Cell Phones: Changing Society One Text Message At

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Cell Phones: Changing Society One Text Message At A Time Cell phones today are everywhere, and used in almost every situation: in offices, schoolrooms, even in moving motor vehicles. Hand any toddler a cell phone, and they will know exactly what to do with it. As cell phones become more a part of everyday life, society’s lack of concern for real relationships and safety becomes detrimental. The prolific use of cell phones in our society has hurt people’s ability to interact face to face. Everyone seems to have a cell phone, even young children. According to Brain Dakss of USA Today “more than one out of every two Americans own a cell phone.” And in MIT Tech Talk Sarah Wright wrote that during June 2005, in the Unites States alone, people collectively spent over six hundred and seventy five billion minutes talking on a cell phone. Implying that Americans are over-dependant on cell phones at an alarming rate. Cell phones seem to encourage people to have “multiple shallow relationships” (Dakss). With increasing text messaging capabilities, people no longer have to physically talk to use their cell phones. Cell phones also have the capability to send texts messages to multiple people simultaneously, thereby creating a virtual group chat in which no actual traditional “chatting” occurs. In general, the concept of text messaging, either one-to-one or in a group context, hinders real human interaction. Having the means of conveying messages through text rather than spoken word gives a false sense of connection. Text messaging removes tone and most emotion from communication. Text messages often become misinterpreted because of this lack of human contact or “touch.” For example, if someone tries to convey a message sarcastically, the sarcasm is often not understood, thus leaving those receiving these messages confused or insulted. Also, with
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