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Introduction: Cellphones can be said to have made a huge impact on the social atmosphere. What would our lives be like without them? 

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Introduction: Cellphones can be said to have made a huge impact on the social atmosphere. What would our lives be like without them? 

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If you haven't noticed, owning a cellphone is nearly a necessity in today's society. There's almost an interdependent, sometimes even codependent, relationship with our cellphones.

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Cellphones and their relation to functionalism

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Cellphones and their relation to functionalism

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Functionalism can be defined as the way that the parts contribute to the whole. In what ways do cellphones contribute to the bigger picture?

Through cellphones, we meet our needs through apps that organize finances, give us recipe ideas, and provide entertainment. They also contribute by providing us a way to reach emergency services and allow access to suicide hotlines. All of these apps allow us to function in a more efficient way in society. Four billion people, or almost 60% of the population, rely on their device.

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So.. you might wonder: where did cellphones begin? 

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So.. you might wonder: where did cellphones begin? 

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In 1983, Motorola came out with the first mobile cellphone, notoriously known as "the brick". As you can see, it is a stark contrast to what we have today.

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Negative and positive latent functions: functionalism

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Negative and positive latent functions: functionalism

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Latent functions are the unintended manifestations of introducing a variable (such as an event, object or idea) to society. Cellphones have both positive and negative latent functions: Negative being cellphone addiction, reliance on AI, cyberstalking, digital scams, spread of misinformation, blue-light exposure, and the contribution to ethical injustices. Some positive latent functions are boosted efficiency, instant access to communication, dating apps, and a platform for entrepreneurship.

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Cellphones can be said to contribute to conflict theory. We see an ongoing ethical crisis in Congo, where inhabitants of the land are expected to mine the cobalt that gives charge to the lithium batteries in our cellphones, laptops, car batteries and more. The country remains one of the poorest in the world and is highly exploited, providing over 60% of the world's cobalt. Workers mine without safety tools and very little protection. Women and children are also expected to mine, and accidents occur often within the mining sites.

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Symbolic interactionist theory and cellphones 

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Symbolic interactionist theory and cellphones 

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Interpretation of language through using shortcuts or abbreviations like "LOL" or "OMG" have exited the digital space and perpetuated themselves throughout society. It can be observed that somebody's understanding of "internet language" or the way they speak, or type can give insight into what generation they're from without even looking at them. Emojis are used to express and convey emotion, and they are ascribed meaning and are interpreted during non-verbal communication.

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Cellphone use has been proven to decrease the amount of joy you experience in the present moment. Stay off your cellphone when you're cooking, driving, while somebody is speaking to you, or if you're trying to complete any other task. Your brain becomes overstimulated by too many things at once, which increases stress and decreases cognitive performance. Staying present and avoiding doomscrolling will keep your mind healthy.

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My family friend, Maria, remembers a time before cellphones. I asked her if she ever expected cellphones to be what they are today, and she said no. Maria held a fairly pessimistic view about cellphones, but rightfully so, as she's seen the damage they've done, especially in children. As a paraprofessional, she's seen deficits in face to face and interpersonal communication. She particularly feels some type of way about the short-form content and what that is doing to children's attention spans. She hopes that in the future, people can learn boundaries with their devices and return back to the present moment.

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Cellphones have been an incredibly innovative tool to our society and have provided us with efficiency and have played an important role of keeping us connected. There is also a dark side to them that should not be ignored. Overall, cellphones only have as much power as we let them have.