Nowadays, the smartphone has become an essential feature of people’s lives. In our day to day lives, we bring our smartphones around everywhere and rely on it for nearly everything – from communication, to navigation, to music, and more. The wide array of services and convenience it offers means that the smartphone has become a necessity to us and is something we consider as an inescapable part of life.
The first type of phone, the cellular phone, was created in 1973. Although it allowed for communication through voice calls, there were many disadvantages. It was heavy and bulky and could not be easily brought around. Also, the battery could only support the phone for 20 minutes before needing to be replaced or recharged, which was a massive inconvenience. In addition, the high cost of the phone meant that most people could not afford to purchase it.
In 1995, the Motorola company created other kinds of the phone called StarTAC, which was the first clamshell phone, which consumers could flip open. The price of the phone had drastically decreased, which meant that it was now affordable to the largest segment of consumers – the middle class. Most importantly, the size and the weight were smaller than before, which meant that it was more portable and easy to use. The invention of new phones continued to advance over the years. In 1996, the Nokia’s company made the first sliding phone. In 1998, the Nokia 5110 was the first phone that came with a game. People could play the “Gluttonous Snake”, which quickly became the most famous game at that time. In addition, the phone could not only call someone, but could also send and receive messages.
As technology continued to progress and develop, the phones created by companies became increasingly sophisticated and offered yet more functions. This culminated in the invention of the iPhone in 2007, which is widely acknowledged as the first smartphone in history. The smartphone was a huge leap forward from the rest of the conventional phones offered at that time. Not only did it have a more aesthetically pleasing appearance than its competitors, the functions it offered and the access to applications and services meant that it was much more useful to consumers. In addition, its compact size meant that people could easily carry it around and use it in their daily lives at any time and place.
Over the years, the smartphone has become more and more essential in people’s lives. Smartphones allow one to take photographs, access the internet, and learn new things online. In addition, people often use their smartphones to make appointments the phone before they go out. For example, people can buy bus tickets or movie tickets on the mobile applications before they go. Besides the iPhone, many other smartphones are offered, such as Samsung Galaxy phones, Huawei phones, and more. The fierce competition between these companies has helped to spur the development and advancement of new features. For instance, Portrait Mode on the iPhone, which mimics a professional camera, was introduced after Galaxy phones offered the same feature.
The Use of Smartphones with Other Technologies
Smartphones are mainly used in conjunction with mobile applications. Such mobile applications provide a wide range of functions, ranging from browsing the internet, navigation, social media, mobile games, and more. Nowadays, people can even use their smartphones to
access mobile applications that offer services such as tracking one’s finances, reading e-books, listening to music, and reserving restaurants online. Smartphones themselves incorporate various technologies such as photography due to an inbuilt camera, touchscreens, facial or thumbprint recognition, as well as communication through voice calls or messages. Smartphones are also used with other technologies such as WiFi, which provides access to the internet, headphones or earphones if the user is listening to music, and charging cables and ports since smartphones run on a battery and need to be recharged. Certain computers and smartphones are designed to work together, such as Apple’s Macbooks and iPhones, which can easily transfer data and information to one another. In addition, people often purchase additional accessories for their smartphones, such as screen protectors to avoid scratches and phone cases which can serve both a decorative and protective function. In the wintertime, people may even choose to purchase specially-made gloves with touchscreen sensors to facilitate usage of their smartphones.
The Knowledge Required to Use Smartphones
Smartphones are designed to be user-friendly since they are used by millions of people around the world. As such, when one first receives a brand-new smartphone, there are instructions offered by the manufacturer along every step of the way such that the user can simply follow the guidelines to set up their smartphone. The instructions are offered in a wide variety of languages so that it is readily available to most people. In addition, since the majority of smartphones on the market use the two main operating systems – Android or iOS – people can easily switch between smartphones or access their friend or relative’s smartphone without trouble. There are also smartphones that are targeted at children and have an even simpler user interface.
Although the basic functions such as communication and photography are available, each user can customize their smartphone to suit their own needs. For instance, users may choose to download and delete certain applications as they see fit. However, there remain aspects of smartphones which are not as easily accessible. This is especially pertinent for older users since they are not so familiar with the many functions offered by smartphones. Connecting to WiFi networks or adjusting certain settings such as adding different languages may prove a challenge to them. In addition, when people choose to replace their smartphones, one needs specific knowledge in order to transfer data from one smartphone to another smartphone. This also applies to backing up storage data of a smartphone onto a computer. Therefore, one needs specialized knowledge in deeper areas in order to fully comprehend all the functions of a smartphone.
Instructions on Using Smartphones
All smartphones on the market nowadays are accompanied with an instruction book, which will detail almost all the functions of the smartphone. However, people seldom read those instruction books. As a result of the development of technology, even if some people have never used smartphones or used a smartphone of a specific brand, they may try to figure out how to use it by searching online or asking people around them during the process they use the phone. Similarly, if some new functions release, users are often told by social media or their friends, not by the instruction book. If the smartphone has some technical problems, most of the solutions can be found by searching online. When users cannot solve problems by searching on the internet, they can contact the customer service or directly go to a physical store for help.
The Gender Use of Smartphones
Smartphones are extremely popular and the usage of it spans across different genders. The use of smartphones is not gender specific as smartphones can be used by anyone with the required knowledge.
The Impact of Smartphone
With the development of science and technology today, smartphones have brought great convenience to people’s lives and allow them to access almost all the things that one needs in daily life. For instance, this has led to the rise of online shopping where people can shop online, pay for products online and then wait for express delivery of goods right to their doorstep In contrast, the traditional way of shopping suffers from a time lag as people need to spend much more time in physical stores as compared to the ease of e-shopping. Another example would be how people can now take photographs immediately without the need of specific camera equipment. These examples are just a small illustrations of the functions that smartphones provide.
Another impact that smartphones have brought to us is the need for social contact. Many people prefer to share and talk about their opinions and personal lives on social media as compared to real life. This phenomenon is inseparable from the virtual environment provided by the Internet world. People seem to have a more convenient way of communication as well as a freer interpersonal network online. Whether they are at the same desk in kindergarten or passers-by, they can be connected through invisible and intangible network platforms. After more than ten years of development, this kind of social interaction has developed from sitting in front of computers to using smartphones at any time. Nowadays, most people will prefer not to
go outdoors without their smartphones, because they need to regularly check it to see if anyone wants to talk to them. With no doubt, both efficiency and effectiveness are improved due to the development of smartphones. However, smartphones also constraint interpersonal connections in real life.
Although mobile phones bring a lot of convenience to people’s daily lives, they also have some negative effects that cannot be ignored. First, smartphones can have a negative impact on users’ health. A survey shows that smartphone users in Indonesia, Thailand, China and South Korea use their mobile phones most frequently, and their average usage time is more than 4 hours a day (Wurmser, 2018). This phenomenon can cause health problems for many smartphone users, such as eye fatigue and myopia. Not only that, when users look down on their phones, their cervical vertebrae are damaged by unhealthy postures. There are other psychological problems as well. Frequent use of mobile phones can cause users to rely too much on their smartphones, and they check their phones for new information every few minutes. In this case people become anxious, sensitive and even depressed.
Another problem with smartphones is fraud. With the popularity of smartphones, many people receive emails or phone calls from scammers. These scammers pretend that they are friends or family members of the victim to gain sympathy, and eventually the victim will provide them with bank account information and personal information. Not only that, but scammers also commit fraud in the name of some government departments (such as tax authorities and legal departments), in which case victims are more likely to be deceived.
Conclusion
Smartphone users are spread across all ages and genders. It brings many benefits to people, such as navigation, online shopping and video calling. But it also has some negative effects, such as health problems, psychological problems and fraud. After research, we believe that smart phones are a tool to help shape society and culture, and its impact on people depends mainly on people’s attitudes. How to use a smartphone correctly instead of being enslaved by it is a long.
