Article Summary (Rough Draft)

“Our Cell Phones, Ourselves” Summary

The article entitled, “Our Cell Phones, Ourselves,” was written by Christine Rosen, and addresses numerous issues related to cell phone use. The article begins by discussing the development of cellular phones through recent history, and how they are most often used. Next, Rosen delves into the issue of why most people feel the need to owned and operate a cellular phone. Issues of rudeness and detachment are touched upon throughout the article and it is summed up with a discussion of the effects of cellular phones on society as a whole.
The appearance of the first cellular phone was introduced to the world by the Motorola Company in 1983; it was known as the DynaTAC and was used for business purposes. Soon after the invention of DynaTAC, in 1987, the Nokia Company followed suit, and launched its own cellular phone that made the technology slightly more available. In the years following the permeation of cellular phone ownership multiplied exponentially in American Society. According to the article, which sites its information to Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, “There were approximately 340,000 wireless subscribers in the United States in 1985; by 1995, that number had increased to more than 33 million, and by 2003, more than 158 million people in the country had gone wireless.”
There are numerous reasons mentioned as to why people become so dependant on cellular phones, but two are given most often. The two significant reasons for cellular phone ownership and usage are convenience and safety. When a college student participated in a classroom experiment in which she had to give up her cellular phone for 48 hours, her feelings about it were summed up in the following quote.
“I felt like I was going to get raped if I didn’t have my cell phone in my hand. I carry it in case I need to call someone for help.” This quote was significant in the article because it helps to paint a picture of how dependant on cellular phones people may become. Parents also feel a need to provide their children with cell phones in an effort to keep track of them and in turn, keep them safe. In some cases, the cellular phones are considered to be necessary for survival.
The other significant reason for having cellular phone is convenience. The ability to pick up a phone and make a call can serve several purposes. In the workplace it can increase productivity by allowing employees to check in from the field, as opposed to being forced to find a land line. One realistic example this article illustrates is a woman at a grocery store who has forgotten her list. Rather than returning home to retrieve the list or wandering haphazardly through the store, she can simply take out her cellular phone and call her husband that may then read the list to her. While the aforementioned situations prove to be positive effects of cellular phone use, not all are as constructive.
As with all forms of technology, there are people who use it for negative purposes. One example of a negative is referred to by Rosen as, “adulterous behavior.” Before the invention of cellular phones, married couples would generally be able to monitor the calls that their significant other was making or receiving. Cellular phones, especially prepaid cellular phones, provide an untrustworthy spouse with a secret form of communication. While this may no be an excuse or even a cause for “adulterous behavior” it certainly has an effect on the practice of it.
Another negative effect of cellular phones expressed in the article is that which is referred to as “withdrawal from public space.” The concept of public space focuses on the public areas one perceives to be a shared area. When one carries on a conversation in a public area, on a cellular phone, they are actually intruding on the public space that is meant to be shared with others. The use of cellular phones in public also signals a sense of social withdrawal. According to the article with information cited to sociological studies, “It (the use of cellular phones) is the intentional removal of oneself from the social situation in public space.” This removal may seem insignificant, but when viewed from a broader construct it can prove to be quite damaging.
Rosen sums the article up by discussing the major problem of cellular phone use. The major problem, according to the article, is the “deinstitutionalization of personal bonds.” While the use of a cellular phone may allow for more contact with loved ones which in turn can build a bond of trust, it decreases the amount of contact one may have with the general public and strangers. The article described this lack of contact as an “erosion of the face-to-face community. This problem leads to distrust and anxieties that are at a level of paranoia.
The article “Our Cell Phones, Ourselves” proves to be an eye opening realization of what cellular phones are doing to society as a whole. The proliferation of cellular phones in society is growing at a progressively high rate, and the negative effects of this are becoming increasingly apparent. Rosen points of the benefits of cellular phone use, but focuses mainly on the metamorphosis of society as a result.