensiti(e us so much as generation# !e have trouble ta ing complements no!adays unless it$s left on Instgram comment# &!itter# or 4aceboo . +y 18th

birthday !asn$t as I

!as e'pecting it to be !hen I !as younger# I used to have a birthday parties !ith gifts# food# ca es and most importantly my best friends. -o!ever# in my 18th birthday# I stayed at home studying and chec ing my iPhone every 9 minutes because I !as receiving birthday !ishes posts in my 4aceboo page# and believe it or not I couldn$t be much happier. People start to be

disrespectful sometimes !ithout noticing that because they are too busy using their phones. According to :amian &hompson .many of 1ritain$s ;0 million smartphone o!ners thin nothing of surreptitiously chec ing &!itter during a conversation. 0sually this digital rudeness ta es place !hile someone else is tal ing./ &hese days# teenagers or smartphones users have mastered multitas ing# !hich they can te't a person and tal to another at the same time. 1ut I don$t thin that change the fact that tal ing to someone !hile te'ting at the same time is rude. +y roommate used to do the same thing# tal ing to me !hile te'ting at the same time and that !as very annoying because he pretend to be listening to me !hile I$m tal ing and he thought that he could multitas # but !hen he$s done he !ould simply say .I$m sorry !hat !ere you saying6/ I thin tal ing to someone !hile te'ting another is rude and rather ignorant because you are concentrated on !hat you are typing or receiving and miss pretty much of !hat is said to you

at the same time. And for those !ho can multitas # I !ould say it !ould still be rude because the brain can only function on one thing at the time# so it is rather concentrate on one thing at the time# or thin of another.

Smartphones And Education Is it affecting our education significantly6 :oes it affect it for better or !orse6 &echnology has become a significant part of our lives as students# !e use smartphones# tablets# or computers all the time to do the assignments. In 0nited States today# Ed!ard ,raham stated .3ot every classroom can get a laptop every day# so devices li e smartphones# even if you have to pair up# become something useful for teachers./ &here are studies that sho!s that about 9< percent of students from 1; to 1* years o!ned smartphones. -o!ever# almost all teachers and professor are completely disagree !ith idea of using smartphones inside the classroom. Allo!ing smartphones inside the classroom could be a huge mista e because of the huge addiction that most students have to their phones !hich lead to a !rong usage of it as an educational tool. As I e'plore in the internet# I found out some statistics from Stanford 0niversity that about 44 percents of the students claim to be very addicted to their smartphones. :amian &hompson stated that .the smartphones have become part of these students$ identities and social frame!or s./ Smartphones have gotten out of hand because the students !on$t do the class !or !hen they are busy using their phones. I personally do and see many students in different classes surfing the internet# te'ting# or getting on 4aceboo during lectures. Although there are many negative aspects of using smartphones during lectures# but there are many beneficial aspects that are affect our education to the better. +any students te't during lecture and some of them playing !ith their phones# but they can use it inside the classroom as a

methods of teaching. &hese methods can help students arrange their time# receiving te't messages as a reminder for their upcoming e'ams or assignments. In fact# there are many studies that sho!s that many students don$t do their home!or because they !ere unorgani(ed !hich lead them to forget their assignments# but !ith this great apps that their smartphones provide and the methods that could be used# they can stay ahead and no! about their upcoming assignments. 7nce I !as stuc at home because of a sno! storm# and I had to !rite a paper but I had no access to my computer. &herefore# I used my iPhone to !rite a five pages paper. I really had no problem typing all that pages !ith my iPhone because I felt li e I$m using my computer but I !as more faster !hen I used my iPhone. In conclusion# smartphones are significantly changing our lives# and the improvement of them has both positive and negative impacts on our society. And I have learned that those positives impacts are becoming a part of our daily life because it ma es it more simpler and more convenient. Although those negative impacts seem e'tremely inappropriate or even ha(ardous circumstances such as te'ting !hile driving# but !e can cope !ith them. +any people thin that smartphones and te'ting are destroying our communication# but this could be easily handled by having some times !ith family or friends !ithout smartphones. Also# it has been a large penalty for those !ho te't and drive !hich reduces the number of them. &he only thing I fear of is that our public life is turning so fast into a private life. +ost people !ould say that they prefer to read an e=boo # te'ting# or listening to music !hile ta ing one of public transportations instead of tal ing to strangers. +ohammad Salehan stated that .+obile phone addiction is associated !ith different factors such as personal habits and loneliness./ I !ould personally agree !ith them because I do the same thing. I guess pretty much of it had to !ith being addicted to the

smartphones and that !hat ma es it hard to not use it and tal to others instead. "e are as generation use smartphones on daily basis and for many purposes because they become a part of our identities.

"or s >ited 1adger# Emily. ?-o! Smart Phones Are &urning 7ur Public Places Into Private 7nes.? &he Atlantic >ities. 1@ +ay 2012. "eb. 2; +ar 2014.

,raham# Ed!ard. ?0sing Smartphones in the >lassroom.? 3ational Education Association. 19 Aug 201;. "eb. 2; +ar 2014. Salehan# +ohammad and 3egahban# Arash. ?Social 3et!or ing on SmartphonesA "hen +obile Phones 1ecome Addictive./ >omputers in -uman 1ehavior. 28.@5 3ovember 201;. B. +urrey At ins Cib. "eb. 2; +ar. 2014. Soumya. ?&he IPhoneA -o! :oes It Affect 7ur Society6? Douth 2oice. 01 April 201;. "eb. 2; +ar 2014. &hompson# :amian. ?&he 3e! ,lobal AddictionA Smartphones.? :aily &elegraph. 3.p.# 19 Bun 2012. "eb. 2; +ar 2014.

You might also like