Baranova

1
Marina Baranova
Malcolm Campbell
English 1103
February 13, 2016
Are Smartphones a Cost or a Benefit for Society?
Introduction/ Overview:
Many would agree that it is convenient to own a smartphone. It provides users
with access to the internet, acts as a source of entertainment, allows you to communicate
with other people, enables you to capture memories with high definition cameras, and can
even tell you where to go by acting as a GPS. A smartphone has all the capabilities of a
phone, computer, and camera in a single device that fits in the palm of the hand. A
shocking two- thirds of all Americans own a smartphone according to the Pew Research
Center. Some jobs have even taken advantage of the smartphone and have incorporated
them into their workflow. A study of 60 medical interns showed that regarding
smartphone use on-call, about 50 % of interns agreed it aided in diagnoses, 43 % agreed
it helped in interpreting laboratory values, 51.7 % agreed it helped in dosing of
medication and 55 % agreed it was of assistance in medical emergency protocols. Most
agreed smartphones have a positive influence on them in terms of levels of stress,
confidence and level of knowledge.
However, using such a convenient device has its costs as well. A study was
conducted by Severin Haug, in Switerland, in which a sample of 1,519 students from 127
Swiss vocational school classes was analyzed for smartphone addiction. The results
showed that about 20% of the students showed signs of smartphone addiction and most

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were young adolescents. According to an article in CNN, written by Kelly Wallace, smart
phone addiction was characterized as constantly checking the phone, going to sleep with
the phone, driving with the phone in hand, and relying on the phone to get through a daily
routine. Another issue at hand is that constant access to the smartphones have shown to
hinder social development of young adults. Timothy Cavell, a psychology professor at
the University of Arizona said, if a child can escape from a social situation by turning on
a device, their social development will be stunted. Karen OHara, a fourth grade
elementary school teacher in Harrison, Arkansas, is a first hand witness of this
phenomena. The school had allowed the children to use their phones during recess and
breaks. It was originally supposed to allow the kids to call their parents and work out any
needs of transportation. However, according to Mrs. OHara, the kids abuse their right by
sitting on their phones playing games. Each kid enters their own little world and rarely
interacts with the other children. In fact, a study done by mobileinsurance.com states that
on average a person spends 90 min on their phone every day. This totals a total of 23
days a year dedicated to looking at a small screen. Therefore, my research will aim to
understand whether the costs of smartphones outweighs the benefits of owning them.

Initial Inquiry question:

Do smartphones impose physical, emotional, or mental harm on frequent smartphone
users? Would society be at a disadvantage without smartphones? How has society
benefitted from the development of smartphones? How has society been disadvantaged
by the development of smartphones?

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My interest in this topic:
I remember being out of my mind excited about getting my first phone. I was
twelve years-old when I got my small, blue, little flip phone. It had only two functions;
calling and texting. As I grew older, the first smartphones came out and everyone went
crazy for them. You were considered cool if you had one. It is now 2016 and everyone
has a smartphone. I have a smartphone, my parents have smartphones, my grandparents
have smartphones, and all my younger cousins, even the four year old, have smart
phones. I remember my childhood with memories of playing tag, soccer, hiking, and
other fun adventures. The flip phone was great but I would not say it was a major part of
my life. I look at the childhood of my younger cousins, however, and all they do is sit on
the smartphone all day and play games or watch cartoons on YouTube.
This arises concern in me because I truly want what is best for my cousins and
their futures. Smartphones have become an essential part of life for many, especially the
younger generations. I want to discover whether or not the smartphone will benefit my
cousins; whose generation will grow to be the next doctors, lawyers, and politicians. I
love my cousins and I want to know whether having these smartphones will help or
hinder their development and future adult lives. Personally, I can relate to some of the
phone addiction symptoms discussed in the CNN article. I remember I had a really bad
day at college once because I had forgotten my phone at home. I felt so confused, lost,
and dysfunctional. This topic is of direct and relatable interest to me and I bet will be one
that will interest many other smartphone users.

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Next- steps:
I have done some preliminary research and want to first go back to some of the
articles I have already found to highlight some more statistical data. More specifically, I
will read about the various statistical data provided for the uses of smartphones in 2015
by the Pew Research Center. In addition, I will look into a scholarly article that discusses
a study done by James Suckling about some of the ways that smartphones can reduce the
environmental impact of humans.
Next, I want to conduct some of my own research to better enhance my research
paper. I will develop a survey and ask classmates to participate anonymously. The survey
will contain questions such as: Do you own a smartphone? How many hours a day do you
spend on your smartphone? What is the number one reason you use your smartphone?
Would you prefer to talk to someone in person, by calling, or by texting? In addition, I
want to measure how addicted I am to my smartphone. There is an application that can be
downloaded from play store called Quality Time and it tracks the amount of time spent
on the smartphone, as well as which areas you spend the most time on. Using this app, I
will gain some more insight on my personal relationship with my smartphone.
Lastly, I need to do more research on my topic. I will go to reliable primary
sources, such as New York Times, to find more recent news articles on the advantages or
disadvantages of smartphones. I will also use the library search engine to find more
scholarly articles on topics involving developmental and health studies investigating
smartphone use. After gathering information from both sides of the debate, I will be able
to make an educated decision for myself about whether a smartphone is or is not a benefit
for society.