Cell Phones and society

1. What is the purpose of this article?  What are three main points in this article that the author uses to support his ideas? Agree or disagree with each of his points. Please back up your ideas with specific examples.

The main purpose of this article is to bring awareness to our society about how cell phones are hazardous and rude to society. Some people find it okay to text in a restaurant and during business meetings but others hate it. Pamela Eyring, director of the Protocol School of Washington, which teaches social manners to corporate and government clients, views public texting at an official event as rude claiming that “It isn’t professional, it’s saying, ‘To hell with all of you’ ”. I agree with her point because it is really rude to be texting someone during a presentation especially if the topic is important. Another main point is when this article shows “A third of singles said they’d left a date early because the other person was “constantly glancing” at their cell”.

Say you are on a date with someone and they are constantly texting his/her friends you will get frustrated with them because they are paying more attention to their phone than on you and you will want to leave the date. “We’re losing our one-on-one people skills and ability to engage in uninterrupted, focused conversations.” Texting while driving is extremely dangerous and could cause serious harm, even death in some ways. People may think that texting while driving is completely harmless but most accident that happen are because of texting while driving. Cell phone-related rudeness is so bad it’s treated like a disease requiring awareness. “In July, an Ontario Provincial Police campaign targeted distracted drivers, charging more than 2,000 people; with one woman so preoccupied with her cell she didn’t even notice the sirens flagging her down”.

2. When are times when you believe that cell phones are acceptable? How about Unacceptable? Should schools, movie theatres and other public places consider bans or cell phone jammers like Europe? Consider using the facts below in your answer

I believe that cell phones should only be acceptable when you’re at home or with your friends because when your at home you don’t put yourself or anyone else in danger because you’re distracted by your phone and with your friends its okay to text because they probably don’t care that your texting in front of them. There are plenty of times where it is unacceptable but the most unacceptable times to text on your cell phone is when you’re driving and when you’re in school. Texting while driving cause a huge distraction when you’re driving. There are statistics that show that “While teenagers are texting, they spend about 10 percent of the time outside the driving lane they're supposed to be in.” and this usually leads to many accidents on the road. Phoning someone while driving is just peer stupidity because “Talking on a cell phone while driving can make a young driver's reaction time as slow as that of a 70-year-old”. Texting someone while your in a class is unacceptable because the teachers go out of their way for students to help them excel in school and get good grades but yet, student continue to disobey the rules and continue to disrespect teachers. Why should the teacher spent their time helping students when the students don’t even pay attention in class because they are on their cell phones. There is a proven fact that “Students who have stopped using their cell phone in class reported, on average, a 10% increase in their grade point average”. I believe that students should have their phones taken away from them at the beginning of the class so that they cant be disrespectful to the teacher.