Social Impact Of Mobile Technology

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

This thesis seeks to explore the reality behind the Social Impact of Mobile Technology (SIMT). It focuses, but not limited in context, on Mobile Cell Phone Usage (MCU) in public as well as in private domains. The factors that led to the advent and rise of cell phones today will be investigated such as mobile internet technology and Video Calls and Social sites such as Facebook, Skype, Mxit and WhatsApp among others. They will also be looked into to determine if they are behind cell phone obsession among the youth. The effects both on domains will be evaluated to draw results if they are any social ills that encompass the use of cell phones and provide suggestions on how best cell phones can curb social ills in our society.

Cell phones generally have become part of life for a magnitude of people from the business and personal point of view. They have driven individuals and businesses at large into a digital world. This has led to the birth of M-Commerce – a technology that defines buying and selling of good and services through a wireless handheld device such as cell phone and Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) – among other technological advancements, for instance, m-government, mobile computing and m-banking.

We are in era where cell phones have completely changed the way we live. It is hardly difficult to find people these days without cell phones. This is an attribute in to the ever growing trend in mobile technology. For the purpose of this research, CPU acronym will be defined to imply constant Cell Phone Usage.

People walk around with cell phones everywhere they go. They have become so much obsessed with CPU virtually anywhere such that they can be disruptive sometimes (Tully, 2003).

Background

The birth of cell phones dates way back in 1940s where mobile devices connected wirelessly to the public switched telephone networks. These cell phones could handle nothing more other than a mere GSM signal also known as speech. GSM is an acronym coined by European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to infer Global System for Mobile Communications that governs the standards for mobile telephony systems. These cell phones were bulky and expensive and merely meant for voice calls.

What was also noticeable with these bulky phones was the inability to use them on "the go". They were carried in cars due to the size of the battery. They were no automatic hand hovers during calls to relay analog signals to the next available cell phone tower known as Base Station Transceivers (BTSs). As technology improved, many BTSs were being installed to provide more capacity to subscribers that were geographically dispersed.

Advancements in cell phone technology is divided into generations to mark a significant land mark i.e. 1st, 2nd, 3rd and so on as technology improves (Forley, 2007).

1G signifies First Generation of a cellular mobile radio system that took place via analog radio interface. Limitations of the 1st Generations were evident with poor speech quality, incompatibility issues and low capacity. The subsequent number refers to newer and upcoming technology.

2G developed by GSM – a very significant innovation in mobile radio communications that allows phones to transmit digital signals over the air interface with unified and international standard for mobile communications. New services appeared such as SMSs, MMSs and General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) – a slow internet technology that allows a mobile device to transmit data at the rate of 9.6kbps over the air interface. Another most important that also saw the introduction on GSM was International Roaming. It provides the ability to a cellular user to have access to a GSM services such as voice calls and SMSs when travelling to a foreign country.

3G – Third Generation Phones are based on GSM technical specifications called Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) with added services such as multimedia capabilities, video telephony, and fast internet access of 2mbps.

4G – Fourth Generation standard is the latest standard in the mobile community developed by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) as an evolution of GMS/UMTS. It is sometimes termed as Long Term Evolution (LTE). The goal of LTE is to fully become IP-based system much like computer system network at tremendous speeds of between 100mbps to 1gbps.

The convergence of Information Technology (IT) and Telecommunication is an attestation that cell phones have become one of the most advanced innovations in a digital world. Push E-mails, Mobile TV, Internet, Video and Telephony are all the sheer examples of how much valuable cell phones have become in our society.

Purpose of the Research

The purpose of this study seeks to investigate how cellular phones and other related mobile devices have influenced and impacted societies. The broader theme will be narrowed down into the following sub-objectives:

Evaluate the current use of cell phones

Analyse and elaborate on the impact of mobile phones in societies with the rise of social sites such as Facebook.

Propose recommendations based of the results drawn from users.

Research Question

Based on the above discussion, this research project will try to answer the following questions:

What are the effects of cell phone usage in a society – in homes, in work places and in schools?

Are there any social ills that the society faces due to excessive use of cell phones?

How can cell phones be utilised in society to bridge digital divide?

Are social sites such as Facebook, Blackberry Messenger (BBM) behind the drive – Smart Phone Obsession?

How individuals and businesses have benefited from the growth of cell phones?

Hypothesis

I have strong convictions that cell phones can be used to heal the social divide of our societies by enabling people to constantly keep in touch, mend broken homes through social sites as WhatsApp, Mxit and Facebook.

Smart phones can also be used for educational purposes in a society not only in homes but also in work places. All these would be possible but the high costs of these phones and illiteracy are proving difficult.

Scope of the Study

In this research, the focus will be confined to smart phones and how social sites have transformed the way we interact on daily basis.

An emphasis will also be placed on young users in work places and schools.

Methodology Outline

This research project will use both Qualitative and Quantitative Methods to gather data from Cell phone Smart Users (CSU) in homes, schools and work places.

An online survey will be conducted from chat rooms to determine the extent of CPU among youth whether these chat rooms pause any adversities.

Personal Interviews will be conducted to see how people react in person as opposed to online behaviour when parties involved in chat rooms remain anonymous.

A questionnaire will be distributed among users to gather information that drives them to Smart Phones.

Problem Statement

It is evident that cell phones have become an integral part of our lives. They have liberated us from the wired world were only fixed telephone systems were used. Businesses, learning, communication are conducted at the comfort our zones.

However, some people face digital divide with the reluctance to embrace phones. With soaring prices of smart phones, it is also hardly easy to afford such phones and this also widens the digital gap that exists between the rich and the poor.

There are also strong arguments that lack of necessary information; smart phones are being under-utilized to its full potential. It also argued that these phones are being used for criminal intent promoting cyber-crime (Marshal8e6, 2009) or they have become an obstacle to users such that they become unproductive in their business lives.

Broad Overview of the Research

This research provides an insight into social impact of mobile technology – smart phones in particular. How these phones have transformed from what they were colloquially called brick phones into small gadgets that fit in the palm of our hands with state of the art features.

The research goes further to explore how smart phones can be integrated into our societies and utilise them as learning tools to better our lives from the individual as well as business perspective.

Smart features such as HSPA, VOIP, Video Conference and Social sites will be investigated and see how best at ease the society can integrate them into their daily lives.

Value of the Project

Cell phones are by far the mostly widely used devices for voice communication. What is often overlooked is the amount of rich applications that can be embedded and used to simplify our lives without always being confined to traditional computers. These applications range from banking and educational purposes to simple instant chat applications for communication.

The project will also seek how users can be educated on how best smart phones can be used to increase productivity and also reduce the cost of communication.