Effects of Technology: Cell Phones
There have been so many technological advances and so many pieces of technology that have changed the way people view the world. One of the biggest technological advances, even in the past five years, has been and continues to be the cell phone. The cell phone has had an amazing effect on lives throughout the United States and around the world.
When cell phones first became available to the public in 1984 they were big black and bulky (weighing two pounds), they were also very expensive, the first cell phone sold for $3,995. Eight years later, in 1991, Motorola designed a smaller phone called the MicroTac Lite with a reduced cost of one thousand dollars (Think Quest, 2008).
Less than 20 years later there are more cell phones than can be named all with different designs, colors, features and sizes. The cell phones now are relatively inexpensive and many are free when you sign up for a contract with a cell phone carrier. Almost anyone can afford to have a cell phone; there are prepaid phones or low cost rate plans that include an allotment of minutes per month. There are a number of different types of calling plans catered to many different life styles.
According to CTIA, the wireless association (2009) more than 270 million people in the United States (84%) subscribe to wireless services (CTIA, 2009). Cell phones are no longer about just making a phone call today’s cell phones have internet access, music, cameras, calendars, games and text messaging capabilities, there are now even cell phones with touch screen technology.
Cell phones make it possible for people to take their work on the road without a computer we can communicate anything that we need by using a cell phone. Email, maps and calendars are all available at the tips of our fingers at an instant. No longer do you have to get the newspaper to check movie times, you can check them on your cell phone. Cell phones can also be used to pay your bills or...