Plenty of pitfalls for cellphones

Have you ever sat in a restaurant or airport and watched people sitting next to each other texting on their phones.
It is something that is becoming more common every day, as new studies confirm.
The latest studies have discovered that a group sitting around a table would much rather text than have a conversation with the others at the table.
Connecting and making the world a smaller place is one of the big benefits of social media. Yet in our gallop to make the world smaller, we would rather isolate ourselves from each other in common discussions.
A full 13 percent of American cellphone owners pretend to be on their phones in order to avoid interacting with people around them, a recent PEW study reported.
Growing up, and going on vacations and taking pictures with our “Brownie” cameras, I could hardly wait to discover if our pictures would come out and then tell the stories around those pictures.
Today, we will share videos, texts, photos, and links with others from our phones. But speaking directly and showing photos, and discussing them in real time, seldom occurs today.
A study completed by the UCLA in 2014 discovered that children who spend a lot of time in front of screens could not discern the emotional cues in a way that they could learn from face-to-face communications.
Chamath Palihapitiya a former vice-president of user grown on Facebook, has prohibited his own kids from social media. Bill Gates refused to allow his children to have a cellphone until they were 14 years old.
Steve Jobs refused to allow his children to use an iPad.
One must wonder why these social media giants refused to allow their children to use social media.
We used to make fun of the “Crackberry” that as soon as it vibrated or rang, owners would fumble with the gadget to see what was happening.
Today, the instant reward of a vibrating or ringing cellphone seems to have that same effect on children and adults alike. Everyone seems to believe that, with their hearts beating and thumbs flaring, the message is all too valuable to avoid and will stop conversations, work, and play to discover what may be more important.
A study recently discovered a person responding to a cellphone while working takes almost a half-hour to get back to the task that interrupted them.
Just think what that does to a child in a classroom. How long does a child take to regain focus either in a classroom or while doing homework?
Apple Inc. shareholders Jana Partners and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System are asking smartphone manufacturers to address a growing problem of young people being addicted to cellphones.
What is an appropriate age for children and teenagers to possess a phone? Should parents restrict the usage of the phone in their home? Should employees be answering and texting from their personal phones at work?
The more we learn about cellphones and their use, the more we discover the pitfalls and blessings that they produce.