You have probably heard about the increased risk that comes from using a cell phone while driving. This week’s article focuses on a different group using cell phones in a different situation. The information may surprise you. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that shows you have read the article, expresses your views, and addresses my questions.
What do you think about the statistics that were presented at the beginning of the article? If the study were conducted with older children or adults, what do you think the results would be? What is your response to the following quote: "Younger peoples' brains are wired differently and are better able to multitask than older people, but they still have diminished attention to whatever primary task they're supposed to be doing."
Cell Phone Article
14 comments:
i think that really, for 60 percent of 8-12 year old children to own their own mobiles, is an exaggeration. but even if it were true, (obviously just in the united states,) that it's not necessary. and that getting children just not to own phones until of a certain age will reduce the risk for younger children without having to teach them, just let them be aware of the dangers. 43% is too much but as technology continues to become better, i think that eventually mobile phones will be able to do things like recognize when someone is crossing a street, and just pause the call, or that the call will pause because sensors on the street pause it. but i think that soon these sorts of problems will be fixed. when people say that "Younger peoples' brains are wired differently and are better able to multitask than older people, but they still have diminished attention to whatever primary task they're supposed to be doing." i think that they are right, but only because people now have to be able to multi task to survive in an environment as fast and connected as the one many people live in. people now are always exposed to television, telephones, ads, ipods, and more, and if you dont multi task with diminished attention, your head would explode! i think that if the study had been conducted with older people than it would've yielded different results because they lived in an era where those things didn't exist and can adjust to be more careful for things like crossing the street.
In my belief, the statistics that were represented at the beginning of the article accurately “showcase” the downside of living in an advanced and technical world. While most people today would simply refuse to believe that using a cell phone while crossing the street would navigate their attention away from what is happening on the street and put them at risk, they are simply refusing to look at the reality of our world. Today, cell phones have become an addiction for many people, especially youngsters, as for them, having such a device is like landing the lead role in some kind of big Hollywood movie. Furthermore, wile these youngsters are on the phone and trying to cross the street, they will probably be more concentrated on their phone conversations and less on crossing the street safely, which will put them at risk. Also, when a person has two things on their mind, they will try to equally balance between the two, but seldom does that really happen, causing the person to be lost between two things and trying to go back and fourth between the two, which can sometimes be a hazard and lead to tragic things happening. Moreover, many people would probably also disagree with the statistic that “more than 60 percent of children aged eight to 12 now own a mobile phone of one kind or another” or they would be stereotypical and say that this situation only exists in the USA or some other really advanced country. Unfortunately, whether these people want to believe it or not, this statistic is true. Many kids today beg their parents for a cell phone and most parents give into their children’s begging, simply thinking that the worst thing their child can do with a cell phone is talk to another person for a really long time. However, these parents are fooled if they think that their child will not be at any kind of risk if they give them their own cell phone at a very young age. Additionally, when I used to live in Syria, all my friends had cell phones by the time they were in sixth grade. This just goes to show you that even if a kid does not live in the USA, the chances of them having a cell phone when they are anywhere from the ages of eight to twelve is pretty likely.
As for how the results would have turned out if the study was conducted with older children or adults, I believe they would have been much more positive. Older children or adults have established the idea that safety always comes first and that they should not jeopardize their lives in order to enter the “technical world”. On the most part, these people have experience and have come to a level of maturity where, while they are usually under a lot of stress and trying to multitask most of the time, they understand that technology is a privilege and that they should be responsible when it comes to such privileges that are given to them.
I totally agree with the quote, as younger people are more capable of and used to multitasking because the technical, advanced and to some extent, dangerous world they live in requires them to do so in order to succeed and go about their daily lives in a routinely fashion. Despite this, however, multitasking “distributes” a person’s attention to many different things, causing them to navigate away from what is important, which can potentially put them at risk. In addition, multitasking surely does decrease the amount of stress in a person’s life, but it also makes them a little oblivious when it comes to the dangers of the world around them.
Ultimately, technology should not be taken for granted because if we are not careful with the way we “treat it”, then it could get back at us in the most cruel of ways. Our responsibility is our concern and we cannot blame technology whenever a problem arouses for us while we are using it.
Omar Abdel-Rahim post
I definitely disagree with the statistics said, as they are hard to accurately measure and are likely very inconsistent. I think that the results would likely be different if they conducted the study again at all, let alone with different people. I think the results would be different if conducted with the same age group again. If conducted with adults, then the results would either be very similar, as in conducted with the reckless adults, or extremely different, with careful adults. I think that the results would be different if conducted again because maybe the first teenagers were reckless and not careful. I don't agree with the quotes, as I personally think that it is a blanket statement that has little basis. I think that all people are able to multitask and pay attention to things, regardless of age. Nobody is really better at it. Everybody can pay attention as well as multitask. It doesn't matter how old you are.
I do think that the statistics are right because the thing is when people are on the phone they are dealing with so many thing, multi tasking. Holding the phone listening to the other person and thinking of a good comment. In their mind they would not care about the world around them. When I am on the phone I easily loose track of time. I think if the study was done on older kids and adults the statistics would be worse because older people are stressed more and they are thinking of more things and too any ideas are in their head they totally loose focus of what’s going on around them. I do sort of agree with the quote because the kids do have short attention spans and they are able to multi task. But since their brain is under developed they can’t stay focus on one thing all the time. All in all kids, teens and adults should not use their cell phones when their on the streets driving or anything like that.
I think that the statistics don't really make much of a difference because I have never really heard of someone that got severely injured, or even run over by a car while speaking on the phone. I don't think that the percentages matter much because even though people look both ways fewer; it's still quite rare that it happens. I think that if the study was done with adults or with older children the numbers would be higher, fewer pepole would be safe. I say so because since they would be older, they would have more confidence and would think less of what they are doing and focus more on their important lives or whatever is going on on the other side of the telephone. They wouldn't be as paranoid as younger people, and they would have more experience and think, "Oh, this hasn't happened before, so it won't happen now!" I think that that quote is so true, because usually while myself, or a friend is on the phone, we usually can do a lot of other things at the same time. True, we do focus on the phone call; but, with parents or older people in general, they cannot even make a simple reply to someone else while they're on the telephone. Their attention is completely reserved by the person on the other line. I think that the quote could be somewhat dependent on the person speaking on the phone, and on the phonecall. I don't think that this is a cerebral problem, as much as it is just a matter of situation. If the phone call's important, there's no doubt that the person will end up focusing more on that than on the street. But, if it's insignificant, then the person on the phone will pay more attention to his/her safety, rather than the useless/unimportant phonecall. In my opinion, this just doesn't happen. I don't think that being on the phone while crossing the street is a big problem; I've never heard of it happen. I have never seen or heard of anyone that got run over while on the phone and crossing the street.
I think that the statistics are probably right. A person's awareness does go down when on a cell phone, or doing anything else that divides their attention, but I can't say that any of these results would stop anyone from doing what they've done everyday for years. I don't think the results would be any better, but they might be worse, because while kids are young, they remember the rules better because parents drill it into them every time they cross the street- 'hold my hand, look both ways, hurry across.' When kids grow into teens, then adults, the reminders tend to fade because 'oh, well that won't happen to ME.' I agree with the quote, which only furthers my theory on why the results would be even worse on teens and adults.
I think that kids who talk on the phone will not really increase their chances of getting hit by a car or something of that sort. I think that most accidents happen because of the driver of the car, not because of the person walking. Also, the statistics presented might be true, but literally it will not affect the chances of getting hit by a car. I think that the results would be just slightly different with older kids and adults. I think that the quote could be true, but I don’t think that the difference between the young people and the old is as big as the article is suggesting though.
I definitely disagree with the statistics that were said. I never heard of anyone getting hit by a car while speaking on the phone. It is really rare for it to happen. It won’t increase the changes of getting hit while you are on the phone. If someone is talking on the phone and crossing the streets doesn’t mean he is going to be hit. I think the driver who is driving should pay more attention more than the one who is crossing the streets. "Younger peoples' brains are wired differently and are better able to multitask than older people, but they still have diminished attention to whatever primary task they're supposed to be doing." I think this quote is true, I can do many stuff while I’m on the phone. Parents and older people cant focus on many things like younger kids.
I think that the statistics is right because the kids never pay attention in anything these days except of their friends and that they are beginning to be more concentrated on them more than anything else. Also, that their minds are still not matured and fully grown yet so they will have a high chance of getting injured and possibly dying from the cars. If they made a study on teenagers and older people, it will be a higher chance of them getting injured or dying and the results would end up very bad. First thing, the teenagers are always talking about problems that’s happening with friends and why they should stop hanging out and all of that. So the teenagers are always stressed out about everything. Secondly, I think that the adults are also worse because they are always busy with work and talking on the phone all the time and their entire mind is always thinking of so many things at once. I think that the quote that was said from the article isn’t necessarily true because, the children’s mind, like I said before, is still not fully grown and they can’t think of so many things.
I think that the statistics are true, phones do interrupt you, people who carry phones on the street are not aware of what’s going around them, for example if you are talking on the phone while crossing the street there are big chances that you will get hit. I think that their will be no difference in comparing adults and teens, I think they are both angst people, and they are most likely to be hit, even if talking while driving can be dangerous, because they may hit someone or they may be hit. So I totally agree with the statistics.
I think that the kids getting hit by cars is not because they’re talking on the cell phone. I think it is the driers fault. They should be the ones paying attention. It is partly the person who talks fault also because they shouldn’t be talking on the phone when they’re crossing the street. I don’t think people under 12 to own a phone because they are not careful. Kida are always playing around with stuff like game boys and when they get a phone they will be not focused at all. I think that adults are more careful because they have had experience in life and they know right from wrong. I think that the quote is true because young people are not fully developed and they shouldn’t be distracted while doing something dangerous like crossing a street.
I think that it is possible for 60 percent of 8-12 year olds to own mobiles, for example, my brother, is 11 years old and he owns an Iphone. I think that if the results were conducted with older children the results would be worst, as they use their mobile phones much more than a normal 8-12 year old would. An adult uses his mobile alot, for example, a business man, my father gets a phone call every 30 seconds, and they are usually important, so he is forced to answer. I think that 60 percent of 8-12 year olds use mobile phones is over-reacting . I think that everyone should be able to multi task, age doesn't matter.
I believe that 60% of kids 8-12 do own their own mobiles or Ipods. When I walk to my grandmothers house I use my Ipod, but my brother always remindes me to keep the volume low and becareful crossing the street. I think it is important that parents should teach their children to use this kind of technology safely by reminding them each time they use it. I think that the statistics would be higher for older children and adults because we get involved in our phone calls. That is why i think a lot of accedents happen when people are on the phone or texting while walking or driving. I don't agree with the fact that younger brains can multi task better that older brains because the brain is still developing.
I wouldn’t think the statistics are right, I don’t actually have a developed opinion. I mean they could be right, because when someone is on the phone they don’t actually focus on anything else but the phone, on the other hand, I don’t know anybody and haven’t heard anybody getting run over by a car. I don’t think it would make much of a difference if the “study were conducted” because we all grow up with those rules of watching before crossing the street etc etc. And concerning the quote, in my opinion it describes really well “teenage brains”, teenagers are used to multitask however we don’t yet focus enough.
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