CELL PHONES

an essay

People today are amazed by technology. To some people, technology has changed their outlook in life, while otheres ahve still a lot of catching up to do. One technology that has influenced mostly all people around the world is cell phones. What can I say about cell phones? They are delightful gadgets everyone has nowadays. But when cell phones actually started coming into our system, they are, as I remembered, mostly designed for important people such as ER doctors so we could reach them im emergency situations or as accessories for the rich and the famous, so they could be disturbed during their lunch hour and make an excuse to leave in the middle of a boring chitchat.

The first cell phones were truly car phones, those big antenna phones where in you really ahve to bore holes into your car to use them. It may seem so old-fashioned but when you have that 10 years ago, you're totally cool. It is funny how they quote back then that you can never have cell phones unless you lived in New York or Hollywood. But it seem to gather some point that those days, only celebrities you see on TV have cell phones. But come to think of it, their cell phones back then were as big as our battery operated house phones right now, and yet, we don't really pay much attention to that at all, all we know is that if you have cell phones those days, you are "in".

That brings us to the cell phones today. They are no longer for doctors or very important people. You go out fo your house and everyone over the age of 10 walks around with a cell phone. You get into a classroom and the teacher, instead of worryign about roll calling for attendance, makes an announcement instead " be sure all cell phones are turned off or in silent mode please or pop quiz will be enforced." Cell phones are almost like the fifth basic human needs along with food, clothing, shelter and love! They are held in our hand, clipped on our tote bags or up to our ear.. Before cell phones, families learned how to contact one another, thru mail, or thru hous telephones, and or thru pay phones. But nowadays, I couldn't actually imagine living without one. No one goes anywhere without their cell phone. When you bumped into a long lost friend out of the blue in a grocery store, you don't actually wait until you get home to share the wonderful news that a friend is in town to another friend anymore, instead the cell phone is right there just a pocket reach to make it easier.

Cell phones just make communication seem easier and versatile. But it is crazy to think that even my younger sister whose 11years old, is begging for a cell phone as a birthday gift while when I was back her age, I was still swooning over Barbie dolls and tree houses in our backyard. Sometimes, because everyone seems to be so hooked up on cell phones, people tend to lose their manners, or as we say, etiquette. It is annoying how when you are in the middle of a conference and the lecturer suddenly stopped the lecture just to answer a phone call, or a teacher having said to the students to turn off their cell phones but when her/his cell phone rings, they go ahead answer it and say it's emergency, that's when you think, is cell phones becoming a big nuisance? A big question, with no sure answers really, but one thing is certain, it will keep on coming as bigger and better technology blooms ahead for the future.