Nikola's Eigth Post

The mobile Phone

The mobile phone has had a large impact on society both in the telecommunication, entertainment and business fields. It is continually having an enormous impact with its effects branching into many areas everyday life. In its short history, the mobile phone has seen an almost unprecedented rate of development and advancement. This essay will trace the technological development of the mobile phone and explore some interesting effects it is having on society in relation to child-parent relationships, communication, independence, health and business. The cellular Telephone is a portable electronic communications device used primarily to keep in contact with other individuals or institutions on the move. The first use of radio telephony was in first class passenger trains from Berlin to Hamburg in 1926. Passenger airplanes also introduced this technology at the same time. Radio telephony was later introduced on a larger scale in German tanks during the Second World War. German police in the British zone of occupation after the war use the disused rank telephony to run the first radio patrol cars. The service, in these first cases of radio telephony use was confined to specially trained equipment specialists. One of the first instances where radio telephony was undertaken by un trained individuals was on the ships to the Rhine in the early 1950’s. The area in which the mobile telephone could be used was restricted by the cell area serviced by a base station. This meant that during one phone call, the individual would have to stay within the proximity of the cell area or lose connection. Amos Edward Joel changed this in 1970 by inventing an automatic “call handoff” system which allowed mobile phones to move through several cell areas without disconnecting.

This quickly led to the beginning of a rapid change and advancement of the mobile phones technology. AT&T’S proposal for an Advanced Mobile Phone Service was approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and frequencies were allocated to a Mhz band. This was a major stepping stone to the first fully automatic mobile phone system called MTA (Mobile Telephone systems A.) developed by Ericsson and released commercially in Sweden in 1956. This system required no manual control, but weighed an incredible 40kg, later upgraded to weigh only 9 kg. The DynaTAC 8000X was unveiled in 1983 by Dr Martin Cooper of Motorola and was the first true mobile phone as we know it today.

Mobile phones profoundly increased in their technological advancement during this time and continued to become smaller, and more powerful in their application. Their uses are evolving almost daily, giving users access to the internet, television, music, video games e-mail and cameras on so on. What the mobile phone has now become is almost indescribable. It has evolved in such away that today’s society sees communication as just one, small aspect of its many uses, today’s mobile phone is having a profound impact on society as it reaches deeper into peoples everyday lives. (Fattah, 2003) It is having an effect on nearly every aspect of an individual’s life, and changing the way society functions. The mobile phone gives individuals power which at one stage they may have never had, such as for children and teenagers, which are gaining more freedom by being able to speak without being overheard by parents. This is resulting in kids growing up at a faster rate and creating larger social networks. (Fattah, 2003) The cell is creating a more independent and spontaneous generation, allowing people ot change their plans in an instant and cancel meetings or dates at any time. It is removing the strict adherence to a schedule. (Fattah, 2003) This is resulting in people more frequently making last minute plans, and living a more ‘adventurous’ and unhindered lifestyle. The cell phone is also changing the things which society finds acceptable. For example, being late to meetings or dates is no longer such an issue as the cell phone enables people to warn each other and apologize. Thus people are now more tolerant of what was otherwise seen as intolerant behaviour.
The cell phone is also being used as a powerful communicator in non-direct ways as well as direct. Single women who have no desire to be approached by other men can easily sit at a café and chat on their phone. This gives a clear social signal without any words being communicated. Another example is the showing of respect, turning the cell phone off is seen as a sign of deference to partners or to articulate the dignity of a occasion. (Geser, 2004)

The mobile phone is also giving the average person a lot more power and influence. A great example of this is America’s crime stoppers connection with mobile networks. Anyone can now take a photo with their camera phone of a crime scene or suspicious activity and send it by mms to be used as evidence. (Geser, 2004)The power to change and save lives is given to every person, regardless of age, through this service. Large businesses are also utilizing the mobile phone by sending advertisements through text messages and calling people by telecommunication hubs. This is giving business a lot more advertising room and allowing them to reach people regardless of location. People are this being called about buying a product whilst they may be at a shopping mall, therefore increasing the chances of a spontaneous sale. However, many argue that it is a breach in privacy. This is one of the many negative issues in regards to our growing mobile technology. Mobile phone ethics are being created by society in this very age, with people learning what is and isn’t acceptable to do with their phones. Phones are even having a medically negative effect on society as the radio frequency range can help cause cancer and other migraines and headaches. (Jong and Armstrong, 1997)

With the phone so rapidly advancing, the overwhelming social impact it is having on society is increasing daily, and spanning through every area of our lives. One can only ponder how it will be integrated more deeply into our daily lives in five years time.








Bibliography:

Belson, Ken, October 2004 New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y. pg. 4.12
Fattah, Hassan, March 2003 American Demographic P 34 - 39

Geser, Hans May 2004 University of Zurich,Toward a sociological theory of the mobile phone Phone 1 - 46

Katherine, E. Jong and Brue K. Armstrong October 1997 Australiana and New Zealand Journal of Public Health p 555 - 557

Rynn, Nov 2004 Academic Research Library, The mobile connection: The cell phone’s impact on society P 572

Websites

Beaton, John and Wajcman, Judy, September 2004, Academy of social sciences in Australia
http://www.assa.edu.au/Publications/mobilephone.pdf

History of the Mobile Phone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_mobile_phones

Cell Phone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone

The social impact of mobile telephony by Telecom
http://www.itu.int/telecom-wt99/press_service/information_for_the_press/press_kit/backgrounders/backgrounders/social_impact_mobile.html

The social impact of mobile phones, June 10, 2003http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2003/06/000783.htm

Sociology of the Mobile Phone by Geser, Hans and Trench, Keisa, April 2006Pre teen cell phone adoption:
http://socio.ch/mobile/index_mobile.htm