Cellphones: Luxury or Necessity?

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English 11 October 2012 Cellphones: Luxury or Necessity? Mobile phones are portable telephones that use wireless cellular activity and were revolutionary devices when they were first invented in 1973. By the mid 90’s, the use of mobile phones by the general public increased and, therefore, flourished to become one of the most popular inventions with more than half of the world’s population owning this device (“Global Mobile Statistics” 1). These devices, which made communication faster and easier, are perhaps the most convenient way to communicate with one another. Taking only a few seconds to call in case of an emergency, or minutes to email your professor before a deadline half way around the world, this technology is widely depended on. This leads to the question of whether or not the use of cellphones in school benefits or ruptures the students’ education? Cellphones are becoming more and more complex throughout time, containing features that can be used as a learning tool, or simply for entertainment. As stated by Walker (2002), “We may soon be seeing students using their cellphones to search the web during exams”. “Having a browser in the cellphone puts a dictionary, thesaurus, and encyclopedia into the hands of every student” (Pensky 2004, p4). Due to this ability to access a search engine, students can use their cell phones as an important research tool. Despite the fact that students can also use cellphones for communication and satisfaction, students are using their phones to cheat with features such as the camera. “Students have stopped hiding crib sheets and whispering to their neighbors . . . and started swapping test answers by cellphone, camera phone and PDA” (Etter 2004, P.17). The camera phone can be used to take pictures of another student’s test answers, or even to take a look at their own notes in the form of a picture. Students

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