Pre-AP English I
Expository Essay: Cell Phone Effects
Mrs. Wiersig
January 16, 2015
Face-to-Phone or Face-to-Face?
Ever seen a quote-unquote white girl in public? Did you notice how all of her attention was devoted to her pristine white iPhone? She could have spilled her Starbucks on her Ugg boots and she may not have noticed! Who hasn’t seen the ridiculous, I-must-have-my-eyes-on-my-phone-at-all-times kind of people? But truth be told, how many John Does and Mary Janes are guilty of the exact same technological obsession? The fact is that everyday people are consumed by their cell phones. Cell phones affect people’s lives by adding additional stress and clutter and by taking away face-to-face contact.
Extra stress and clutter are effects of owning a cell phone. For example, soccer mom Amy is constantly on her Samsung Galaxy scheduling the next orthodontist appointment, texting her fellow PTA moms, and working around weekend soccer games. Her life is filled with stress and clutter; she is constantly flying around town in her Honda minivan trying to make it to the next school function. Her phone beep-beep-beeps, reminding her to pick up Sarah just before her Facebook bings with updates. Life for even the no-lifed mom is hectic with a cell phone. A cell phone adds additional apps, deadlines, and repairs that demand attention and distract from life. It devours time, money, and attention. A cell phone can clutter even the most organized and prepared person’s life. For instance, CEO Tony’s life is consumed by his brand new iPhone 6 plus, constantly removing him from business meetings with calls from contractors, secretaries, and business partners. His already busy work schedule is even crazier with these added calls, updates, and stock market notifications. A cell phone adds stress and chaos to even the most organized CEO’s life. Having additional technological worries take away from focusing on completing tasks and making accomplishments. Rather than spending time with family and friends or making repairs around the house, people spend time texting family and friends and repairing their cell phones. With these added distractions, people from every lifestyle gain stress and clutter from their phones.
When people are focused on their cell phones, it is nearly impossible to look each other in the eye and have a conversation causing face to face contact to be lost. For example, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Vine obsessed teens Stacy, Tim, and Christina are attending their friend Mark’s party. After presents have been opened, cake has been served, and coordinated games have been played, the three of them plop down on the couch and become instantly absorbed in instant messaging. “Happy B-day!” Christina texts to Mark who replies with smiley face and thumbs up emoticons. Though it is possible to share thoughts quickly and simply with smart phones, the use of Christina’s iPhone 5S at Mark’s party takes away from the much more personal act of simply saying, “Happy birthday!” while smiling warmly. Simply texting messages instead of saying them aloud, forces people to have their eyes glued to their phones. If people are constantly gazing at their handheld electronics, it is impossible to maintain face to face contact. The loss of face to face contact affects people’s relationships. For instance, a young newly wed couple Harry and Sally decide to head out for a romantic evening dinner on the return of their honeymoon. They have just been sucked back into the real world, once again having jobs to do, family to worry about, and bills to pay. Harry holds out Sally’s chair for her and they sit before they both yank out their HTCs and text, email, and post like madmen. Not once through their whole dinner do they converse aloud until the check comes and Harry asks if Sally is ready to leave. Rather than glancing lovingly at his new wife, Harry has glanced lovingly at his phone throughout dinner. He has been far more interested in raising his Twitter followers than growing his relationship. People disregard the importance of face to face conversation, much more engrossed by the lure of online popularity. The magnetic pull of virtual life’s connection to others drives people to neglect face to face contact to feed the craving for social media success.
Not everyone is an iPhone obsessed psycho, even if cell phones seem to over power everyday living. But regardless of how much time John Doe and Mary Jane dedicate to their phones, cell phones and other technology are a trademark of the changing world that can greatly benefit or destroy society.