Addicted to Smartphones Essay

Have you ever see a sudden burst of laughter from roughlyone beside you, and when you turn your head, that person is just watching his or her cell phone without realizing that he or she is in public and disturbs others? Have you ever paid attention to what state most you atomic number 18 doing when waiting for a bus, sitting in the subway, or unconstipated in advance a meal comes to the table? How numerous another(prenominal) of them are holding a smartphone with eyes foc white plagued on the screen and fingertips engross dancing back and forth on the touch panel, and never shake bored? With the development of 3G and radio technology, cell phones are no interminable restricted to simple communications such as c solelying or texting. After the appearance of smartphones, things like surfing the Internet, socializing, taking photos or up to now FaceTime usher out be through with(p) instantly in your hand.See more My Writing Process EssaySmartphones are becoming parts o f m any great deals lives. These days, a new phenomenon named smartphone habituation has emerged. In particular, recently in china, the spread of smartphones has attracted more and more young hatful into the man of virtual Internet at the expense of their interaction with real demesne relationships it has also aroused heated discussions on whether or not we should lot some actions on limiting this tendency. As a matter of fact, up to now though smartphones contract created a more convenient feeling and establish also changed our way of communication in a digital era, the faulty use of smartphones is problematic in our nonchalant lives, and the public should be conscious of this. It is necessary for the Chinese to pay serious attention to the excessive colony on smartphones, and try to lessen the negative order of smartphones in our day-by-day interpersonal relationships.Before talking about the impacts, we need to take a looking at at the smartphone market in ma inland mainland mainland China. According to the new figures from foreign Data Corporation, IDCs realismwide shitely industrious phone tracker, Chinas share of the world(prenominal) smartphone market leave alone rise to 20.7%, up from 18.2% in 2011 (Moscaritolo). Wong Teck Zhung, the senior market analyst with IDCs Asia/ Pacific leaf node devices team, stated that Chinese smartphone shipments were expected to take a slim lead everywhere the U.S. in 2012, and there would be no turning back this lead changeover (qtd. in Moscaritolo). This change in leadership means that China result go away the leading country-level market for smartphones. muchover, China even overtook the UK and became the mho largest country in application downloads.A quarter of Angry Birds global downloads lies in China. In 2011, 613,445 applications were available in China, 74% of which were free versus 25% globally (China at your fingertips). By the end of the plump for quarter of 2012, smartphone u sers in China have hit 290 million, fleck among them, 59% lies in the age group 18-34 (Q2 2012), as indicated from the report released by Iimedia which is the largest telecom and wireless consulting institution in China. Therefore, young masses have become major(ip) smartphone customers. In foothold of the way people communicating, the smartphone revolution constitutes a second major milestone after the Internet. The report from Iimedia shows that by the end of this June, the total of China mobile Internet users has topped 388 million (Q2 2012). For the first quantify in Chinese history, mobile Internet users have gone beyond PC netizens, and turn into the biggest Internet terminal.Since China has become the worlds largest country of smartphone consumption, Chinese are engaging more than ever with electronic media which is represented by smartphones. It is worth taking a side by side(predicate) look to see how dependent Chinese people are upon their smartphones through some da ta from a film clip make by GroupM fundamental interaction which is the global leading media investment management groupMore than calciferol Chinese magazines have more digital downloads than traditional circulation. Single-day mobile proceedings on Taobao during its 12.12 promotion topped RMB 200 million, while 1 in 5 Taobao users accesses the site via mobile. 2011 mobile e-commerce in China turn overed RMB 11.5 billion. Westerners pray before eating, while 67% of Chinese take photos and post them on-line. Smartphone users check their mobile phones every 6 minutes. 38% of smartphone users spend more than 5 hours a day on their phone. Mobile is the new cigarette. 92% of youth use their mobile phones on the toi permit. Each day over 1,000 people operate a new romantic relationship via their mobile phones. (China at your fingertips)Based on the information above, it is not difficult to see that many people have become too engaged with smartphones. As a event, this heavy engageme nt has led to the unique dependence on smartphones and, consequently, causes Chinese peoples addiction to them. A new study from the University of physician asked 200 students to undertake a 24-hour media-free assignment including their smartphones, and the conclusion found that approximately college students were not just un allow foring, but manoeuvreally unable to be without their media cerebrate to the world (Students abandoned to cordial Media). Here is what the project director Susan D. Moeller, a journalism professor at the University of Maryland and the director of the International decoct for Media and the Public Agenda which conducted the study, notesWe were surprised by how many students admitted that they were incredibly devoted to media The students did complain about how boring it was to go anywhere and do anything without creation plugged into music on their MP3 players, but what they spoke about in the upstandingest terms was how their lack of access to tex t messaging, phone calling, instant messaging, email and Facebook, meant that they couldnt connect with jocks who lived close by, much less those far away (qtd. In Students Addicted to Social Media).After 24 hours abstinence, the students responses show that students lives are pumped up(p) together in such ways that opting out of that communication material body would be tantamount to renouncing a social life (Students Addicted to Social Media). Many students did not even realize how much their cell phones had meant to them. In a British study, 36% of the students claimed that they cannot be separated from their cell phones (Ji). health check authorities are even considering whether to designate Internet addiction as a disease in the upcoming fifth edition of the diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Shelton). In fact, not just the U.S, China is under the same situation of this marvelous smartphone addiction. A researchdone by a multinational market research co mpany, Synovateon, observed 8,lm000 people from all over 11 countries, and found out that people from China and Singapore had the most obvious smartphone-obsessed symptoms (Ji).Due to the fact that almost everyone around is suffering the same condition more or less, many people in China do not consider this addiction as a severe problem. However, smartphone addiction does become influential in our daily life and affect peoples interpersonal relationship subconsciously. These days, batch of people interrupt social conversations to check messages on their mobile devices. More and more Chinese like to take out their cell phones while gathering with friends. Looking at cell phones from time to time has become a major habit for many people in China. Barry S. Fagin, a professor of computer science, once declared that the Internet has a strong potential to adversely affect social relationships (Fagin). With todays rapid growth of smartphones and wireless technology, Barrys opinion cannot be more proper.Recently, Mr. Zhang, a citizen from Tsingtao, together with his brother went to visit their grandfather. While the old man act to talk many times at the table, the children in front were all concentrating on their smartphones until he broke a plate with a considerable face, and asked them to go eat with their cell phones (Ji). More unfortunately, this case is not singular. stack have entertaining conversations with strangers online via smartphones, whereas macrocosm mean to daily personal talks. Chinese people are easily giving up their real life affection because of a little smartphone. I have heard my friend saying that let Siri be your friend, but then, what about your real friends? even so so, some may unsounded argue that just like the Internet, smartphones have brought the whole world even closer and have made it attainable for instant communication. With nowadays boom in technology, with smartphones and our access to the Internet world so easy, the pos sibility of information access from anywhere at any time means that blank might not be so important and obvious like it was. As an international student canvass abroad, FaceTime does allow me to contact my family and friends over the Pacific wherever I indispensableness as long as we are both awake and have an iPhone in hand. The appearance of smartphones might seem to have reduced the distance between people.Nevertheless, it is not totally true. Studies have shown that most people still keep in touch with their personal group of friends and social cyberspace in the real life via the Internet and phones (Ji). A man in the U.S. will not be attracted by any Chinese abode pages on Facebook, while a Chinese, in most cases, is not fire in reading in English as well. There is not too much for smartphones to contribute in subscribeing the world closer for many people. Instead, they make the distance even further, not physically, but mentally. near like an online rearrangement of a proverb goes, the furthest distance in the world is not between life and death, but when I stand in front of you, yet you are playing with your cell phone (qtd. in Ji).In the research conducted by the University of Maryland, a student wrote Texting and IM-ing my friends gives me a aeonian feeling of comfort. When I did not have those two luxuries, I matt-up quite alone and secluded from my life. Although I go to school with thousands of students, the fact that I was not able to communicate with anyone via technology was almost unacceptable(Students Addicted to Social Media). This information is dangerous. Getting used to smartphones makes people even more lonely and isolated from the real world. People, especially the young propagation tends to focus too much on their smartphones, which is partly a result of their fear of self-loneliness and the lack of the ability of being alone. If things continue in this way, people are losing the ability of daily interpersonal communicating.A study done by Stanford University shown that every other hour people spend in front of their computers, they would cut at least 30 minutes face-to-face communications (Ji), and the same happens to smartphones. This fact has made researchers worried about the anxious circuit which controls peoples ability of face-to-face communication will degenerate, thus decreasing the neurotransmitters in the brain and even losing the whole function of this part (Ji). With time goes on, human will lose the ability of identifying the enigmatical meaning behind a certain expression or style from others, which we achieved from a long time evolution. If this worry ever came true, it would be the biggest tragedy in the digital era.So, after talking all above, what can be done to eliminate this addiction and help the Chinese to find fall apart ways for using their smartphones? Experts suggested that people should take some mandatory measures (Experts). A game played by my friends might be able to pull up stakes some good advice. Every time hanging out for meals, we will put all of our phones in the center of the table, and whoever is the first one to reach his or her cell phone during the meal is going to pay for everyone. Besides, sports and outdoor(prenominal) exercises will also help. People, especially in China where they normally limp indoors with nice air-conditioning and comfortable equipment, should open themselves to more outdoor activities. When doing something outdoor, being enveloped under the bright sunshine, sweating a little bit, and completely knowing yourself, you will find no reason to keep addicted to your smartphones. Compared to the beauty of nature, nonentity really matters.There is nothing wrong with falling in have sex with your smartphones. However, the Chinese have to realize the effect this love may bring on to them. The improper use of smartphones not only has negative influence on themselves in real life relationships, but it is also not re spectful to others. In the modern world, of course we cannot live without smartphones, but we can do something more fun. Find what you like instead of smartphones, go for it, and enjoy yourself. Smartphones are just tools, not our complete life. Do not let them take over all our joy of life.Works CitedChina at your fingertips. Dir. Tony Chen. Prod. Bessie Lee. GroupM Interaction, 2012. Film Clip.Experts teach you how to get rid of your cell phone addiction. Medpharm & Health 9 (2012) 5-5. Web. 25 Nov. 2012.Fagin, Barry S. The Internet Makes Distance Matter slight for Good and Ill. The Internet. Ed. Gary Wiener. Detroit Greenhaven Press, 2010. 22-28. Print.Ji, Guoliang. The Furthest Distance in the World. city National rawspaper 15 Oct. 2012. Web. 13. Nov. 2012.Moscaritolo, Angela. China to Overtake U.S. as cap Smartphone Market in 2012. PC Magazine Mar 2012 1-1. Academic calculate Complete. Web. 20 Nov. 2012.Q2 2012 Chinese Smartphone Market Monitoring Report. Iimedia (2012) n. pag. Web. 20 Nov. 2012.Shelton, Jim. Hi, Im (insert name here), and Im a Facebook addict. New Haven Register 10 Mar. 2012. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 25 Nov. 2012.Students Addicted to Social Media- New UM Study. University of Maryland Newsdesk 21 Apr. 2010. Web. 19 Nov. 2012.