How Mobile Phone Affecting Todays Society Introduction After the victorious success of Alexander Graham Bell creating

a telephone, at 1973, Martin Cooper from Motorola had once again shake the world by inventing the very first wireless phone or more renown as mobile phone. From time on, mobile phone had evolve from 1130 gram Motorolas first generation (1G) mobile phone to the latest 112 gram Apples fourth generation (4G) IPhone where the mobile phone not just became lighter and smaller, the function and application that they offer also making the consumer daily life became more convenient, easier and borderless. Thanks to the vast technology, a creation of smart phone, a device that not only allow the user make telephone calls, but also adds in features that, used to be only found on a personal digital assistant or a computer makes the user life easier where all things that they need on the tips of their fingers. As for todays, a statistic published by mashable.com reveal that it is estimated that in 2017, 67.8% of US population will using smart phone from 49.4% users in 2012 and this trend are foreseeing on how world trend would be on increasing of smart phone user. This expectation showed that the people are going to be really depending and need to owned not just regular mobile phone, but a smart phone which is practical and multi functioning. This report is to publish a brief analysis on either the mobile phone affecting in good ways more than the bad ways or brings more disadvantages for world and society. The issue that will be presented in this report are in economical aspect, social and communication, health and safety and finally about culture and life style. In these aspects, mobile phones are known as an important medium to success and connecting people but as time and technology advance, it also bring problem and harm to the users and society. We could say that to overcome the problem arise by reducing the usage of mobile phone which is the best and efficient way, but did we really able to act as suggested when we really are depending so much with this little gadget? We might not be able to totally overcome or solve the problem it brings, but depending on the aspect or field of the problem, precaution measure to reduce the effect could be taken which will be discussed in further report.

Problem and Crisis Social and communication Naomi S. Baron from Department of Language and Foreign Studies American University state in her research paper mobile phone is another Janus-faced technology where it brings so much benefit and convenient for human race but at the same time, there are price to pay where it cause us many problem and lost many thing in our daily life. Scott Campbell, an assistant professor of Communication Studies said The technology itself is not good or bad, it is how its used and who its used with.(Claire Goscikci, 2011). To judge either mobile phone causing us problem or give us more advantages, we need to consider all key role and it contribution and the effect of using it in our daily life. The biggest benefit and convenient that mobile phone gives us is we can stay connected with anybody, anywhere at any time. People can stay in touch with family, friends or co-worker despite they are thousand miles away from us. Mobile phone also enables people to update and deliver any news about them no matter where they are. Also, over two-thirds of the respondents in research The Impact of the Mobile Phone on Work/Life Balance Preliminary Report ( 2007) by Australia Mobile Telecommunication Association (AMTA) and The Australian National University (TANU) report that the mobile phone is an important medium for maintaining kinship ties, especially for women. The mobile is a device well suited to maintaining intimate relationships at a geographical distance where call, video call, messaging and social networking helps people to maintain the relationship and allow them to pay an attention to each other even parted away. From the study was led by Scott Campbell and Nojin Kwak, an assistant professor of Communication Studies, the research findings, which were published in an issue of New Media & Society last year stated the assumption that cell phones are replacing face-to-face contact which also support the notion that people who talk on cell phones frequently are less likely to communicate in public. They also state that frequent cell phone users would be less likely talking to the strangers in public due to tele-cocooning effect, as Campbell refer to the tendency of cell phones reducing interpersonal interactions. In the survey that conducted, 75% of the respondent state that they are using their phone while waiting or in the public transport, instead of starting a conversation with person next to them. Even now we can see when we are in the public transport as LRT or Monorail, people are immersed into their phone

and from the survey, 40% respondent says that they playing game via their mobile phone while in public while other 30% respondent spend time in public with online messaging and social networking. Another 15% listen to music and watching video using their smart phone and only 5% having conversation with other people. The main feature of mobiles which give us a portable device for long-distance communications really is convenient. This provides much more convenience to the family and certainly many other relationships. Conveying personal information about time returning home, current position and what have been doing currently or arranging time and place to meet up are the major uses of the mobile phone for micro-coordination. While its use enables young people to extend their freedoms in the family in relation to curfews and places where they are permitted to go, its use also extends parents control and authority over their children (Williams & Williams, 2005). For example, a parent can easily communicate with a child after school to make arrangements about the plans of the day, to see how they're going or to notify them about something. Among parents, arranging to deliver goods or children and finding out where children are is the most important business in their daily activities. But, some researchers claim that mobile phone has altered the power in parent-child relationships (Ling, 2000) based on the fact that peers and friends can contact each other without parental knowledge. Parents may not know who their childs friends are, because of lack of communication with them (Davie, Panting, & Charlton, 2004), therefore, weakening parental control (Ling, 2000a). Srivastava (2005) even goes as far as claiming that the individualised mobile phone has diluted the collective identity of the family, by becoming less about oneness and more about many-ness (p.112). The parent would lose the control power that they had because kids can do, talk and plan anything behind their back since they are not monitored and the kids can make up any explanations or excuse using mobile phone. Either it brings more harm than benefits or vice versa, usages of mobile phone are unavoidable in these days. By implementing some steps, the damage that it brings might be reduced so that it advantages outweighs it disadvantages. To free ourselves from our mobile phone cocoon and circle, take first step by going back to the old time where meeting people to catch news and chit chatting or to make and talk about business deal. By doing that, not just the relationship with people could be improved but the new connection also could be form when face to face discussion is being made. By using mobile phone, we would have not ask question about is the traffic congested, we would not have talking about how global warming

takes toll on us these days and without this kind of conversation the business or formal discussion will remain as they are without any new relax connection form. As for parents control, a little bit more of discipline will bring no harm to keep the power of control remains in parent hands without being backstabbed by their own children. Discipline here does not means parent have to do phone-checking ritual, but setting rule such as not using phone while dining or while spending time with family also using home line to call or receive call from friends where parent can monitor the conversation. Health and Safety Issue Mobile phone play roles in ensure safety and by just having it when you are alone can put an ease in heart. The mobile phone is given to the children by parents when they are first venturing outside of the home alone or going to school (Oksman & Rautiainen, 2003). The issue of gender and safety does not seem to have been considered in most research, with parents seemingly as concerned with the safety of both male and female children (Ling & Helmersen, 2000). There appears to be an over reliance however, on the use of the mobile phone as a source of protection for children. In an Australian study, 68% of parents reported that as their child had a mobile phone, they knew where they were at anytime (Matthews, 2004). There was one parent however, who acknowledged that this was only a perception. There needs to be trust in the parental child relationship, in that the child will be truthful in reporting their location. However, like being discussed previously, mobile phone gives new side of freedom for the kids. Too much freedom and access to the world might have another different threat in safety of the children. One of the threats that usually parent unaware about is sexting, an act of sending nude or semi nude photo or posting sexual images on social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter. The American Academy of Paediatrics reports that 20% of teens had misused the cyberspace. The threats that potentially happen are the harassment and cyber stalking where people can share the image without control from the owner. Also, other people can freely use the picture and do impersonation as the real owner of the picture. The consequences can also be permanent because once an image has been posted online it is very difficult and almost impossible to retrieve it back. This means the images could be circulating as teens start applying for jobs and meeting potential long-term partners. The psychological effect on victims can be severe, and the damage can be as severe as other forms of bullying, sexual harassment and abuse. Consequences include poor self-esteem and self-

image, isolating behaviours, truancy or avoidance of school, eating disorders, self-harm and even some cases of suicide. According to Health News, the impact includes greater

connectedness, but also increased scrutiny and vulnerability while teens struggle to develop their identities. This show how exposure and excessive use of mobile phone can threat wellbeing of society To overcome this problem, parent can encourage open discussion with the children about who they're talking to online and what sites they visit. Children would not talk about it because they worry that all the privilege that they enjoy will be taken so to make them talk, assure them that they being honest will not necessarily mean they will be made to stop using the technology. Also, as watching the children activities, parent can take an effort to become familiar understand the new technology your child is using thus the parent can closely watch their kids action when using the technology. Moving family computer to a public place also a good way and easier for parent to monitor their child at the times they're online, and their anxiety levels so parent could have taken any early step to control the damage that might have arrive. While functioning, mobile phone uses and emitted electromagnetic radiation in the microwave range. This radiation could harm the health when one expose to the long, excessive exposure of this radiation. A Swedish scientific team at the Karolinska Institute conducted an epidemiological study (2004) that suggested a regular use of a mobile phone over a decade or more was associated with an increased risk of brain tumours. In 2011, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified mobile phone radiation on the IARC scale into Group 2B which is possibly carcinogenic. These conclude that there could be some risk of cancer for long term exposure of the radiation. Another one wellunderstood effect of microwave radiation is dielectric heating which can affect dielectric material such as living tissue. As exposed to the microwave, the tissue will be heated by rotations of polar molecules induced by the electromagnetic field. In the case of a person using a cell phone, most of the heating effect will occur at the surface of the head, causing its temperature to increase by a fraction of a degree. The brain's blood circulation is capable of disposing of excess heat by increasing local blood flow but not the cornea of the eye which does not have this temperature regulation mechanism. It could damage the cornea and cause cataract to the eyes.

However, despite the risk that might be faced, to not use a mobile phone is something impossible and inconvenient. What can be done is taking precaution and tries to reduce the risk. This can be done by reducing call time and making calls where reception is good. Also using hands-free devices which can decrease the radiation to the head, or speaker options also could give less exposure compare to the phone call. As for simple messages or notice, instead of calling, texting is also an option and recommended. We may not cut mobile phone out of our life but to reduce the risk of damage, we can take the precaution steps.

Economy Business, selling and buying as well as banking affair nowadays are beyond convenient when all could be execute on our palm using mobile phone. Mobile phone had contributed a lot in economic growth either for country or for individually. The economies of developing countries unquestionably benefit from the substantial improvement in telecommunication systems. For example, mobile phones improve the way in which markets operate where they facilitate the circulation of information about product and pricing. Due to this fast sharing of information, the prizes could be harmonize and adapt better to demand. Recently, the World Bank conducted a new analysis to test the impact of telecommunications penetration on economic growth rates at country-level. According to this analysis of 120 countries, for every 10 percentage point increase in the penetration of mobile phones, there is an increase in economic growth of 0.81 percentage points in developing countries, versus 0.60 percentage points in developed countries (Qiang, 2009) Beside business, a confidential and secure banking transaction also can be done using mobile phone where some bank have their own application in smart phone where the customer can manage their account and settle their business without need to be line up in the bank. In Kenya for example, more than half of mobile phone users regularly use cash transfer or payment facilities through their mobile phones. For each and all transaction a text message will be send to the account holder to confirm that the transaction are secure. From online shopping to telco air time top up, all can be done just by using the mobile phone. This one of the convenient that offers by mobile phone have drive people to always change their phone into the latest as many new application and convenient that they provide. However, this secure and safe deal are being jeopardize by scam email that using the bank name and pretend

to alert the customer while they try to hack user account. For such as this threat, online banking not really safe unless another level of security being taken. Behind the economic growth, there is particular problem is that mobile phone services represent a major expense item in the budgets of the poorest households which may then be inclined to reduce expenses for their basic needs such as education, health and food. Research ICT Africa has underscored the size of the budgets that users devote to the telephone. In 75% of the low-income population in the 17 countries surveyed, the average African spends 26.6% of his individual income on it in Kenya, 23% in Ethiopia, 22% in Tanzania, 9.4% in Senegal. The obsession on usage of mobile phone affected monthly income distribution where mobile phone budget become a priority where it is often being the third largest item of household expenditure behind housing and food. In this issue where the money involves, precaution steps are not just important but it is vital to ensure the consumer does not face any financial problem later on. First of all, for the consumer, personal information such as full name, address, telephone number, school name, parents names, credit card number should never being post or share online. For more security, internet or website password should not being share with anyone even spouse or parent. These to ensure nobody have access to our personal account that might expose us to risk of internet fraud and other financial problem. Culture and Society As our country and nation already have multiple cultures on our own, we cannot resist accommodation and segregation from other culture. Either we realise or not, mobile phone do brings a new kind of culture in our country. For example, people start to read more when they have smart phone. A book application and being able to online allow people to read wherever they are at any time. As we known, Malaysian is not sit at top place when it comes to reading habit. But with phone, people can actually read books, news or anything online without need to be burden by carrying the book or magazine around. 40% of the respondent, which is the biggest fraction of the total respondent state their main reading material is from their mobile phone. However, there is also bad effect on culture from using too much mobile phone. The unique styles of texting and social networking have created a whole new language. One study estimates teens average 80 texts a day, while experts debate the effect on verbal and written

skills. Our people start to use forefront of initiating or popularizing lexical shortcuts in text messaging such as the abbreviation u for you or the acronym LOL for laughing out loud and use those kind of word every day, replacing the correct way of language. Worst, people start to actually think that the language that they being using is actually the correct and can be used in formal business. This new, corrupted, mixed of language which is known of Manglish have badly influence people especially student when they start writing the texts vocabularies and sentences structure in their language and academic essay. Conclusion Based on the report which is only stated a few of advantages and disadvantages of the mobile phone. There is a lot more issues, problems and benefits of mobile phone that could be debated either it advantages or disadvantages outweigh each other. We cannot change people individually but we can provide an environment or situation to help people less obsess and bound to their phone only. First of all, we can start by creating mobile phone free zones in public area such as inside the public transport, government and service facilities. When within the area, people should not use their phone and try to do other activities if they are getting bored. Until now, we have pone prohibit area like hospital and petrol station but people simply did not care and keep using their phone. To overcome this problem, regular reminder can be done so that people will be reminded that they should not use their mobile phone while in that zone. Constant reminder would help people to stop using their phone because there would be sense of sensibility that will hold the desire to use the phone. As the conclusion, mobile phone is something that we need but at the same time it is a potential threat to us in many aspects. But as long as it being use moderately and as needed, there is nothing to worries about.