Some years ago, the term “mobile phone” was something of misnomer. Phones were only mobile if you were very strong or if you had one installed in your car, since their batteries were extremely heavy. The phones were bigger than shoe boxes and they were expensive. Anybody was not able to afford phones.
Today, there are some 1.35 billion mobile phones. In some countries more than half the population own them. In Australia, for example, more than 15 million of the 20 million inhabitants own a mobile phone.
The
booming sales of mobile phones are a boon to many businesses. One large firm stated: “The mobile telephone market is the
largest consumer electronics segment ever. “
Many of the millions of messages exchanged between these high-tech devices are in the form of the written word. Instead of speaking, into the hand set, a growing number of mobile-phone users especially youths are using a facility called the Short Message Service (SMS).
Some social commentators worry that the mangled spelling and syntax used in SMS messages is harming the literacy skills of the young ones.
While mobile phones are a
useful tool both for socializing and for conducting business, to many employees, these devices might sometimes seem more like fetters than a friend making them feel chained to the office.
These ubiquitous devices called mobile phones not only create annoying intrusions, but also have the potential to become a
public enemy.
The dangers of inappropriate mobile phone use extend to air travel. While the wiring in newer aircraft is shield from mobile-phone signals, some aircrafts still in services are said to be susceptible to interference.
Controversy still continues over whether the radio frequencies emitted from mobile phones and the base stations that relay their signals can cause in humans. Hence, the Independent Expert Group on Mobile phones (IEGMP) recommends the following:
<<Use (mobile) phones for as short a time as possible. Use phones with low specific energy absorption rate (SAR) values. Children less than sixteen years of age should be discouraged from using mobile phones. >>