Are Smartphones a Smart Choice?

A projection of statistics shows that the number of smartphone users will reach 2 billion by the end of 2015. This implies that slightly less than one third of the entire population own smartphones. The attractiveness of smartphones has been attributed to the positive impacts it has on our lives. In family setups, smartphones have been used to locate family members by the use of trackers, make orders, and communicate. In other setups, we use smartphones to contact friends and acquaintances through the use of emails, video calls, and social networks. Smartphones are also famous for accommodating a variety of applications which can be used for a host of uses including health a, real estate among others. The list of their advantages is endless. However, we often find these gadgets to be wanting due to their impact on relationships, misuse of language and distraction to students.

Smartphones make us lose personal contact with each other.  While technology allows us to be connected to each other even over long distances, it may also contribute to the end degradation of relationships. Various reports have shown that mobile devices negatively impact our close relationships. Some of these studies show that those of us who communicate while using smartphones report a much lower quality of relationships and less capability to be emotionally connected to their friends and family. Mobile devices become such a distractive companion that it is feared that it may end up destroying some relationships. The constant use of mobile gadgets also raises distrust among partners as they wonder who their partners are communicating with. With this kind of destruction to personal relationships, it is difficult to maintain relationships. In addition, some researchers have found that those of us who constantly use their smartphones prefer the more indirect forms of communication that are promoted by smartphones. This way, they become unreliable where contact is expected. It threatens the very foundations of the family hence making it difficult to determine if people are right to embrace it as much as they do.

The risk of being misinterpreted is too high. With the growth of the mobile phone industry, governments have created numerous policies to govern the way we use of these devices. One such law is one that governs the language use through text messages, email and social media. Even with good intentions, the words we post on such platforms can be misinterpreted to communicate a completely different meaning to what was required. The risk has increased even higher due to the use of shortened language to facilitate faster and easier typing. The use of this language has led to the formation of various word formats that can be used to imply different things. Since smartphones and the rest of technology have been used in the past to cause unpleasant situations, the law often ends up nabbing individuals who may have good intentions a well. The use of mobile phones risks being detrimental to the peace of those who misinterpret information and those of us found on the wrong side of the law due to such acts. With such a high risk of being misinterpreted, it has become questionable as to the validity of adopting smartphones.

Smartphones have also become a threat to learning. Many students have become addicted to their smartphones. This way, it has become virtually impossible for them to grant sufficient time to their schoolwork. The problem is so big that for some of us, a significant amount of our class time is spent on our smartphones either sending text messages or using social media. Others spend their time with their smartphones for so long that the time they should spend on their studies is highly threatened. Research has shown that students as young as six years have been let to own smartphones. This way, the use of smartphones has largely put learning in jeopardy.

The use of smartphones is likely to cause disharmony between individuals. I however think that these are issues that can be resolved at various levels before throwing away the devices. One way we can reduce the impact of smartphones is by being disciplined. Reducing the time spent on these handsets can help reduce the impact of these devices on our welfare. Second, policies should be implemented at various levels to ensure that students spend enough time in their studies. The use of smartphones should be reduced by all means to give time to more productive ventures.

In conclusion, while the use of the internet has some significant benefits, it has also been known to affect various aspects of people’s lives. I find that if the trend continues, various aspects of our lives stand threatened. Smartphones have become a threat to the various dimensions of our livelihoods. To resolve this matter, we must be better decision makers. However, for some, it has become so significantly destructive that it cannot be mended. The use of smartphones appears not to be such a smart choice after all. The most affected areas of our livelihoods appear to be our education systems, our close relationships and even the ability to stay within the precinct of the law.