MOBILE PHONES AND ROAD SAFETY

MOBILE PHONES AND ROAD SAFETY

Despite statistics that show it is dangerous to drive while talking on a phone,
people continue to gab while driving down the freeway.Why? Mobile phones are
one of those rare inventions that alter our lives so immediately and so completely
that, despite the drawbacks, suddenly we cannot imagine life without them.We are
only starting to experience the profound changes mobile phones will have on our
relationship to our work, to each other, and to our natural environment.

Cell phones are one type of mobile phone. As a result of cell phone technology,
commuting is no longer considered “dead time”; instead, travel time is an extension
of the workday. Despite the fact that some people are worried that the proliferation
of cell phones in the “workplace” lessens their time for reflection and relaxation,
owning and carrying a cell phone is quickly becoming a job requirement. Some
companies even give employees cell phones. Because of this, the notion of leaving
work behind at the office is becoming obsolete.

Mobile phones are also transforming the way people socialize. No longer does
the girl “wait by the phone” for the guy to call. As a result of the mobility of cell
phones, for example, she can slip her phone in her purse and go out with her girlfriends.
In addition, as a result of the effect of cell phones, people now just hook up
instead of calling in advance and making dates to meet. Unquestionably, mobile
phones are transforming our ways of socializing.

Some newer types of phones are even changing our relationship to our environment.
These mobile phones use satellites, rather than radio waves, to allow us to
communicate not just within a pre-marked “cell” but from anywhere on the earth to
anywhere else on the earth. Historically speaking, people have trekked to the North
Pole, to the Himalayas, and through the Sahara Desert for the experience of being
far from human contact. Satellite technology is beginning to make this kind of
isolation an anachronism.

Cell phones are clearly here to stay. They will continue to proliferate because
they meet the needs of a fast-paced and mobile twenty-first-century society.
Because of this, we can expect the workday to expand, social life to become more
fluid, and the universe to seem ever smaller. Despite the many benefits of the new
technology, it remains to be seen what price we may have to pay for always being “in
touch” with each other.