essay book vs mobile phone

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Ebooks or Paper Books: Your Best Arguments

With the advance of phones, tablets, and ereaders, ebooks have become a popular reading standard. Still, there's something about the feel of an old-fashioned paper book. We asked you which one is better and why, and here are some of the best arguments we heard.

There were a lot of great responses so let's see where you landed.

Ebooks are More Accessible

Ebooks can be read practically anywhere on anything, and MyklFuman points out how easy it is to have your library at hand for whenever there's some waiting to do:

I have a large screen phone (Galaxy S3) so I then always have my books with me. Waiting for the take away to be ready, I read a few pages. Waiting pretty much anywhere, I read. I have been doing so since the Palm Pilot Treo came out... Nice thing with Google books is I can read at my desk on the big monitor then pick up right where I left off on my cell, and visa versa.

CessTHEBest explains how location makes it hard to get certain books, so ebooks are by far the most accessible choice:

I LOVE paper books. But, living in Latin America, e-books have saved my life. The bookstores here have a very small English language selection, and I am just too lazy to read in Spanish. So, E-books have meant no postage, no heavy suitcases full of books, no waiting 4-5 weeks for books from amazon, or lost books.

And some had been dreaming of the accessibility that ebooks finally brought. TheLaughinKipper is one of them:

Ever since the eighties I had been dreaming of replacing those bulky, unwieldly stacks of paper with a thin, light slate that could contain all my library. It has rekindled (pun not intended) my passion for reading like you wouldn't believe.

dr_bombay agrees, and also cites the perks that come along with a lot of ebooks:

i can carry an entire library in my pocket; i can adjust type size, contrast, and color to my liking; i can look up unfamiliar words instantly with the built-in dictionary...

Different Situations Call for Different Things

Our own Whitson Gordon says ebooks all the way, but still makes a solid case for times when a paper book is ideal:

I'm an ebook guy through and through, but my fiancee has a pretty good argument for buying physical books—at least sometimes.

If you're going to the pool or the beach and want to bring a book, it's a lot easier to bring a physical book, since you can leave it alone (to go swimming or whatever) without worrying about it getting stolen. Can't do that with a $100 Kindle. You can also leave it in your car, in your backpack at school, etc.

Paper books are also necessary for certain things. TheRevanchrist mentions one particular situation—going to a book signing—and CaptainJack agrees:

You do have a point about the signed copy. My Wife and many of her author friends have had to resort to signing prints of covers for ebook fans. There really isn't a good way to deal with that without print copies being easily available.

Some of you were die hard paper book readers, but got nudged the other way because of your situation. Wittyname talks about how traveling changed everything:

I bought my Kindle saying that, at worst, I would just use it for flying home for Christmas when I didn't want to carry a bunch of books around but needed more than one to read for the flight and my time at home. But from there I've moved to almost exclusively reading on the Kindle.

It Depends on What You're Reading

Many of you buy certain types of ebooks, but still think paper is the way go for a lot of books. Our own Melanie Pinola has a couple of items on her list that help her determine which to buy:

For me, it depends on the book—how visual it is (graphic novels I like in paper format), whether I'm more likely to race through it (a good novel) or linger and bounce around (poetry), how big it is (I wish the gigantic Robert Moses book was in eBook form), and how well the text was translated to Kindle (I heard bad things about the Game of Thrones digital versions, so went with paper for that).

Sometimes you might not feel like sharing what you're reading with everyone around you. chancyrendezvous points out that ebooks can help prevent embarrassment or strange looks:

No one knows what I'm reading! I'm the Mikey of books, so when someone says, "Hey, CR, read this dinosaur erotica and tell me if it's as awful as it seems it would be," (surprisingly not) or "Someone has to read 50 Cent's book series and it's not going to be me," (it shouldn't be you either, even if the title is Thong on Fire ), I can read in public and no one gives me judgy eyebrows.

And SuperWittySmitty likes classic paper books, but just doesn't want to haul around War & Peace:

I have a Nook and have enjoyed using it- right now I am working my way through War & Peace and it's certainly easier to grab the Nook than carrying around the big fat book.

Some Prefer the Feel and Utility of Paper Books

I personally think the weight and feel of a paper book is hard to beat most of the time, and Charis agrees:

I am still a total paper book lover. It's just satisfying curling up with a book, the smell of the pages, the heft of the book. And there is the classic "Three B test" - bath, bus, bed.

Plus, chitheatergirl points out that it's easy to immediately see how far you really are in a book:

I was Switzerland in this discussion, but the ebook I was reading told me I was 84% finished with the book when the book ended. The remaining 16% was excerpts from the author's other books, an author interview, and a discussion guide. Paper books are far superior when it comes to letting you know your place in a book, and that's why I prefer them.

Others Think People are Just Being Nostalgic

I may be one of those weirdos that likes the smell of a book, but not everyone thinks the same way. DanYHKim is someone who does not think the same way:

People who love paper books will sometimes wax poetic about the unique smell of books. For me, that is the smell of dust mites and silverfish droppings.

Not everyone thinks the "feel" of a book is anything to write home about, either. Michael Bond sees paper books as nothing but a disadvantage:

I don't really get this... nothing about the "feel" of the book is an advantage to me. I used to read some big books, and having to balance that weight so that I don't have to crane my neck was a pain.

The Right Tool for the Right Job

When you boil it all down, you need the right type of book for the right job it seems, but everyone can at least agree that reading is definitely a job that's right. A good majority of you think there's a time and place for both ebooks and paper books. KnightTim isn't up for battle, just reading, despite what his name might suggest:

I'm going to have to say YES. I love them both, my wife and I have several bookshelves in our house and I would not get rid of my books. But I also have and love my kindle paperwhite.

So I think at this point my vote would be 55% e-book and 45% physical book. (I guess I'm not very good at the war part of this post...)

At the end of the day, James T Wood draws a comparison that I'm sure most of us can get on board with:

I think of the physical vs. electronic book as a both-and proposition.

I have both DVDs and a Netflix subscription.

I have both CDs and a Google Music subscription.

I have both physical books and ebooks.

Whatever you prefer to read on, it seems there's no better choice. As long as you get to read, that's a win.

November 1, 2013

12 min read

The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: Why Paper Still Beats Screens

E-readers and tablets are becoming more popular as such technologies improve, but reading on paper still has its advantages

By Ferris Jabr

One of the most provocative viral YouTube videos in the past two years begins mundanely enough: a one-year-old girl plays with an iPad, sweeping her fingers across its touch screen and shuffling groups of icons. In following scenes, she appears to pinch, swipe and prod the pages of paper magazines as though they, too, are screens. Melodramatically, the video replays these gestures in close-up.

For the girl's father, the video— A Magazine Is an iPad That Does Not Work —is evidence of a generational transition. In an accompanying description, he writes, “Magazines are now useless and impossible to understand, for digital natives”—that is, for people who have been interacting with digital technologies from a very early age, surrounded not only by paper books and magazines but also by smartphones, Kindles and iPads.

Whether or not his daughter truly expected the magazines to behave like an iPad, the video brings into focus a question that is relevant to far more than the youngest among us: How exactly does the technology we use to read change the way we read?

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Since at least the 1980s researchers in psychology, computer engineering, and library and information science have published more than 100 studies exploring differences in how people read on paper and on screens. Before 1992 most experiments concluded that people read stories and articles on screens more slowly and remember less about them. As the resolution of screens on all kinds of devices sharpened, however, a more mixed set of findings began to emerge. Recent surveys suggest that although most people still prefer paper—especially when they need to concentrate for a long time—attitudes are changing as tablets and e-reading technology improve and as reading digital texts for facts and fun becomes more common. In the U.S., e-books currently make up more than 20 percent of all books sold to the general public.

Despite all the increasingly user-friendly and popular technology, most studies published since the early 1990s confirm earlier conclusions: paper still has advantages over screens as a reading medium. Together laboratory experiments, polls and consumer reports indicate that digital devices prevent people from efficiently navigating long texts, which may subtly inhibit reading comprehension. Compared with paper, screens may also drain more of our mental resources while we are reading and make it a little harder to remember what we read when we are done. Whether they realize it or not, people often approach computers and tablets with a state of mind less conducive to learning than the one they bring to paper. And e-readers fail to re-create certain tactile experiences of reading on paper, the absence of which some find unsettling.

“There is physicality in reading,” says cognitive scientist Maryanne Wolf of Tufts University, “maybe even more than we want to think about as we lurch into digital reading—as we move forward perhaps with too little reflection. I would like to preserve the absolute best of older forms but know when to use the new.”

Textual Landscapes Understanding how reading on paper differs from reading on screens requires some explanation of how the human brain interprets written language. Although letters and words are symbols representing sounds and ideas, the brain also regards them as physical objects. As Wolf explains in her 2007 book Proust and the Squid , we are not born with brain circuits dedicated to reading, because we did not invent writing until relatively recently in our evolutionary history, around the fourth millennium b.c. So in childhood, the brain improvises a brand-new circuit for reading by weaving together various ribbons of neural tissue devoted to other abilities, such as speaking, motor coordination and vision.

Some of these repurposed brain regions specialize in object recognition: they help us instantly distinguish an apple from an orange, for example, based on their distinct features, yet classify both as fruit. Similarly, when we learn to read and write, we begin to recognize letters by their particular arrangements of lines, curves and hollow spaces—a tactile learning process that requires both our eyes and hands. In recent research by Karin James of Indiana University Bloomington, the reading circuits of five-year-old children crackled with activity when they practiced writing letters by hand but not when they typed letters on a keyboard. And when people read cursive writing or intricate characters such as Japanese kanji , the brain literally goes through the motions of writing, even if the hands are empty.

Beyond treating individual letters as physical objects, the human brain may also perceive a text in its entirety as a kind of physical landscape. When we read, we construct a mental representation of the text. The exact nature of such representations remains unclear, but some researchers think they are similar to the mental maps we create of terrain—such as mountains and trails—and of indoor physical spaces, such as apartments and offices. Both anecdotally and in published studies, people report that when trying to locate a particular passage in a book, they often remember where in the text it appeared. Much as we might recall that we passed the red farmhouse near the start of a hiking trail before we started climbing uphill through the forest, we remember that we read about Mr. Darcy rebuffing Elizabeth Bennett at a dance on the bottom left corner of the left-hand page in one of the earlier chapters of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice .

In most cases, paper books have more obvious topography than on-screen text. An open paper book presents a reader with two clearly defined domains—the left- and right-hand pages—and a total of eight corners with which to orient oneself. You can focus on a single page of a paper book without losing awareness of the whole text. You can even feel the thickness of the pages you have read in one hand and the pages you have yet to read in the other. Turning the pages of a paper book is like leaving one footprint after another on a trail—there is a rhythm to it and a visible record of how far one has traveled. All these features not only make the text in a paper book easily navigable, they also make it easier to form a coherent mental map of that text.

In contrast, most digital devices interfere with intuitive navigation of a text and inhibit people from mapping the journey in their mind. A reader of digital text might scroll through a seamless stream of words, tap forward one page at a time or use the search function to immediately locate a particular phrase—but it is difficult to see any one passage in the context of the entire text. As an analogy, imagine if Google Maps allowed people to navigate street by individual street, as well as to teleport to any specific address, but prevented them from zooming out to see a neighborhood, state or country. Likewise, glancing at a progress bar gives a far more vague sense of place than feeling the weight of read and unread pages. And although e-readers and tablets replicate pagination, the displayed pages are ephemeral. Once read, those pages vanish. Instead of hiking the trail yourself, you watch the trees, rocks and moss pass by in flashes, with no tangible trace of what came before and no easy way to see what lies ahead.

“The implicit feel of where you are in a physical book turns out to be more important than we realized,” says Abigail J. Sellen of Microsoft Research Cambridge in England, who co-authored the 2001 book The Myth of the Paperless Office . “Only when you get an e-book do you start to miss it. I don't think e-book manufacturers have thought enough about how you might visualize where you are in a book.”

Exhaustive Reading At least a few studies suggest that screens sometimes impair comprehension precisely because they distort people's sense of place in a text. In a January 2013 study by Anne Mangen of the University of Stavanger in Norway and her colleagues, 72 10th grade students studied one narrative and one expository text. Half the students read on paper, and half read PDF files on computers. Afterward, students completed reading comprehension tests, during which they had access to the texts. Students who read the texts on computers performed a little worse, most likely because they had to scroll or click through the PDFs one section at a time, whereas students reading on paper held the entire texts in their hands and quickly switched between different pages. “The ease with which you can find out the beginning, end, and everything in between and the constant connection to your path, your progress in the text, might be some way of making it less taxing cognitively,” Mangen says. “You have more free capacity for comprehension.”

Other researchers agree that screen-based reading can dull comprehension because it is more mentally taxing and even physically tiring than reading on paper. E-ink reflects ambient light just like the ink on a paper book, but computer screens, smartphones and tablets shine light directly on people's faces. Today's LCDs are certainly gentler on eyes than their predecessor, cathode-ray tube (CRT) screens, but prolonged reading on glossy, self-illuminated screens can cause eyestrain, headaches and blurred vision. In an experiment by Erik Wästlund, then at Karlstad University in Sweden, people who took a reading comprehension test on a computer scored lower and reported higher levels of stress and tiredness than people who completed it on paper.

In a related set of Wästlund's experiments, 82 volunteers completed the same reading comprehension test on computers, either as a paginated document or as a continuous piece of text. Afterward, researchers assessed the students' attention and working memory—a collection of mental talents allowing people to temporarily store and manipulate information in their mind. Volunteers had to quickly close a series of pop-up windows, for example, or remember digits that flashed on a screen. Like many cognitive abilities, working memory is a finite resource that diminishes with exertion.

Although people in both groups performed equally well, those who had to scroll through the unbroken text did worse on the attention and working memory tests. Wästlund thinks that scrolling—which requires readers to consciously focus on both the text and how they are moving it—drains more mental resources than turning or clicking a page, which are simpler and more automatic gestures. The more attention is diverted to moving through a text, the less is available for understanding it. A 2004 study conducted at the University of Central Florida reached similar conclusions.

An emerging collection of studies emphasizes that in addition to screens possibly leeching more attention than paper, people do not always bring as much mental effort to screens in the first place. Based on a detailed 2005 survey of 113 people in northern California, Ziming Liu of San Jose State University concluded that those reading on screens take a lot of shortcuts—they spend more time browsing, scanning and hunting for keywords compared with people reading on paper and are more likely to read a document once and only once.

When reading on screens, individuals seem less inclined to engage in what psychologists call metacognitive learning regulation—setting specific goals, rereading difficult sections and checking how much one has understood along the way. In a 2011 experiment at the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, college students took multiple-choice exams about expository texts either on computers or on paper. Researchers limited half the volunteers to a meager seven minutes of study time; the other half could review the text for as long as they liked. When under pressure to read quickly, students using computers and paper performed equally well. When managing their own study time, however, volunteers using paper scored about 10 percentage points higher. Presumably, students using paper approached the exam with a more studious attitude than their screen-reading peers and more effectively directed their attention and working memory.

Even when studies find few differences in reading comprehension between screens and paper, screen readers may not remember a text as thoroughly in the long run. In a 2003 study Kate Garland, then at the University of Leicester in England, and her team asked 50 British college students to read documents from an introductory economics course either on a computer monitor or in a spiral-bound booklet. After 20 minutes of reading, Garland and her colleagues quizzed the students. Participants scored equally well regardless of the medium but differed in how they remembered the information.

Psychologists distinguish between remembering something—a relatively weak form of memory in which someone recalls a piece of information, along with contextual details, such as where and when one learned it—and knowing something: a stronger form of memory defined as certainty that something is true. While taking the quiz, Garland's volunteers marked both their answer and whether they “remembered” or “knew” the answer. Students who had read study material on a screen relied much more on remembering than on knowing, whereas students who read on paper depended equally on the two forms of memory. Garland and her colleagues think that students who read on paper learned the study material more thoroughly more quickly; they did not have to spend a lot of time searching their mind for information from the text—they often just knew the answers.

Perhaps any discrepancies in reading comprehension between paper and screens will shrink as people's attitudes continue to change. Maybe the star of A Magazine Is an iPad That Does Not Work will grow up without the subtle bias against screens that seems to lurk among older generations. The latest research suggests, however, that substituting screens for paper at an early age has disadvantages that we should not write off so easily. A 2012 study at the Joan Ganz Cooney Center in New York City recruited 32 pairs of parents and three- to six-year-old children. Kids remembered more details from stories they read on paper than ones they read in e-books enhanced with interactive animations, videos and games. These bells and whistles deflected attention away from the narrative toward the device itself. In a follow-up survey of 1,226 parents, the majority reported that they and their children prefer print books over e-books when reading together.

Nearly identical results followed two studies, described this past September in Mind, Brain, and Education , by Julia Parrish-Morris, now at the University of Pennsylvania, and her colleagues. When reading paper books to their three- and five-year-old children, parents helpfully related the story to their child's life. But when reading a then popular electric console book with sound effects, parents frequently had to interrupt their usual “dialogic reading” to stop the child from fiddling with buttons and losing track of the narrative. Such distractions ultimately prevented the three-year-olds from understanding even the gist of the stories, but all the children followed the stories in paper books just fine.

Such preliminary research on early readers underscores a quality of paper that may be its greatest strength as a reading medium: its modesty. Admittedly, digital texts offer clear advantages in many different situations. When one is researching under deadline, the convenience of quickly accessing hundreds of keyword-searchable online documents vastly outweighs the benefits in comprehension and retention that come with dutifully locating and rifling through paper books one at a time in a library. And for people with poor vision, adjustable font size and the sharp contrast of an LCD screen are godsends. Yet paper, unlike screens, rarely calls attention to itself or shifts focus away from the text. Because of its simplicity, paper is “a still point, an anchor for the consciousness,” as William Powers writes in his 2006 essay “Hamlet's Blackberry: Why Paper Is Eternal.” People consistently report that when they really want to focus on a text, they read it on paper. In a 2011 survey of graduate students at National Taiwan University, the majority reported browsing a few paragraphs of an item online before printing out the whole text for more in-depth reading. And in a 2003 survey at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, nearly 80 percent of 687 students preferred to read text on paper rather than on a screen to “understand it with clarity.”

Beyond pragmatic considerations, the way we feel about a paper book or an e-reader—and the way it feels in our hands—also determines whether we buy a best-selling book in hardcover at a local bookstore or download it from Amazon. Surveys and consumer reports suggest that the sensory aspects of reading on paper matter to people more than one might assume: the feel of paper and ink; the option to smooth or fold a page with one's fingers; the distinctive sound a page makes when turned. So far digital texts have not satisfyingly replicated such sensations. Paper books also have an immediately discernible size, shape and weight. We might refer to a hardcover edition of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace as a “hefty tome” or to a paperback of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness as a “slim volume.” In contrast, although a digital text has a length that may be represented with a scroll or progress bar, it has no obvious shape or thickness. An e-reader always weighs the same, regardless of whether you are reading Marcel Proust's magnum opus or one of Ernest Hemingway's short stories. Some researchers have found that these discrepancies create enough so-called haptic dissonance to dissuade some people from using e-readers.

To amend this sensory incongruity, many designers have worked hard to make the e-reader or tablet experience as close to reading on paper as possible. E-ink resembles typical chemical ink, and the simple layout of the Kindle's screen looks remarkably like a page in a paper book. Likewise, Apple's iBooks app attempts to simulate somewhat realistic page turning. So far such gestures have been more aesthetic than pragmatic. E-books still prevent people from quickly scanning ahead on a whim or easily flipping to a previous chapter when a sentence surfaces a memory of something they read earlier.

Some digital innovators are not confining themselves to imitations of paper books. Instead they are evolving screen-based reading into something else entirely. Scrolling may not be the ideal way to navigate a text as long and dense as Herman Melville's Moby Dick , but the New York Times , the Washington Post , ESPN and other media outlets have created beautiful, highly visual articles that could not appear in print because they blend text with movies and embedded sound clips and depend entirely on scrolling to create a cinematic experience. Robin Sloan has pioneered the tap essay, which relies on physical interaction to set the pace and tone, unveiling new words, sentences and images only when someone taps a phone or a tablet's touch screen. And some writers are pairing up with computer programmers to produce ever more sophisticated interactive fiction and nonfiction in which one's choices determine what one reads, hears and sees next.

When it comes to intensively reading long pieces of unembellished text, paper and ink may still have the advantage. But plain text is not the only way to read.

Ferris Jabr is a contributing writer for Scientific American . He has also written for the New York Times Magazine , the New Yorker and Outside .

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How Smartphones Are Killing Conversation

What happens when we become too dependent on our mobile phones? According to MIT sociologist Sherry Turkle, author of the new book Reclaiming Conversation , we lose our ability to have deeper, more spontaneous conversations with others, changing the nature of our social interactions in alarming ways.

Turkle has spent the last 20 years studying the impacts of technology on how we behave alone and in groups. Though initially excited by technology’s potential to transform society for the better, she has become increasingly worried about how new technologies, cell phones in particular, are eroding the social fabric of our communities.

In her previous book, the bestselling Alone Together , she articulated her fears that technology was making us feel more and more isolated, even as it promised to make us more connected. Since that book came out in 2012, technology has become even more ubiquitous and entwined with our modern existence. Reclaiming Conversation is Turkle’s call to take a closer look at the social effects of cell phones and to re-sanctify the role of conversation in our everyday lives in order to preserve our capacity for empathy , introspection, creativity, and intimacy.

I interviewed Turkle by phone to talk about her book and some of the questions it raises. Here is an edited version of our conversation.

Jill Suttie: Your new book warns that cell phones and other portable communication technology are killing the art of conversation. Why did you want to focus on conversation, specifically?

Sherry Turkle: Because conversation is the most human and humanizing thing that we do. It’s where empathy is born, where intimacy is born—because of eye contact, because we can hear the tones of another person’s voice, sense their body movements, sense their presence. It’s where we learn about other people. But, without meaning to, without having made a plan, we’ve actually moved away from conversation in a way that my research was showing is hurting us.

JS: How are cell phones and other technologies hurting us?

ST: Eighty-nine percent of Americans say that during their last social interaction, they took out a phone, and 82 percent said that it deteriorated the conversation they were in. Basically, we’re doing something that we know is hurting our interactions.

I’ll point to a study. If you put a cell phone into a social interaction, it does two things: First, it decreases the quality of what you talk about, because you talk about things where you wouldn’t mind being interrupted, which makes sense, and, secondly, it decreases the empathic connection that people feel toward each other.

So, even something as simple as going to lunch and putting a cell phone on the table decreases the emotional importance of what people are willing to talk about, and it decreases the connection that the two people feel toward one another. If you multiply that by all of the times you have a cell phone on the table when you have coffee with someone or are at breakfast with your child or are talking with your partner about how you’re feeling, we’re doing this to each other 10, 20, 30 times a day.

JS: So, why are humans so vulnerable to the allure of the cell phone, if it’s actually hurting our interactions?

ST: Cell phones make us promises that are like gifts from a benevolent genie—that we will never have to be alone, that we will never be bored, that we can put our attention wherever we want it to be, and that we can multitask, which is perhaps the most seductive of all. That ability to put your attention wherever you want it to be has become the thing people want most in their social interactions—that feeling that you don’t have to commit yourself 100 percent and you can avoid the terror that there will be a moment in an interaction when you’ll be bored.

Actually allowing yourself a moment of boredom is crucial to human interaction and it’s crucial to your brain as well. When you’re bored, your brain isn’t bored at all—it’s replenishing itself, and it needs that down time.

We’re very susceptible to cell phones, and we even get a neurochemical high from the constant stimulation that our phones give us.

I’ve spent the last 20 years studying how compelling technology is, but you know what? We can still change. We can use our phones in ways that are better for our kids, our families, our work, and ourselves. It’s the wrong analogy to say we’re addicted to our technology. It’s not heroin.

JS: One thing that struck me in your book was that many people who you interviewed talked about the benefits of handling conflict or difficult emotional issues online. They said they could be more careful with their responses and help decrease interpersonal tensions. That seems like a good thing. What’s the problem with that idea?

ST: It was a big surprise when I did the research for my book to learn how many people want to dial down fighting or dealing with difficult emotional issues with a partner or with their children by doing it online.

But let’s take the child example. If you do that with your child, if you only deal with them in this controlled way, you are basically playing into your child’s worst fear—that their truth, their rage, their unedited feelings, are something that you can’t handle. And that’s exactly what a parent shouldn’t be saying to a child. Your child doesn’t need to hear that you can’t take and accept and honor the intensity of their feelings.

People need to share their emotions—I feel very strongly about this. I understand why people avoid conflict, but people who use this method end up with children who think that the things they feel aren’t OK. There’s a variant of this, which is interesting, where parents give their children robots to talk to or want their children to talk to Siri, because somehow that will be a safer place to get out their feelings. Again, that’s exactly what your child doesn’t need.

JS: Some studies seem to show that increased social media use actually increases social interaction offline. I wonder how this squares with your thesis?

ST: How I interpret that data is that if you’re a social person, a socially active person, your use of social media becomes part of your social profile. And I think that’s great. My book is not anti-technology; it’s pro-conversation. So, if you find that your use of social media increases your number of face-to-face conversations, then I’m 100 percent for it.

Another person who might be helped by social media is someone who uses it for taking baby steps toward meeting people for face-to-face conversations. If you’re that kind of person, I’m totally supportive. 

I’m more concerned about people for whom social media becomes a kind of substitute, who literally post something on Facebook and just sit there and watch whether they get 100 likes on their picture, whose self-worth and focus becomes dictated by how they are accepted, wanted, and desired by social media.

And I’m concerned about the many other situations in which you and I are talking at a dinner party with six other people, and everyone is texting at the meal and applying the “three-person rule”—that three people have to have their heads up before anyone feels it’s safe to put their head down to text. In this situation, where everyone is both paying attention and not paying attention, you end up with nobody talking about what’s really on their minds in any serious, significant way, and we end up with trivial conversations, not feeling connected to one another.

JS: You also write about how conversation affects the workplace environment. Aren’t conversations just distractions to getting work done? Why support conversation at work?

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ST: In the workplace, you need to create sacred spaces for conversation because, number one, conversation actually increases the bottom line. All the studies show that when people are allowed to talk to each other, they do better—they’re more collaborative, they’re more creative, they get more done.

It’s very important for companies to make space for conversation in the workplace. But if a manager doesn’t model to employees that it’s OK to be off of their email in order to have conversation, nothing is going to get accomplished. I went to one workplace that had cappuccino machines every 10 feet and tables the right size for conversation, where everything was built for conversation. But people were feeling that the most important way to show devotion to the company was answering their email immediately. You can’t have conversation if you have to be constantly on your email. Some of the people I interviewed were terrified to be away from their phones. That translates into bringing your cell phone to breakfast and not having breakfast with your kids.

JS: If technology is so ubiquitous yet problematic, what recommendations do you make for keeping it at a manageable level without getting so hooked?

ST: The path ahead is not a path where we do without technology, but of living in greater harmony with it. Among the first steps I see is to create sacred spaces—the kitchen, the dining room, the car—that are device-free and set aside for conversation. When you have lunch with a friend or colleague or family member, don’t put a phone on the table between you. Make meals a time when you are there to listen and be heard.

When we move in and out of conversations with our friends in the room and all the people we can reach on our phones, we miss out on the kinds of conversations where empathy is born and intimacy thrives. I met a wise college junior who spoke about the “seven-minute rule”: It takes seven minutes to know if a conversation is going to be interesting. And she admitted that she rarely was willing to put in her seven minutes. At the first “lull,” she went to her phone. But it’s when we stumble, hesitate, and have those “lulls” that we reveal ourselves most to each other.

So allow for those human moments, accept that life is not a steady “feed,” and learn to savor the pace of conversation—for empathy, for community, for creativity.

About the Author

Jill Suttie

Jill Suttie, Psy.D. , is Greater Good ’s former book review editor and now serves as a staff writer and contributing editor for the magazine. She received her doctorate of psychology from the University of San Francisco in 1998 and was a psychologist in private practice before coming to Greater Good .

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Essay on Mobile Phone: 100 Words, 300 Words, 500 Words

• Updated on  
• Feb 21, 2024

Mobile Phones are portable electronic devices used to make calls, browse the internet, click pictures, and do several other tasks. However, the mobile phones discovered in the early 1970s were quite different from the compact and slim devices we use today. Cell phones were invented by John F. Mitchell and Martin Cooper of Motorola in 1973.

As modern humans, we all use mobile phones for our day-to-day functioning. At academic and higher education levels, students are given the task of writing an essay on mobile phones. An essay on mobile phones requires a comprehensive and detailed study of their history, major developments and the purposes it serve. In this article, we have provided essays on mobile phones for class 6,7,8.9, 10, and 12th standard students. Students can refer to these sample essays on mobile phones to write their own. Keep reading to find out essays on mobile phones and some fun facts about the device.

Table of Contents

• 1 Sample Essay on Mobile Phone (100 Words)
• 2 Sample Essay on Mobile Phone (300 words)
• 3 Sample Essay on Mobile Phone (500 words)
• 4 Essay on Mobile Phone: 5+ Facts About Smartphones

Sample Essay on Mobile Phone (100 Words)

Also Read: The Beginner’s Guide to Writing an Essay

Sample Essay on Mobile Phone (300 words)

Also Read: Essay on Importance of the Internet

Sample Essay on Mobile Phone (500 words)

Essay on Mobile Phone: 5+ Facts About Smartphones

Here we have listed some of the interesting facts about smartphones. These facts can be added to the ‘essay on mobile phones’ to make it more interesting. Below are the 5 interesting facts about smartphones:

• The most expensive smartphone in the world is the Falcon Supernova iPhone 6 Pink Diamond. It is worth  $48.5 million.
• The cheapest mobile phone in the world is the Freedom 251. It just cost INR 251.
• Apple is the world’s most popular smartphone
• The first phone greeting was “Ahoy-hoy, who’s calling please?” 
• The first smartphone was invented by IBM. It was released by IBM in 1994. The original screen name of the 1st smartphone was “Simon.” 
• The first text message in the world was ‘Merry Christmas’

Also Read: Holi Essay: Free Sample Essays 100 To 500 Words In English

A mobile phone system gets its name from diving the service into small cells. Each of these cells has a base station with a useful range in the order of a kilometre/mile.

Mobile phones have become extremely important due to the ease of communication it has brought about. Moreover, it can perform several major tasks easily and effectively. For example, a calculator. Aside from this mobile phones can help a user connect to the internet, and use social media applications, and other applications. Mobile phones can even assist in online payment. 

The full form or the meaning of a Moble is Modified, Operation, Byte, Integration, Limited, Energy”. John F. Mitchell and Martin Cooper of Motorola discovered the device in 1973. An essay on mobile phones can include the mobile phone full form.

Related Articles

Mobile phones have become an indispensable part of our lifestyle. There are several advantages and disadvantages of having a smartphone. However, the pros outweigh the cons. A mobile phone essay can be written by including both the advantages and disadvantages. To discover more articles like this one, consult the study abroad expert at Leverage Edu.

Blessy George

Blessy George is a Content Marketing Associate at Leverage Edu, boasting over a year of experience in the industry. Her expertise lies in crafting compelling content tailored to online courses, making her a go-to source for those navigating the vast landscape of digital learning. In addition to online classes, she writes content related to study abroad, English test preparation and visas. She has completed her MA degree in Political Science and has gained valuable experience as an intern.She is known for her extensive writing on various aspects of international education, garnering recognition for her insights and contributions. Apart from her professional pursuits, Blessy is passionate about creative writing, particularly poetry and songwriting.

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Essay on Mobile Phone

Essay generator.

In the digital age, the mobile phone has transitioned from a luxury to a fundamental necessity in people’s lives. It serves not just as a means of communication but as a gateway to the world, encapsulating functionalities that span from basic telephony to advanced computing. This essay delves into the multifaceted nature of mobile phones, examining their evolution, impact, benefits, and challenges, while offering insights for students participating in essay writing competitions.

Mobile Phone

The advent of the mobile phone has revolutionized the way we communicate, work, and entertain ourselves. With its inception in the late 20th century, the mobile phone was a bulky, expensive device limited to making and receiving calls. However, the relentless pace of technological advancement has transformed it into a sleek, versatile tool that fits in the palm of our hands, capable of performing a multitude of tasks beyond mere voice communication.

Evolution of Mobile Phones

The evolution of mobile phones is a testament to human ingenuity and technological progress. From the first generation (1G) that introduced analog voice communication, through the second generation (2G) that brought in digital networks and the concept of SMS, to the third generation (3G) which made internet access on-the-go a reality. The fourth generation (4G) elevated the speed and quality of wireless communications, paving the way for high-definition mobile TV, video conferencing, and advanced gaming. Currently, the fifth generation (5G) promises unprecedented speeds, reduced latency, and the capacity to connect a vast network of devices, heralding a new era of innovation and connectivity.

Impact on Society

The mobile phone’s impact on society is profound and multifaceted. It has democratized access to information, bridging the digital divide by providing internet access to remote areas. Mobile phones have also revolutionized industries, from e-commerce and finance, where mobile banking and payment systems have flourished, to healthcare, where telemedicine and health tracking apps offer new ways to manage health. Furthermore, mobile phones have become pivotal in emergency response and disaster management, facilitating faster coordination and information dissemination during crises.

• Communication Revolution : Mobile phones have revolutionized communication, making it easier and more convenient for people to stay in touch with friends, family, and colleagues. They have virtually eliminated geographic barriers to communication.
• Accessibility : Mobile phones have increased accessibility to telecommunication services, even in remote and underserved areas, connecting people who previously had limited access to communication networks.
• Information Access : Mobile phones provide instant access to vast amounts of information through the internet. This has transformed the way people access news, research, and educational resources.
• Economic Impact : Mobile phones have contributed to economic growth by enabling businesses to reach a wider customer base, facilitating mobile banking and financial services, and creating job opportunities in the mobile technology sector.
• Social Connectivity : Social media platforms and messaging apps on mobile phones have reshaped social interactions and relationships, allowing people to connect, share, and communicate on a global scale.
• Emergency Services : Mobile phones provide a lifeline during emergencies. They allow people to call for help, share location information, and receive emergency alerts and warnings.
• Healthcare : Mobile phones have the potential to improve healthcare through telemedicine and health monitoring applications. Patients can consult with healthcare professionals remotely and access health information easily.
• Education : Mobile phones have become tools for learning, with educational apps, e-books, and online courses readily available. They are particularly valuable in supporting distance and online education.
• Entertainment : Mobile phones offer a wide range of entertainment options, including gaming, streaming video, music, and e-books, providing users with entertainment and relaxation.

Benefits of Mobile Phones

The benefits of mobile phones are manifold. They enhance communication by enabling instant messaging, emails, and video calls, thus keeping people connected across the globe. Mobile phones serve as powerful educational tools, offering access to online courses, e-books, and research platforms. They support navigation through GPS services, provide entertainment through games, music, and videos, and enable users to capture life’s moments through high-quality cameras. Moreover, mobile phones have become indispensable in managing daily tasks through apps for shopping, banking, booking services, and more.

Challenges and Concerns

Despite their numerous benefits, mobile phones also present challenges and concerns. Privacy and security issues arise with the potential for data breaches and unauthorized surveillance. Health concerns, such as the risk of addiction and the impact on mental well-being, particularly among younger users, are increasingly being recognized. Furthermore, the environmental impact of mobile phones, from the extraction of raw materials to electronic waste, poses significant challenges for sustainability.

Responsible Use and Digital Literacy

Addressing the challenges associated with mobile phones requires promoting responsible use and enhancing digital literacy. Users should be educated on privacy settings, secure online practices, and the importance of taking regular breaks from screen time to mitigate health risks. Encouraging the recycling of electronic devices and supporting sustainable production practices are crucial steps towards minimizing the environmental footprint of mobile phones.

In conclusion, the mobile phone is a remarkable technological achievement that has transformed every aspect of human life. Its evolution from a simple communication device to a multifunctional tool reflects the rapid pace of technological innovation. While the benefits of mobile phones are undeniable, it is imperative to address the accompanying challenges through responsible use, digital literacy, and sustainable practices. For students participating in essay writing competitions, understanding the complexities of mobile phones offers a rich topic that touches on technology, society, and the environment, providing ample material for a compelling and insightful essay.

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Write an essay discussing the role of technology in modern education.

Essay on Impact Of Mobile Phones On Society

Students are often asked to write an essay on Impact Of Mobile Phones On Society in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Impact Of Mobile Phones On Society

Communication changes.

Mobile phones have changed the way we talk to each other. Before, we had to use landlines or write letters that took days to reach. Now, we can call or send a message to someone far away and they will know it in seconds. This makes keeping in touch with family and friends easier.

Information at Our Fingertips

With mobile phones, we can look up anything we want to know in an instant. They are like small computers that fit in our pockets. This means we can learn new things and find answers quickly, which is very helpful for school work and general knowledge.

Entertainment Everywhere

Phones are not just for calls; they are also for fun. We can play games, watch videos, and listen to music whenever we want. This is great for passing time, but it can also make us spend too much time on our phones instead of playing outside or reading books.

Safety and Help

Mobile phones can help us feel safer. If we are in trouble or get lost, we can call for help. Parents can also check where their children are, which helps them worry less. But, it is important to remember that we should not share our location with strangers.

Changes in Manners

250 words essay on impact of mobile phones on society, changes in communication.

Mobile phones have changed the way we talk to each other. Before, people would write letters or use landlines to chat. Now, with mobiles, we can send messages, make calls, and even see each other on video anytime and anywhere. This makes staying in touch with friends and family much easier.

Information at Your Fingertips

With mobile phones, we can look up facts, news, and other information quickly. They are like small computers in our pockets. We can learn new things, do schoolwork, and satisfy our curiosity just by tapping on the screen.

Mobile phones are not just for talking; they are also for fun. We can play games, listen to music, and watch videos. This means we can enjoy ourselves while waiting for a bus or during a break at school.

Mobile phones can make us feel safer. If we get lost or need help, we can call our family or the police. Parents also feel better knowing they can reach their children anytime.

Not Always Good

Even though mobile phones have many good points, they can also cause problems. People sometimes pay more attention to their phones than the world around them. This can make them less aware and even cause accidents.

500 Words Essay on Impact Of Mobile Phones On Society

Introduction to mobile phones.

Mobile phones have changed the world. These small devices that we carry in our pockets allow us to talk to anyone, anywhere, at any time. They have become a part of our daily lives. Many people cannot imagine a day without their phone. This essay talks about how mobile phones affect society.

Communication Made Easy

The first big change that mobile phones brought is in the way we talk to each other. Before mobile phones, we had to use landline phones that were stuck in one place. Now, we can call or send a message to our friends and family no matter where we are. This has made staying in touch with loved ones much easier.

Entertainment in Our Hands

Our phones are not just for talking or getting information. They are also for fun. We can play games, listen to music, or watch videos on our phones. This means we can have entertainment with us all the time. This is nice when we are waiting for something or when we want to relax.

Work Goes Mobile

Phones have also changed the way we work. Many jobs now allow people to use their phones to do their work. This means that some people can work from anywhere. They do not have to be in an office. This can make work more flexible, but it can also mean that people are working more since they can always be reached.

Problems Caused by Mobile Phones

Even though mobile phones have many good points, they can also cause problems. For example, people can spend too much time on their phones and not enough time talking to people face to face. This can hurt relationships. Also, using phones too much can be bad for our health, like causing eye strain or bad posture.

In conclusion, mobile phones have a big impact on society. They make communication, getting information, working, and entertainment easier and better. They can also help keep us safe. But we must be careful not to let our phones take over our lives. We should remember to spend time with people in real life and not just on our phones. It is important to find a good balance.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

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7 reasons why ebooks are better than printed books, and where to download new titles to read right now

When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

• I love reading ebooks because I can download them in a matter of minutes, they're more portable than physical books, and I don't have to go to the store to buy them or wait for them to be delivered.
• Ebooks are also often available on sale for as little as $1 to $4 , and I can even access many of them for free through my local library and other avenues .
• I didn't always love ebooks — I used to think that they were terrible, in fact, but when I started reviewing e-readers as a tech reporter about six years ago, I discovered that I actually love ebooks.
• Now, I almost exclusively read ebooks on the Amazon Kindle Oasis (8GB) and all the other e-readers I review and test.
• If you're curious to learn more about all the e-readers I've tested, check out our guide to the best e-readers , my guide on how to use a Kindle , and my review of the Kindle Paperwhite .

I have always been a book worm. When I was eight, I even won an award for "being an avid, spontaneous reader" (my reward was a book — a beautifully illustrated version of " The Secret Garden " by Frances Hodgson Burnett).

Growing up, my room was full of shelves upon shelves of paperbacks and hardcovers. I kept a journal to remember all the books I had read. I scorned people who bent the corners of pages instead of using a bookmark, I couldn't imagine marking up a book with a pen or highlighter, I hated when book spines cracked or covers bent.

When ebooks came on the scene, I thought they were ridiculous. Why would I want to read on a digital device when I could hold a lovely physical book, when I could smell the pages and have the satisfaction of turning real pages? I was, in short, a book fanatic.

I tell you all this because I'm never not surprised that I am now an ebook evangelist.

It all started when I (accidentally) became a tech reporter and I started to review e-readers. At first, I disliked having to test them and eagerly awaited going back to my paperbacks, but then I started traveling a lot for work and something clicked: Ebooks are good!

Ebooks vs. books: Why are ebooks better?

• They are much more portable than physical books, so you can carry dozens if not hundreds or thousands of them around with you on a device that weighs less than half a pound.
• You can download them in a matter of minutes so you don't have to wait for them to be delivered if you ordered them online.
• You don't have to go to the store to buy them.
• They are never out of stock because they are digital files.
• You can get many ebooks for free from Project Gutenberg , Amazon , and your local library .
• Ebooks often go on sale, so you can get bestsellers for $1 to $5. You can follow BookBub for deal alerts.
• They come with fun features like sharing highlighted quotations on social media, looking up words in the dictionary as you read, digital bookmarks, and much more.

Convinced yet? You should be! Now that I've got you, here's some more information on where to buy ebooks, where to get free ebooks, and which e-readers are the best ones.

Where to buy ebooks

You can read ebooks with or without an e-reader — all you need is a smartphone or tablet. Here is a list of places where you can buy ebooks:

• Amazon is the obvious choice. The Kindle Store has millions of ebooks, including bestsellers, exclusives, and classics. 
• Kobo is the other main alternative to Amazon's Kindle Store. It also has millions of ebooks, including all the best sellers you could want.
• Barnes & Noble's Nook Store has a large selection of ebooks, too. You can read them in the Nook app for iOS or Android.
• Apple's Books Store  is another great option for anyone who wants to read on their iPad or iPhone and doesn't think they'll ever get an e-reader.
• The Google Play Book Store is great for Android users who aren't interested in buying an e-reader, either.

You can also check out ebook subscription apps like Scribd and Kindle Unlimited , both of which I've tried personally and love. Essentially, for a flat rate of about $12 a month, you can read as many ebooks as you want. Scribd also offers magazines and audiobooks.

Where to download free ebooks

It's easy to find free ebooks from a variety of sources. My favorite avenue is the Libby app from Overdrive, which gives me access to all the ebooks I can borrow from my local library. Although I sometimes have to wait for a title to be available, it's a wonderful resource.

When it comes to classics, you can get many of them free from Amazon or Project Gutenberg. I've used both often.

• Amazon offers thousands of classic ebooks (like "Pride and Prejudice") for free.
• For Prime subscribers, Amazon's Prime Reading Library is another great resource for free ebooks.
• You can also borrow ebooks from the Kindle Lending Library if you own a Kindle e-reader.
• Project Gutenberg has around 57,000 free ebooks, including classics like "Pride and Prejudice," "The Odyssey," "Moby Dick," and more.
• Overdrive and its app Libby ( iOS and Android ) give you access to free ebooks that you can borrow from your local library.

Guillermo Garzon/Business Insider

What is the best e-reader .

I have strong opinions about e-readers . I personally think the Amazon Kindle Oasis (8GB) is worth its high cost of $280. However, I fully acknowledge that's not a reasonable price for most people (I just read too much and can't live without page-turning buttons). Most people will be more than happy with the mid-range Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2018) or the basic Amazon Kindle.

If you prefer to have an e-reader from a company that's not Amazon, Kobo's e-readers are excellent. I like the budget-friendly Kobo Clara HD , the waterproof Kobo Libra H2O , and the large-screened Kobo Forma .

Now go forth and read ebooks!

You can purchase logo and accolade licensing to this story here . Disclosure: Written and researched by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. We may receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at [email protected] .

• Main content

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Discussions about the writing craft.

I am much better at writing on my iPhone than on my computer. Insight appreciated.

I don’t know why, and I have been trying to figure this out for the longest time, but I am much better at writing on my iPhone than on my computer.

Let me give you some context. I am a recent college graduate with Magna Cum Laude honors (on paper I seem competent). However, throughout school, writing papers were so stressful. I tried dictating text and changing word processors (among other tactics) but nothing ever worked.

Enter graduation and the proverbial “what am I going to do with the rest of my life?” In that instance, I had to crank out a whole lot of cover letters. When I opened my computer every day, it was a mess. I stared for so long at the screen and nothing came out. It was like writers block, and the only thing I felt tempted to do was change the formatting.

When I was waiting to pick my GF up, I picked up my phone and opened Google Docs to work on a cover letter. I started writing and writing and writing and writing. I felt like a hipster Ernest Hemingway or a writing savant. I felt comfortable writing. Things were easier, thoughts were coming out, and I felt at ease. I have been doing this for the past month with great success.

Now, I could do this for the rest of my life, but I don’t want to. Because I want to write on the computer, and I want to be like any functioning person. I don’t know why this is happening or what is wrong with me, but when doing research, no one seems to be having the same experience. So what is wrong with me? Is this just a really unique quirk?

I often blame this with my ADHD. I cannot sit still for a long time. After staring at the computer long enough, words look like hiroglyphics. Caffeine works, but only in high doses and only for 30 minutes.

Any advice, or insight in this matter, would be appreciated. I know this might be a ‘first world problem’ but it’s weird.

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Learning & Tech

Laptops and phones in the classroom: yea, nay or a third way.

Anya Kamenetz

"If something on their desk or in their pocket dings, rings or vibrates — they will lose focus."

"Students are doing so much in class, distraction and disruption isn't really something I worry about."

How should teachers — both K-12 and college — deal with the use of computers and phones by students in class?

On one hand, those sleek little supercomputers promise to connect us to all human knowledge. On the other hand, they are also scientifically designed by some of the world's top geniuses to feel as compelling as oxygen.

So where does that leave teachers? Should you ban these devices in the classroom? Let students go whole hog? Or is there a happy medium?

This seemingly simple topic ends up being what one professor and pedagogy expert calls "a Rorschach test for so much that's going on in education."

Recently, the California state teachers pension fund weighed in — as a large investor in Apple, the makers of the iPhone. In an open letter, along with another activist shareholder, it called on the company to study digital distraction among youth and to make it easier to limit young people's use.

The letter cited a national survey that found two-thirds of K-12 teachers said the number of students who are negatively distracted by digital technologies in the classroom is growing. Of those teachers surveyed, 75 percent said students' ability to focus on educational tasks has decreased.

Attention, Students: Put Your Laptops Away

Research at the college level backs that up; a small, 2017 study at Michigan State University found students in an introductory psychology course spent up to a third of class time surfing the Web to nonacademic sites — even though they knew that the researchers were tracking their computer use.

Sounds ominous. But the debate over devices in the classroom has many more perspectives. I spoke with four professors, a high school teacher, a psychiatrist and a technologist to get a range of different views.

No way, no how

Allia Griffin teaches in the Department of Ethnic Studies at Santa Clara University in California. Her policy is simple: "Phones/devices must be turned off and not visible during class time."

Her reason is simple too: "Phones are distracting. My experience has been that no matter how invested a student may be in a class discussion or lecture, if something on their desk or in their pocket dings, rings or vibrates — they will lose focus."

How To Get Students To Stop Using Their Cellphones In Class

And she worries about missed opportunities to socialize face-to-face. "Beyond being distracting, students also use phones/laptops/devices as objects to hide behind to avoid participating in class or interacting with their peers."

Frequently, Griffin adds, "I will walk into a classroom on the first day of the quarter and will find 30 students sitting silently in their seats and individually texting or Instagramming on their phones. This is a tragic scene. The college classroom is ... a unique space to exchange ideas and thoughts and develop the ability to communicate with a variety of people."

"Candy" is unhealthy

Katherine Welzenbach teaches high school chemistry in Overland Park, Kan. She, too, bans cellphones — and even backpacks, where phones often hide — in her classes.

These devices are worse than distracting, she says. They can connect teens to cyberbullying, hate speech, sexting and other "unhealthy" experiences.

Welzenbach is vocal about her stance, despite what she calls "shaming" of teachers like herself who take a hard line. "Teachers who see cellphones as distractions are often labeled as being 'unengaging,' " she says.

She understands the argument that teens need to learn to use the Internet appropriately. But she uses healthy eating as an analogy: Don't give kids unlimited access to "Halloween candy and Christmas cookies while they are still learning to eat a balanced diet."

Distraction has an upside

What you're really talking about when you talk about laptop bans, says Jesse Stommel, is student freedom.

"Ultimately, I see strict laptop policies (and especially blanket bans) as a form of control," explains Stommel, who directs the Division of Teaching and Learning Technologies at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va.

And that, he tells NPR, is a bad thing. "I don't think the attention of students is actually something teachers can or should control."

Stommel, who has been engaged in many debates over laptop bans on Twitter, calls the issue "weirdly divisive" but also, in the end, "a red herring."

Instead of an "authoritarian approach," he suggests a conversation.

"We can talk to students about attention and have them talk to us about how attention works for them," Stommel says. "This is the kind of metacognitive work that is the stuff of learning."

Distraction, he adds, can actually be a gateway to learning. It can be necessary for "peak experiences like making connections, having epiphanies, understanding abstract concepts."

There may also be times, he says, that the phone or computer can be an in-class tool. "We can also ask students to use their devices in ways that help them and the rest of the class, looking up a confusing term, polling their friends on Facebook about a topic we're discussing or taking collaborative notes in an open document."

On the other hand, says Stommel, there may be times and places to shut it down, too: "We can ask students to close their laptops at particular moments, recognizing that it is useful to learn different things, at different times, in different ways."

Embrace diversity

Catherine Prendergast, a professor of English at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, also believes that blanket bans are a bad idea. But her concern is a little different than Stommel's. She is thinking about students with special needs.

"Federal law, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, extends to protect students' classrooms," she tells NPR. "If a student needs to use a laptop as an accommodation, they have a right to do so."

But making the student ask to bring a laptop could be seen as an invasion of privacy, Prendergast says. Better to allow them for all: "The ADA enjoins us to affirmatively seek to remove barriers to education and to make our classrooms more inclusive, not less."

Some students need to be device-free

Victoria Dunckley, a Los Angeles-based psychiatrist and the author of Reset Your Child's Brain, has a different perspective. She prescribes strict limits on screen time to young people who are suffering from a variety of psychological ills. She says she has encountered "pushback" when trying to shield her patients from using devices at schools that have integrated them into the classroom.

If your students are distracted, then improve your teaching

Derek Bruff is a mathematician and director of the Center for Teaching at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.

He says research finds that note-taking by hand can lead to better recall than note-taking by typing on a computer. The reason is that when you write more slowly by hand, you have to think through what you're hearing and put down only the most important bits; touch-typers tend to transcribe what a person is saying without doing much processing of what they're hearing.

However, Bruff adds, comparing those two scenarios misses a point that's backed up by even more research: Lecturing while someone takes notes is not a very engaging or effective mode of teaching to begin with.

"If you're going to spend 80 to 100 percent of your class time lecturing, phones are going to be distracting to students," he says.

What works much better? Getting students to collaborate and debate in small groups, for one thing. He has also seen anecdotally that "if you give students something productive and on-topic to do with their devices," it reduces idle browsing. He calls this the "Google jockey" approach.

The Two-Way

France moves to ban students from using cellphones in schools.

Like Stommel, he believes there is a time and a place for laptops and phones, but also a time and place to exclude them. "Sometimes you want three students around a piece of paper."

Fight technology with technology

Alanna Harvey is the co-founder and marketing director of Flipd, a phone app that limits the use of your phone. You can set a timer to lock yourself out of all functions except basic texts and phone calls.

Not long after launch, the company noticed that college students were among its biggest user base, so it began aiming the app at educators.

"Our research and discussions with customers have consistently found that digital distractions are negatively impacting the learning experience for students and educators," she says.

Harvey argues that Flipd offers a fresh, not coercive approach. Rather than instituting a ban, the company encourages professors to offer extra credit for installing the app and using it during class.

Highly engaging lesson plans, as Bruff advocates, are all well and good, but they're no match for the latest game or social network, Harvey says.

"Some of the most engaging professors I know are Flipd customers," she says. "Which I believe suggests that the problem isn't the professor, it may not even be the students, but it's the devices we know that are designed to influence and manipulate our behavior in many ways."

Bring policies in line with values

John Warner, who teaches English at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, has been on both sides of the device divide.

As recently as four years ago he had a policy of "no laptops in class, except for specific, designated activities," and banned cellphones except for emergencies. But after engaging in debates online with Stommel and others, his position shifted.

He sees himself as "more of a catalyst for learning, rather than a conduit of information." To live up to that value, he in turn needed his students to be what he calls "self-governing" over technology.

Warner says it has been working well. He has small writing classes, with about 20 students, and he almost never asks them to simply sit and take notes. "Students are doing so much in class," he says, "distraction and disruption isn't really something I worry about. They're too busy."

Correction April 11, 2018

A previous version of this story incorrectly said a student laptop study was done at the University of Michigan. It was actually done at Michigan State University.

• distraction

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Uses of Mobile Phones Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on uses of mobile phones.

Mobile phones are one of the most commonly used gadgets in today’s world. Everyone from a child to an adult uses mobile phones these days. They are indeed very useful and help us in so many ways.

Mobile phones indeed make our lives easy and convenient but at what cost? They are a blessing only till we use it correctly. As when we use them for more than a fixed time, they become harmful for us.

Uses of Mobile Phone

We use mobile phones for almost everything now. Gone are the days when we used them for only calling. Now, our lives revolve around it. They come in use for communicating through voice, messages, and mails. We can also surf the internet using a phone. Most importantly, we also click photos and record videos through our mobile’s camera.

The phones of this age are known as smartphones . They are no less than a computer and sometimes even more. You can video call people using this phone, and also manage your official documents. You get the chance to use social media and play music through it.

Moreover, we see how mobile phones have replaced computers and laptops . We carry out all the tasks through mobile phones which we initially did use our computers. We can even make powerpoint presentations on our phones and use it as a calculator to ease our work.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Disadvantages of Mobile Phones

While mobile phones are very beneficial, they also come to a lot of disadvantages. Firstly, they create a distance between people. As people spend time on their phones, they don’t talk to each other much. People will sit in the same room and be busy on their phones instead of talking to each other.

Subsequently, phones waste a lot of time. People get distracted by them easily and spend hours on their phones. They are becoming dumber while using smartphones . They do not do their work and focus on using phones.

Most importantly, mobile phones are a cause of many ailments. When we use phones for a long time, our eyesight gets weaker. They cause strain on our brains. We also suffer from headaches, watery eyes, sleeplessness and more.

Moreover, mobile phones have created a lack of privacy in people’s lives. As all your information is stored on your phone and social media , anyone can access it easily. We become vulnerable to hackers. Also, mobile phones consume a lot of money. They are anyway expensive and to top it, we buy expensive gadgets to enhance our user experience.

In short, we see how it is both a bane and a boon. It depends on us how we can use it to our advantage. We must limit our usage of mobile phones and not let it control us. As mobile phones are taking over our lives, we must know when to draw the line. After all, we are the owners and not the smartphone.

FAQs on Uses of Mobile Phones

Q.1 How do mobile phones help us?

A.1 Mobile phones are very advantageous. They help us in making our lives easy and convenient. They help us communicate with our loved ones and carry out our work efficiently. Furthermore, they also do the work of the computer, calculator, and cameras.

Q.2 What is the abuse of mobile phone use?

A.2 People are nowadays not using but abusing mobile phones. They are using them endlessly which is ruining their lives. They are the cause of many ailments. They distract us and keep us away from important work. Moreover, they also compromise with our privacy making us vulnerable to hackers.

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Cell Phone Essay

In this cell phone essay you have to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the way in which cell phones and the internet dominate the ways in which people relate to each other socially. 

This is the question:

These days, cell (mobile) phones and the internet are very important to the ways in which people relate to one another socially.

Do the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages?

Analysing the Question

This is a type of question that has appeared in the IELTS test a few times:

• The impacts of technology on the way we communicate with each other

With IELTS essay questions, you always need to note carefully exactly what you are being asked to write about. 

In this case it is about cell / mobile phones and the internet . So you must write about both . Sometimes an essay may just ask you about one or the other. 

This is also important in this cell phone essay:

• 'The way in which people communicate with each other socially'

You are  not  being asked about work situations but social situations. So you should  not  talk about how these types of technology have impacted on organisations or workers. 

You are also being asked if there are  more advantages or disadvantages . So you must clearly state your opinion on this and also write about both in your cell phone essay (as the suggestion is that there are both).

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience or knowledge.

Write at least 250 words.

Cell Phone Essay Model Answer

It is rare these days to find someone who does not communicate and interact with others through a cell phone or the internet as they are widespread throughout society. I believe that the benefits of this development outweigh the drawbacks. 

One main negative consequence of this development is that people may have become disconnected in relation to conversing with each other face-to-face. People now tend to use their cell phones or the internet to communicate, but rather than actually speaking, they send a message. Some of the most popular applications are WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Line, all of which encourage messaging. The result of this is that people may lack the benefits of engaging with others in conversation and the closeness this brings. 

Despite this, there are several important advantages as well. Firstly, the internet and cell phones mean that people can stay connected however far away they are from each other. For instance, these days, many people live in different countries or go travelling in different countries. Cell phones and the internet mean that parents can easily keep in touch with their children who are on holiday and people who immigrate to live abroad can easily communicate with their loved ones when needed. In addition to this, the internet means that people also interact with strangers and increase their knowledge of other cultures because through such things as Facebook, people connect to all sorts of people around the world, becoming friends and also discussing and exchanging knowledge. 

In conclusion, although a disadvantage of the internet and cell phones is the lack of face-to-face conversation, they have improved the way we can stay in contact with loved ones and exchange ideas with new people. Overall then, this is a positive development for society. 

(297 Words)

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Essay on Mobile Phone

Essay on Mobile Phone: The mobile phone is one of the greatest invention in the twentieth century. A mobile phone can make phone calls, enable the user to send text messages, play games, take pictures, record videos, provide access to the internet, and much more. The mobile phone can be very useful in many different situations. For the past few years the world has witnessed a tremendous growth in mobile phone usage.

Also Check: Mobile Phone Paragraph For Students

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Today, mobile phone users in the world are around 5 Billion. Despite having several advantages, there are certainly some disadvantages to owning and using a mobile phone. In this article, we have covered a few essays on mobile phone that talk about both advantages and disadvantages. Find long and short formats of essay on mobile phone here.

Long and Short Essay on Mobile Phone in English

Below we have given a set of 5 essay on mobile phone and has covered various related topics to fulfill your requirements.

After going through the following mobile phone essay you will learn various significant topics on mobile phones like – its uses and abuses, is it helpful or rather annoying, what are its advantages and disadvantages, and how mobile phones are important for our daily life, etc.

A cell phone simplifies our lives. It serves for work or business, online classes, entertainment, and communication with friends and family. Nowadays, smartphones come with various handy features and fast internet, making it easy to access information promptly.

Essay on Mobile Phone in 200 Words

A mobile phone is a communication device, often also called as “cell phone”. It is a device mainly used for voice communication. However, technological developments in the field of communication have made the mobile phones smart enough to be able to make video calls, surf the internet, play games, take high resolution pictures and even control other relevant gadgets. Because of this mobile phones today are also called “Smart Phones”.

Also Check: Essay on Mobile Addiction

World’s first ever mobile phone was demonstrated way back in 1973, by the Motorola’s then President and COO, John Francis Mitchell and an American Engineer, Martin Cooper. That mobile phone weighed around 2 kilograms.

Since then mobile phones have evolved in technology and shapes. They have become smaller, slimmer and more useful. Today mobile phones are available in various shapes and sizes, having different technical specifications and are used for a number of purposes like – voice communication, video chatting, text messaging, multimedia messaging, internet browsing, e mail, video games and photography. They also have short range wireless communication like Bluetooth and infrared. Phones having wide range of advance functions and large computing abilities are called smart phones. They have an edge over other conventional mobile phones, which are used only for voice communication.

Essay on Mobile Phone in 300 Words – Uses and Abuses

There is no denying the fact that mobile phones are useful gadgets. They help us in our everyday life in a number of ways, making it easy and convenient. But, mobile phones are a blessing till they are used only for useful purposes. Using them beyond a certain limit even when there is no need at all, is not an use, but and abuse.

Uses of Mobile Phone

Mobile Phones can be used for a number of purposes like – voice communication, sending e mails, sending text messages, browsing internet, taking pictures. Smart phone today have better computing abilities and have many advance functions like – real time video chatting, interactive voice response, document manager, social media, high resolution camera, music player, location finder etc.

Communicating with our loved ones, friends or colleagues has become a matter of seconds due to the mobile phones. You just have to dial the other person’s number from your phone and wait till he/she responds to it. Mobile phones today have become so useful that, they have actually replaced the use of laptops and other bigger gadgets. Today, people send e mails, browsing the internet, manage social media accounts, power point presentations, perform calculations, and much more by using their smart phones.

Also Check: Advantages and Disadvantages of Mobile Phones

Abuses of Mobile Phone

Excessive and unnecessary use of a mobile phone leads to its abuse. Even, talking for long durations on mobile phones over trivial and insignificant issues is also a type of abuse. Doctors have repeatedly warned that continuous and excessive use of mobile phones is harmful to health. Another abuse of mobile phones includes listening to loud music. Mobile phones are handy and are easy to carry in pockets. Some youngsters today have taken this entertaining capability of mobile phones to a new level of abusing it. They drive or walk on busy roads, listening to loud music, with ear plugs; unable to listen an approaching vehicle and respond on time, resulting in accidents.

It is established beyond doubt that mobile phones are useful and necessary gadgets for our everyday life. Without mobile phones, life would be harder, both personally as well as professionally. But, despite the uses that mobile phones serve in our everyday life, we must also be aware of its abuses. Mobile phones could have health and safety consequences when not used appropriately.

Essay on Mobile Phone Boon or Bane – 400 Words

Mobile phones are a boon as they are used for a number of useful purposes. Nevertheless, there is also no denying the fact that a gadget as useful as a mobile phone could sometime be annoying and irritating.

Boon or Bane

Of course mobile phones are a boon given to the number of useful purposes they are used for like – internet, voice or video chat, documentation etc. Despite from the usual there are other uses like – social media and remain updated about the developments. Today every mobile phone user has a social media account, which he manages from his mobile phone. It helps him/her to remain connected to family and friends as well as other dignitaries like politicians, actors, cricketers etc.

But despite all the advantages, mobile phones could sometimes be annoying too. The use of mobile phones for various purposes and the accessibility of internet have compromised the privacy of the user. Also, every form that we fill today has a mandatory column asking to provide the phone number. Today the number of a common mobile phone user is available with many marketing agencies whose main aim is to sell their product. This loop hole in privacy has led to unwanted and unexpected marketing calls. People get annoying calls from insurance agents, marketing executives, etc, trying to sell their products to the mobile phone user, who is not at all interested.

Next in line is social media. Social media is a place where people share their views, pictures etc with those who are connected. However, this has also compromised the privacy to a certain level as someone undesirable could also peek into your account and send annoying messages; trailing you regularly. Such unwanted social buffs could be really annoying and some people are known to be trailed so regularly using inappropriate and indecent comments that they had to totally shut down their social media account.

In the end it would be more appropriate to say that mobile phones are both a boon and a bane. They are a boon when used appropriately and within limits but could be bane when they are used with mala fide intentions. Even a useful gadget as a mobile phone could be well annoying when it is used with the bad intention of deceiving someone, trailing him/her inappropriately on social media and other accounts.

Essay on Mobile Phone in 500 Words – Advantages and Disadvantages

An electronic gadget as a mobile phone has both advantages and disadvantages. There are a number of advantages of mobile phones and also a good number of disadvantages. Though, most of the disadvantages arise from it’s over use or misuse. Below we will go through both the advantages and disadvantages of mobile phones.

Advantages of Mobile Phone

A Mobile phone makes things simpler for us. We can use it for work, learning online, having fun, or chatting with loved ones. Newer phones have lots of helpful stuff, like speedy internet to find things fast and without trouble.

• Communication: It is one of the prime significance of mobile phones. You can instantly connected to the person you want to convey an important message or to have a casual chat. Distance too doesn’t matter and even people situated on two extremes of world can be connected within seconds.
• Internet Browsing: Rapid advancements in mobile phone technology have led to an ease of internet accessability on mobile phones. Today, one can check the news, send/receive emails, and manage social accounts, all on mobile phones.
• Performing Business: Mobile phones have become so popular that many established business groups cannot even think about their marketing strategy without considering mobile phone users. Social media accounts are the easiest way to connect with millions of users (in these case consumers) in a very less time.
• Learning Applications: There are a variety of applications available on mobile phone which helps the students to learn and evolve their skills. Moreover, there are a number of online free tutorials available for the children and other willing audience.

Disadvantages of Mobile Phones

• Making People Non communicable: Widespread use of mobile phones has made people meet less and talk more. One doesn’t care to meet a friend who stays just yards away; they rather just chat over phone or comment on social media account.
• Time wastage: Now day’s people have developed an addiction to the mobile phones. As mobile phones became smarter, people became dumber. People are habitual of surfing the internet, even when they don’t need to.
• Causes Ailments: Long exposure to mobile phones, stresses our eyes, brain and other organs resulting in various kind of ailments. Staring long hours on the screen, results in damage of eye sight, stress and headache along with sleeplessness and dizziness.
• Loss of Privacy: Use of mobile phones for various purposes has resulted in compromising the privacy of the user. Today anyone could easily access the information like where you live, who are your friends and family, what is your business, where is your house etc; by just easily browsing through your social media account.
• Money Drain: As grew the usefulness of the mobile phones so grew their purchasing and maintenance cost. Today people are spending a good amount of money on buying smart phones, which could rather be spent on more useful things like education.

A mobile phone could both be an advantage or a disadvantage; depending on how it is used by the prospective user. While used only when needed, it is of course an advantage, but when used beyond a certain limit or for a totally different purpose for which it intended to, it is definitely a disadvantage.

Essay on Mobile Phones in 600 Words – Importance in Our Life

Mobile phones are a useful gadget for our every day chorus. Gone were the days when mobile phones were only used for communication purposes. Today, they are used for various purposes in our daily life and have become an inseparable asset.

Mobile Phone Importance in Daily Life

There are several advantages of mobile phones in our daily life. Some of the major advantages are listed below-

• Keep connected: The most significant importance of mobile phones is that, they keep us connected to our friends, relatives and others. You can talk video chat with whoever you want, by just operating your mobile phone or smart phone. Imagine shuttling between office and home to know the where about of your family and friends. Today, you can stay up to date about the school timing of your kid’s school on your phone.
• Every day commuting: Mobile phones have become useful for every day commuting. Today, one can assess the live traffic situation on mobile phone and take appropriate decisions to reach on time. Many apps provide navigation assistance to a stranded driver or someone who wants to get to a particular place.
• Keeps Us Informed: Applying for jobs, sharing your Curriculum Vitae has become so easy with the use of mobile phones. With 24 hours access to the internet, there is no time boundation and you can apply for a new job, even in the middle of night. Apart from it, one also has a 24/7 access to the developments around the world.
• Provides Entertainment: Another daily use importance of mobile phone is that it can be used as an entertainment device. Whenever we get bored of routine work or during the breaks, there are a number of things you could do on your smart phone to relax. One can listen to music, watch movies or just watch the video of one’s favorite song.
• Security Device: For daily commuters, mobile phones could be a blessing in disguise. They are handy and easy to be carried around in pockets. Every city commuter today has a mobile phone in his/her pocket or bag. They could be really useful gadgets in case of emergency. Relatives, friends as well as emergency services could be easily and instantly contacted when needed.
• Managing Tasks: Mobile Phones today have become smarter and are used every day for a number of official purposes. Today they are used for managing everyday tasks like – meeting schedules, sending and receiving documents, giving presentations, alarms etc. Mobile phones have become an essential gadget for every office goer.
• Take Photographs: Taking photographs has become a craze due to the advancement in mobile phone technology. Today mobile phones come equipped with high resolution cameras. Any picture could be easily taken and instantly uploaded over social media and other accounts. It helps us our family and friends to stay connected with the developments in our daily life.
• Mobile Banking and Payment: This is another significance of mobile phones in our everyday life. Today, sending or receiving money has become easier as never before. Money could be transferred almost instantly to friends, relatives or others by using mobile baking in the smart phone. Also one could easily access his/her account details and know past transactions. The transactions have become much convenient with the use of mobile phones, which would rather have required a visit to the bank.

There are innumerable ways in which a mobile phone could be useful in our everyday life. It keeps us updated of the developments around, stay us connected, entertain us, help us find job and opportunities etc. Besides, there are hundreds of utilities that could be used to make life easy and entertaining as well. But, despite all the importance that a mobile phone has, it is advisable to use it only on purpose and not misuse or over use it.

Below are the list of related essay available at IL

Essay on Mobile Phone FAQs

What is a mobile phone in your own words.

A mobile phone is a small device that lets us talk to people, send messages, and use apps. It's like a tiny computer we can carry in our pocket.

What is the role of mobile phone in our life?

The mobile phone plays a big role in our lives. It helps us stay connected with family and friends, work from anywhere, get information quickly, and even have fun with games and apps.

What are the uses of mobile phone in English speech?

In an English speech, a mobile phone can be used to record our voice, play helpful audios, or even read from notes. It's a handy tool for practicing and delivering speeches.

What is the benefit of mobile?

Mobile phones offer many benefits. They keep us connected, provide information, entertain us with music and videos, and help with tasks like shopping, banking, and learning.

Why mobile is important for students?

Mobile phones are important for students because they can help with learning. Students can access study apps, research online, connect with classmates, and even attend online classes using their phones.

How mobile phone changed our life?

Mobile phones have changed our lives by making communication instant, providing endless information at our fingertips, and offering tools for work, study, and entertainment. Life has become more convenient and connected because of them.

Do phones affect mental health?

Yes, phones can affect mental health. Spending too much time on them or constantly checking for messages can increase stress. It's essential to take breaks and use phones in a balanced way.

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• Mobile Phone Essay in English for Students

Essay on Mobile Phone for Students

What is an essay? An essay is a write-up from one’s perspective or jotting down one’s thoughts in one place regarding any topic. Writing an essay helps one to develop their writing skills and inculcate creativity in their writing. Likewise, all the parents should teach their kids how to write an essay. 

For your convenience, we have provided a sample essay on ‘Mobile Phone’ in the following. Take a glance through the article so that it becomes easy for you to teach how to write an essay effortlessly.

Mobile Phone

In the era of technical advancement, mobile phones play a very significant role. Technology has made our life quite easier. Life without a mobile phone seems to be quite impossible these days. Precisely, we become handicapped without a phone in hand.

Speaking of mobile phones, it is also referred to as ‘cellular phone’ or ‘smartphone’. Martin Cooper of Motorola produced the first handheld mobile phone call on a prototype DynaTAC model on 3 April 1973. 

Earlier it was only used for calling. But these days, everything is possible through a mobile phone. From sending a message to video calling, internet browsing, photography to video games, emailing and a lot more services can be availed through this handheld phone. 

Advantages of Using Mobile Phones

There are several advantages to using a mobile phone. Here are some provided in the following. 

Helps to Communicate:

Life is easier with mobiles. It helps you to communicate with your near and dear ones through calls, video chats, text messages, emails. Apart from that, it helps you to book a cab, show the map direction, order groceries and many more things. The main advantage of having a mobile is it helps to keep you connected with the entire world irrespective of your location.

A Medium of Entertainment:

With the advent of mobile, now you will be able to get entertained wherever you are. Now the world of entertainment is available just a click away, such as you can watch movies, listen to music, or watch your favorite sports or browse on social media networks etc. 

Mobile Banking:

Can you imagine doing all of your banking transactions and other relevant work through your cell phone? Yes, now everything is possible with the advancement of technology. Be it making a quick payment or transferring money to your family or checking the transaction history or accessing the bank accounts, everything is possible with just a tap of your button. So, it is quite efficient and saves a lot of your precious time.

Office Work Through Mobile:

These days mobiles are used for different types of official work such as scheduling meetings, giving presentations, sending and receiving important documents, applying for jobs, etc. Mobiles have become an essential device in every working person’s life.

Disadvantages of Using Mobile Phones

Creating distance:

While mobile phones claim to connect people and help to communicate with each other, the irony here is that it is creating more distance between people. Nowadays people are more hooked on their phones. So, they mostly spend their time browsing social media or texting each other rather than meeting and talking face to face. 

No Privacy:

These days one of the major concerns is losing one’s privacy through mobile usage. Now anyone could easily access all the important information related to you with just one tap. Not only your information, information about your family, friends, personal life, career, everything is pretty easily accessible. 

Waste of a Lot of Time and Money:

Time and money both are precious in everyone’s life. As the utilization of mobile phones is increasing day by day, the waste of time and money is also increasing gradually. People are becoming addicted to their phones, be it surfing the internet or playing games or checking social media. Besides, the smarter a phone becomes, the more money people spend to buy that phone instead of spending the money on something useful.

FAQs on Mobile Phone Essay in English for Students

1. What is essay writing?

An essay is a piece of writing that expresses the author's point of view; yet, the definition is ambiguous, merging with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short fiction. Formal and casual essays have typically been divided into two categories. The formal essay has a serious objective, dignity, logical organization, and length, whereas the informal essay has a personal element, humor, graceful language, rambling structure, unconventionality or freshness of theme," and so on.

Literary critique, political manifestos, academic arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author are all popular uses for essays. Although almost all modern essays are written in prose, compositions in verse have often been labeled as essays. While an essay is typically defined by its brevity, works such as John Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Thomas Malthus's An Essay on the Principle of Population are exceptions. To garner more information, click here.

2. Give a brief overview of mobile phones and their history.

Mobile phones are quite important in this age of technological growth. Our lives have been made much easier by technological advancements. These days, life appears to be impossible without a cell phone. Without a phone in our hands, we become disabled.

When it comes to mobile phones, they're also known as 'cellular phones' or smartphones.' On April 3, 1973, Motorola's Martin Cooper made the first handheld mobile phone call on a prototype DynaTAC device.

It was formerly only used for calling. However, nowadays, everything is possible via a mobile phone. This handheld phone can do anything from sending a message to video calling, internet browsing, photography, video games, and emailing, among other things.

3. What are some advantages of using mobile phones?

Using a mobile phone has several benefits. The following are a few suggestions.

Aids in Communication:

Mobile phones make life easier. It allows you to contact your loved ones via phone conversations, video chats, text messages, and emails. Apart from that, it assists you in booking a cab, displaying map directions, ordering groceries, and a variety of other tasks. The biggest benefit of owning a mobile phone is that it allows you to stay connected to the rest of the world regardless of where you are.

An Entertainment Medium:

With the introduction of mobile phones, you may now be amused wherever you are. The world of entertainment is now just a click away, with options such as watching movies, listening to music, watching your favorite sports or browsing social media networks.

4. State some of the drawbacks of using mobile phones.

Some of the drawbacks of using mobile phones are:

Creating a buffer:

While mobile phones claim to connect people and make it easier for them to interact, the irony is that they create more distance between them. People nowadays are more reliant on their phones. As a result, they choose to spend their time on social media or texting instead of meeting and talking face to face.

There is no privacy:

One of the major issues these days is losing one's privacy due to cell phone usage. With just one swipe, anyone may now readily access all of your vital information. Not only is your information easily accessible, but so is information about your family, friends, personal life, and work.

A waste of time and money:

In everyone's life, time and money are both quite valuable. As the number of people using mobile phones grows, so does the amount of time and money spent on them.

5. How is an essay writing useful to students?

Writing essays help students develop important abilities and functions in their education, making them more useful. One, writing essays allows students to practice and improve abilities that they can apply throughout their academic careers and into their careers. For example, one can improve their reading and writing skills, as well as their capacity to think, organize thoughts, and communicate effectively.

Two, it enables pupils to develop a formal and orderly writing style that reliably conveys information. Three, it aids in the organization of your thoughts on what you are learning, the development of vocabulary, and the development of a distinct writing style. Get free study materials through the Vedantu app and website.