Andrew Lefler

Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1102-004
4/11/2016
Smartphone Overload
Modern society has been overtaken within the last decade, more other than in
recent decades, by the use of technology and the continued development of smartphones.
These touch screen phones have been extremely popular to the human race, as you
cannot walk into a room without seeing them held in peoples hands. Since the creation
of the telephone in 1878 by Alexander Graham Bell, the development of cell phones has
exploded in the power that they can do. People use to only have land lines, which were
stuck to the walls in peoples homes. This was followed by the mobile phones, and now
have been updated to smartphones which allows the user to have access to nearly
anything they want to look up, or communicate with anyone in the blink of an eye. Such
things that smartphones can do are give you up to date stock quotes, weather reports,
video chat, and they even have a compass built in. But, how truly beneficial are these
ingenious creations for modern society? How would society be if every person did not
possess a handheld computer? With helpful scholarly work, I dive deeper into why I feel
smartphones have begun to control our everyday lives and the impact this has on society
in the United States with examples in individuals everyday lives.
The basic definition of a smartphone is a mobile phone that has a display screen
and a variety of other features, including personal information-management systems and

a computer operating system (OS) that allows users to perform a variety of functions
(Michele). The first ever smartphone prototype that was developed in 1992 called the
IBM Simon, which was created by the company BellSouth, and was first sold in 1993.
Throughout the rest of 1990s, companies began developing and improving the prototype.
In 2000, the touchscreen Ericsson R380 became the first mobile phone marketed
specifically as a "smartphone" (Michele). These were the early days of the smartphone
industry, as these smartphones began to be introduced to the public.
The early years of the smartphones were unique in their own way of being brand
new to the world, however, in 2007, the market changed as the computer company Apple
introduced what they called the iPhone. Each year, Apple began to develop better and
better content with their phones, increasing the iPhone in all aspects. In 2009, apps sales
were estimated at roughly $769 million of Apples revenue. This began to the phrase for
applications on smartphones as theres an app for that (Michele). In the year 2008,
Google teamed up with Open Handset Alliance to develop the Android phone. With this
new company, there began a rivalry between the two powerhouse companies. By end of
2011, smartphones were used by 44% of Americans as their primary form of
telecommunication (Michele). The rapid development of smartphones and all the
characteristics that they offer to the user are primary reasons as the popularity in
individuals lives.
In my own personal life, I have not always been a great user of smartphones; this is
because I did not own one for a great portion of my young life. When I was 12 years old,
all my friends had cell phones which had the ability to slide and flip. I eventually got one

as all my friends had one, and then the first generations of smartphones began to come
out, and I was left with my flip phone for five years. My senior year of high school
rolled around, the world was preparing for the next wave of phones by Apple and
Andriod, and I only possessed a flip phone. This was evident as one of my classes, my
teacher asked for my class to pull out their phones to look something up online, and I
could not do so, as I had a flip phone. I was the only person in the 30 person class who
could not do this. I eventually got my first smartphone for Christmas, an iPhone 5s, and
when I went to school the next week, people were proud that I finally came out from
under a rock in which I lived in the eyes of technology. To this day, I have personally
fallen into the inevitable smartphone takeover, as I am constantly on my phone for
communication, social media, and personal use each day. This shows the extent of the
smartphones and the overtaking of many peoples lives in todays society.
The use of internet in individuals lives has allowed for a rapid change in the
culture in which people live their lives on a daily basis. The web first started out on
desktop computers, and has evolved to smartphones and tablets everywhere (Sauter).
This is known as the World Wide Web, and how easily accessible it is in modern day
with the help of wireless Internet. However, the use of the Internet is not the only thing
to blame when it comes to smartphones and technology taking over the world to speak.
The popular use of applications on smartphones, tablets, and now computers has allowed
for society to lose sight on some of the most meaningful things in life (Sauter). This
shows that civilization is advancing, and the use of technology has a lot to do with this
rapid expansion.

The continued development of the World Wide Web will allow individuals to have
their personal lives overtaken by the use of smartphones. According to the article, 3g, 4g
and Beyond: Bringing Networks, Devices, and the Web Together, written by Martin
Sauter, applications and services are continuously evolving and the user is part of the
development process (357). The use of evolving applications in the world, has made
society become part of the process when it comes to technology. I feel that with the rapid
increase in technology, peoples old way of doing things, is a thing of the past. This
deals with everything an individual will do on a daily basis; regardless of the age of the
person. The use of extreme reliability of technology is what society lives and breathes
each day.
The use of smartphone applications has helped establish how smartphones have
been so popular. In the article, There's an App for That (or Soon Will Be): Smart Phones,
Social Networking, and Internet Gaming, written by Mr. Martin D. Owens Jr., who is
known for his work of Gaming Law Review and Economics introduces him as a lawyer
and is knowledgeable on the topic of technology. In his article, he addresses how the use
of applications has helped influence the use of gambling in individuals. Mr. Owens
references, Cell phones generally have made Internet gambling available to the general
public as never before (174). This shows that all one has to do is to access the Internet
in the application on their phone in order to gamble.
Smartphones have been used in the eyes of the public within the last two decades
for primary usage of society. In the piece by Raento, Oulasvirta, and Eagle known as,
Smartphones an Emerging Tool for Social Scientists, they discussed the use of

technological advances have been used for social scientists in their work. The authors are
noteworthy for their work with Google UK, London (Raento), Helsinki Institute for
Information Technology HIIT, Finland (Oulasvirta), and Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge (Eagle). According to the article, Smartphones are, simply,
programmable mobile phones (Raento 427). Smartphones seem to be so simple, yet
individuals allow them to overtake their lives.
The usage of smartphones in society has allowed people to go towards a life of
habit of Social Networking Sites. These sites are also known as social media, and is
mainly used by the younger generation in which allows the user to communicate with
other users of similar ages. In the piece written by Shapiro Spies and Gayla Margolin,
called Growing Up Wired: Social Networking Sites and Adolescent Psychosocial
Development, they investigate the usage of individuals social media websites as they are
used by hundreds of millions globally. However, with these sites, such as Facebook, is
used by the older generation as well as the younger people. According to the article,
Moreover, despite the terms of service of Facebook restricting its use to those age 13 or
older, it is estimated that 7.5 million younger children also have accounts (Spies 2).
This statistic shows that even though the social media site known as Facebook has an
age restriction in order to sign up for an account, there is still roughly 7.5 million users
who created an account before the age requirement. The predominant usage of social
media is used by that of the younger people; in which some of the popular platforms are
Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. All of these sites are seen used by teenagers,
individuals who are also young and old.

These social media websites have begun to take over the lives of individuals old
and young. The overdose of smartphones by individuals allows for even easier usage of
these social media platforms. Spies and Margolin opened up the piece with a they say, I
say format by saying, Although computers initially were developed for adults,
adolescents have fully embraced these technologies for their own social purposes and
typically are the family experts on how to use electronic media and social networking
sites (1). This quote discusses how the usage of technology was originally designed by
the use of adults, until the creators did testing and found out how quickly phones become
addicting to adolescents. Ever since the establishment of smartphones and social media
websites, individuals have been able to communicate in the blink of an eye with others
globally. Also, with the use of these platforms, people are given the opportunity to talk to
others privately. An example of this is through Twitter with a DM or direct message
and in Snapchat by sending pictures of yourself to others in conversation style. The
practice of social media websites have played a major role in increase in usages of
smartphones and technology.
In a recent study, ABC News Juji Chang, interviews the Klauses of New Jersey on
possible connections of toddlers development and technology. The title of this study
was known as Generation Ipad: Could It Hurt Toddlers' Development? In the video, Ms.
Chang reports to find out if Generation iPads future is bright or has effects on young
childrens develop in the future (Generation). Previously, the three young Klauses
children would play on their family iPads/ iPhones, until this study, in which the family
took away the childrens technology away for a month to see how the children would

react. During the month, the children find other ways to entertain themselves via
imaginary play, dolls, or playing small games. However, throughout the month, the
children were notably more aggressive with each other and their surroundings
(Generation). Following this study, the results were that the use of technology does have
a positive effect on childrens learning skills, however, long daily exposure can harm the
childs social skills.
An issue with the use of smartphones in todays society is the result of addiction and
how this technology can affect an individual's academic performance. This piece titled,
Relationships Among Smartphone Addiction, Stress, Academic Performance, and
Satisfaction with Life, was written by Maya Samaha and Hawi Nazir, who both work
with the Computer Science department at the University of Notre Dame. The authors
conducted a survey of roughly 300 college students. The results of this survey consisted
of, The average respondent was 20.96 years old (SD 1.93) with an overall range
between 17 and 26 years old. The percentage of students who were at high risk of
smartphone addiction (44.6%) was slightly lower than that of students at low risk
(49.1%). The percentage of students identified as having high levels of perceived stress
(53.4%) was slightly greater than the percentage of students reporting low levels of
perceived stress (46.6%) (Samaha 323). These results are from a small random sample
size with only 300 responses, however, this shows that there is a positive coalition
between smartphones and the addiction of individuals. This also shows that students
identify by having slightly higher percent of individuals with higher stress levels.

I wanted to try a similar poll survey to see what people in the year 2016 had to say
about their smartphone uses. So I decided to conduct a Twitter poll of how long
individuals are roughly on their smartphones on a daily basis and had 67 total votes. In
my poll I asked the participant to respond to a range of estimated time from 0-3 hours, 36 hours, and 6+ hours daily. My results back up how individuals may be over using their
phones daily. The results included: 0-3 hours: 6%, 3-6 hours: 48%, 6+ hours: 46%.
These statistics show that of the 67 votes cast, 94% responded by using their phones for
at least 3 hours a day. Of that 94%, 46% of those individuals reported by saying they
used their phone for more than 6 hours a day. These results backup my previous
statements of how most people are guilty in todays American society, of their overuse of
smartphones as the majority of the responses recorded produce the outcome of roughly a
quarter of the day, the single individual was on their phone on average.
Throughout my research, I have found out that the use of phones have had a major
impact on the society we live in day in and day out. The extent usage of smartphones has
been found harmful to younger individuals who are exposed to touch screens as they can
affect one of the most important characteristics of live, being sociable. However, the use
of technology has allowed for more rapid development in young peoples learning. The
impact smartphones have on people can be viewed on the user, but for the extent of the
use, this technology should be controlled by the user; or there could be harmful after
effects later in life. The usage of smartphones is still relatively young with little
information and statistics about the topic, however, at the pace individuals in society are
going now, the future is uncertain.

Works Cited
Generation Ipad: Could It Hurt Toddlers' Development?New York, N.Y: Films Media
Group, 2013. Internet resource.
Michele Lellouche. "Smartphones." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Detroit:
Gale, 2015. Student Resources in Context. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
Owens, Jr M. D. "There's an App for That (or Soon Will Be): Smart Phones, Social
Networking, and Internet Gaming." Gaming Law Review & Economics. 14.3
(2010). Print.
Raento, M., Oulasvirta, A., & Eagle, N. (January 01, 2009). Smartphones.
Smr/sociological Methods & Research, 37, 3, 426-454.
Samaha, Maya, and Nazir S. Hawi. "Relationships Among Smartphone Addiction, Stress,
Academic Performance, and Satisfaction with Life." Computers in Human
Behavior. 57 (2016): 321-325. Print.
Sauter, Martin. 3g, 4g and Beyond: Bringing Networks, Devices, and the Web Together.
Chichester, West Sussex, UK: John Wiley and Sons, 2013. Internet resource.
Spies, Shapiro L. A, and Gayla Margolin. "Growing Up Wired: Social Networking Sites
and Adolescent Psychosocial Development." Clinical Child and Family
Psychology Review. 17.1 (2014): 1-18. Print.
Twitter Poll.