Free English Language Dissertations - A Parent Is No Longer Free To Take The Kids To Play At The Park, Protected
A parent is no longer free to take the kids to play at the park, protected from work and allowed to concentrate on the family for a few hours. We need to ask, are the things people call us about that disrupt our family or relaxing time really of such importance that they couldn’t wait a few hours?This is almost never the case.
In addition, people talking on mobile phones are often annoying. Sometimes this is just from being forced to listen to another person’s conversation whilst waiting in line or at a coffee shop. At other times, when out with friends, for example, it makes one feel that the person talking on the phone is more interested or more highly values the caller on the other end of the line than the people he or she is physically with. I personally loath being in a restaurant with someone when they get a call on their phone. You have to sit there and pretend to be busy about something other than listening to their conversation, whilst they chatter on and on in a conversation in which you are not included. I find this very rude. These kinds of disruptions and rudeness can damage friendships and family relationships.
Mobiles have changed communication and social life for many people, reducing the time we spend with each other and making communication more impersonal. Instead of talking with each other, more and more people are spending their time downloading news reports, sport scores, stock prices, or the weather report (Anon 2002). Whilst at one time a person had to drop by or at least speak over the phone, leading to a bit of chatting or conversation, now a one-line text message is often sent. UK network operator Vodafone’s customers can already use their phones to find the nearest ATM, cinema or a plumber through WAP (wireless application protocol), the stripped-down web service designed for mobile phones (Graham-Rowe 2003). This has obvious benefits in terms of convenience. However, the mobile phone user and friends no longer venture into some strange restaurant to try a new experience, when they can locate a McDonald’s a few blocks away. No more wandering into an art movie or local theatre production, the group now looks up a cinema chain on the phone.
Phones can also be dangerous. Using a mobile phone whilst driving is a major safety concern in many countries. The Toronto Star reports surveys by British insurance companies have found that drivers chatting on cell phones suffered slower reaction times, took longer to stop and missed more roadside warning signs than drivers who were legally drunk (Anon 2003a). Not surprisingly, parts of Canada and the United States ban cell phone use whilst driving. This is one area where being always available is not only detrimental to balance in life, but the lives of the phone user and those around him or her.
Mobile phones do offer safety features of value, although the use of such features is rare.
Dissertations - Free English Language Dissertations
