Cell Phones Crucial to Humanity?
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The most promising feature about cell phones is that they are a relatively inexpensive and accessible technology that might level the playing ground in terms of the lower echelon of society finally being allowed to contribute to the world wide web, which for the most part seems to be the technically savvy affluent web.
They will quickly become one of our main tools for communication, but to say that those without will somehow lose aspects of being a human is a bit severe. The urge to communicate is one of our distinct characteristics - man is a highly social animal. The urge to utilize and develop these tools may be a hallmark of our humanity, but the actual possession and use doesn’t necessarily make our break our belonging as a species in purely anthropological terms.
However, in sociological terms, as this technology becomes more and more accessible, lack of participation could be viewed as antisocial behavior - an unwillingness to communicate or participate.
My father resisted getting a cell phone for several years until it reached the point when it began to affect both his professional and personal life. His unwillingness to make himself accessible in ways that had become expected and in ways that those around him were accessible became problematic. The argument that he wanted to maintain the ability to disconnect was quickly countered with the fact that a cell phone is easily turned off/on. However, once the expectation of connectivity is set, the on/off feature is not as easy to implement. There’s a new immediacy to communication and non-responsiveness or delays in responsiveness are frustrating. We’ve grown accustomed to the people in our lives both at work and home being immediately at our disposal.
He eventually succumbed and now uses his phone regularly, although he still harbors some resentment at always having to be connected. Unfortunately, these new modes of communication seem to function in the on/off paradigm. If you own a cell phone, it is expected that you are 24/7 in the way that the technology allows. Why wouldn’t you want to be? The advantages of being connected appear to clearly outweigh the advantages of being disconnected.
There’s not much space to define individual parameters in accessibility without seeming antisocial. Shutting off your phone is shutting off the ability to be in touch with those around you. It becomes a selfish act and personal slight, although this new type of hyper-communication is often stressful and in some cases feels unnatural.
There’s never been a time in human history with no boundaries for communication, with the idea of inaccessibility being a willful act. Those that choose not to make use of mobile technology may be viewed as antisocial, but given the stress and feeling of being overwhelmed we all feel from constant connectivity, it’s doubtful that they will be viewed as inhuman.
