Hong1

EuneeceHong
Ms.Gardner
English10Hon/P6
8November2015
TyrannyoftheSmartphone
Doyoucontrolyourphoneordoesyourphonecontrolyou?Hi,mynameisEuneece
HongandtodayIdliketotalktoyouaboutthesmartphone,thenegativeeffectsofthe
smartphone,andwaystoendthistyranny.Althoughweliveinafastpacedera,mustweliveas
thoughoursmartphoneisapartofourrespiratorysystem?
Thesmartphone,whichdefinedbyOxfordDictionariesisAmobilephonethatperforms
manyofthefunctionsofacomputer.Fromwalkingtodriving,fromshoppingtoshipping,from
callingtotextingourtechnologyadvancementhasdrasticallychanged.Thesmartphonewas
createdtospeedupthecommunicationprocessinamatteroftouchingafewbuttons.Asthe
smartphonecontinuestoimprove,companieslikeApple,Google,andSamsungdominateand
thriveinthetechnologyindustry.Thesmartphonehasimpactedoursocietyandeconomyin
positiveways,butwhataboutthenegativeeffects?
Althoughthesmartphonewasinventedtohelpus,asitimproved,itseemstobe
controllingourlives.Weareconstantlydistractedbyringtonesandflashing,colorfullights.A
singlevibrationcouldgetustostopanythingweredoingandcheckthemessage.Anotification
fromTwitter.AnotificationfromInstagram.AnotificationfromFacebook.Anotificationfrom
Snapchat.Wemustbefrequentlyupdatedwithourvirtualworldfilledwithfriendsand
celebrities.Oureyesneverleavetheseglowingscreensandwebegintofeelemptyandagitated
withoutitnearbyus.


Hong2
Ithasgottensoserioustothepointwheretheyhaveanofficialwordforthis
nomophobia.NomophobiaisshortenedforNoMobilePhobiawhichisthefearofbeingwithout
yourmobilephone.Inthewebarticle,Nomophobia:ARisingTrendinStudents,TimElmore
talksabouttheincreasingrateofpeoplesufferingfromthisphobia.Elmorestatesthatinthe
U.S.,Sixtyfivepercent,orabouttwointhreepeople,sleepwithornexttotheirsmartphones.
Evenwhilewearesleeping,wecannotbetoofarawayfromourphones.
Imnottryingtobealuddite,butitseemslikewearebeingtooobsessedwiththevirtual
liferatherthanthereallife.AnarticlefromtheNewYorkTimestitled,Coachella2015:Digital
witnessesandthetyrannyofthesmartphone,RandallRoberts,theauthor,statesthatpeople
needdigitalevidenceforeverything.Thewholeworldmustknowabouttheinterestinglifewe
have,whetherit'seatingatarestaurant,attendingaconcert,orjustyouroutfitfortheday.Our
phonesmustbealwaysupanddocumentingeverything.
Etiquetteisbeginningtoslowlydiminishinhouseholds.Agrowingexamplewouldbe
phonesatthedinnertable.In2011,accordingtothewebarticle,SmartphoneAddiction:Good
orBad?23%ofadultsand34%ofteenshaveusedtheirphonesduringmealtimes.Thatwas
only4yearsagoandovertheyearstechnologyhasclearlyadvanced.Imaginethestatisticsnow.
Toputanendtothistyranny,Ihavecomeupwithsomesuggestionstoslowlygainback
thecontroloverthesmartphones.Althoughtheobvioussolutionwouldbetogetridofthe
smartphone,itisalsoanunrealisticsolution.Wehavecometothepointwhereoursmartphones
giveusbetterbenefits,butIurgeyoutobecomemoreresponsibleandtakebackthecontrolof
yoursmartphone.Letyoursmartphonebeahelpfultool,notalifecontroller.Justturningitoff


Hong3
willstilltemptyoutocheckitonceinawhilesoturnthepowercompletelyoff.Youcanpractice
thisseveralminutesorhoursaday,untilyoubecomecomfortablewithoutit.
Iunderstandlikeanaddiction,thesmartphonewouldbehardtocuttiesfrom.EvenI
cannotalwaysfulfillmyownwishes.Iamnotheretoforceyoutogiveupyoursmartphone,but
youwontdie,butyouwontcry,butyouwontmortify,sowhynotgiveitatry?
So,myfellowclassmates,Iurgeyoutoclaimbackyourcontrolandpracticewithme.
Whetheritsfivehoursortenminutesadayslowlyincreaseyourlengthsuntilyouarenolonger
dependentonyoursmartphone.Wewerebornwithoutsmartphonessotherewasatimewhenwe
didnthavethem.Soletmeaskthisonceagain,Doyoucontrolyourphoneordoesyourphone
controlyou?


Hong4
MLACitation
Elmore,Tim."Nomophobia:ARisingTrendinStudents."
PsychologyToday
.SussexPublishers,
18Sept.2014.Web.11Nov.2015.
Luksich,Tammy."SmartphoneAddiction:GoodorBad?"
Socialnomics
.N.p.,4Aug.2011.
Web.11Nov.2015.
Roberts,Randall."Coachella2015:DigitalWitnessesandtheTyrannyoftheSmartphone."
Los
AngelesTimes
.LosAngelesTimes,13Apr.2015.Web.11Nov.2015.
Smartphone.OxfordDictionaries.OxfordUniversityPress,n.d.Web.11November2015.