Cell Phones

Living in the 21^stcentury, people have access to almost anything at the tip of their fingertips. It wasn’t long ago that Baby Boomers and Generation X had to refer to hard copy dictionaries and textbooks as sources for their information. Now, we behold small portable electronic devices that can behold dictionaries and research on any topic imaginable. These devices have also become our source of entertainment as now we play games and watch YouTube to pass some time while on public transportation. With this connotation, cell phones are nothing but positive in our lives. Wrong. Cell phones bring a lot of complications especially to teenagers as they are usually the ones most addicted. Excessive use of cellular phones brings upon health problems, lowers situational awareness, and brings addiction to social media.

Source 1:

The article “Cell phones and tumor: Still in no man’s land” from the Indian Journal of Cancer is a collection of studies done on whether or not cell phones produce radiation that can harm human tissue or cause DNA damage. As of current scientific research, this is no concrete data that underlines such claims.

In this modern day, everyone has a cell phone including children of all ages who heavily depend on interactions through social media. This addiction has led many modern scientists whether they are psychologists, biologists, and physicists to question the safety and well being of people all around the world. This source with a composition of 9 studies, 7 stated that there is no obvious correlation between cell phone usage and cancer, and 2 studies supported the idea that they do cause changes to the biology of animals. The 2 studies that show that cell phones do cause cancer can trigger a response from those who carry their phones in their pockets or sleep directly next to their phones (Kohli, 2009).

This article was published with an audience of parents in mind. It is focused on reaching parents of children that are in schools as they tend to be prime the culprits of cell phone addiction. The article mentions, “Of note, children of grade-school age have recently become the new marketing target for cell phones” which shows that this is the main concern that the publisher has regarding the youth’s connection to cell phones.

The reason this article was written was to bring attention to a topic with no definite answer. The article also encourages that more experimental and clinical research should be done on this issue. It also aims for governmental intervention as the targeted demographic is 13 and under (Kohli, 2009).

The genre of the article is the Indian Journal of Cancer. The medium is their dedicated website where they post new volumes about every 3 months.

The author’s stance on this topic is that more research is necessary to come to a definite conclusion. The author shows that there is a ratio of 2:7 of yes to no studies, underlining the clear message that they believe that cell phones don’t cause DNA alterations however more research is necessary.

The tone the author creates is very informative as the author provides background information on radio-waves and how they corelate with cancer cells. Organizations and other commissions are mentioned and how they attempted to study this issue.

The author chose to use very sophisticated language as he went into detail of how radio-waves function and specifications of radio-waves that may be harmful and unharmful. An example from the text includes, “Cultures of the human endothelial cell line EA.hy926 were exposed to 900 MHz GSM RFR to see whether an adverse response could be observed” (Kohli, 2009).

Source 2:

Researchers by the names Shen, Ruihang, and Meina Liu published a study called, “Time-Orientation, Social Media Use, and Coping Style: Cultural Similarities and Differences in How and Why College Students Procrastinate,” in the Chinese Media Research Journal. This study discusses how the social aspect of where you grow up may affect how you procrastinate your time on social media, specifically focusing on Chinese versus American college students.

Social media is literally taking over the world. From the advertisements, to the influencers, to the funny videos, everyone wants a taste of having many likes on their social media accounts. Because people are so obsessed with the idea of how their image is perceived online, it takes time away from their work and studying that is vital to their future careers. People are becoming more concerned with connecting with their friends 24/7 than to be working on themselves. This led these two individuals to raise questions regarding whether or not two different cultures may perceive this one modern idea in the same light.

The targeted audience for this article is specifically to college students. They are comparing Chinese college students to American college students in light of this new social media culture, how they may differ, and how the coping style of these two types of college students may differ. It could also be intended for students even as young as freshmen in high school, as the language used to describe social media, types of drugs, even to types of coping mechanisms college students tend to have when stressed, are pretty simply written. An example from the text that shows this is, “Procrastination, defined as frequent delays in starting or completing tasks despite the negative consequences of that delay, is a significant problem affecting around 80% of college students” (Shen, 2019). The authors would make a conscious choice to not enrich their writing with more professional terminology as not only the younger teens wouldn’t understand, but the average college attendant wouldn’t bother reading.

The authors wrote this article to show a study that was made on the effects of social media on college students and it showed that students tend to procrastinate more and go on social media instead of tackling their responsibilities. The main purpose was to inform the audience on how much this is affecting their day to day lives, and moreover to assess how their mental health is affected in such a negative which can be seen when the author mentions, “Results from an online survey of 204 college students in the two cultures showed that time orientation has both direct and indirect effects on procrastination across cultures” (Shen, 2019).

The Chinese Media Research Journal focuses on the current media research but also serves to bring together research done from all parts of the world such as Great Britain, Hong Kong, and the United States. It can only be accessed through a college accessed database or one can access these journals through their website, however, the journals have to be bought in order to be accessed. It is also one of the first English-Chinese journals, meaning it has a more international take when publishing various articles.

The author’s results conclude that, “Chinese students may be less likely to procrastinate than American students, because coming from a collectivistic culture, they have a longer time orientation (Hofstede, 2001), which was found to be negatively associated with procrastination” (Ruihang Shen). They don’t state their clear opinion on social media or cell phones, but by inference one can tell that they believe, since they are researching this cultural difference, that social media on its own is a tool for procrastination and can harm a person’s mental health as well as physical motivation.

The author’s tone is hard to distinguish as they just provide information and don’t state any of their own opinion.

The language the author uses is very basic. Unlike source 1, the author doesn’t go into deep detail how social media impacts the brain but instead shows how it impacts us physically.

Source 3:

The article “Relationship of sleep quality, smartphone dependence, and health-related behaviors in female junior college students” published in the PLOS ONE Journal, is a research analysis discussing the sleep quality people, specifically girls, encounter as they depend heavily on their smartphone. They also investigate what exactly encompasses the “predictors” of the sleep that these girls had gotten and whether health and hygiene is a part of that. (Wang, 2019)

Women unlike men, experience more nightmares due to the rise and fall of their hormones throughout the month, which, in addition to the blue light emitting from the smart phone can exhibit poor elements of sleep. The study also discusses how women, are “have a greater tendency than male students toward smartphone dependence or addiction.” (Wang, 2019) This leads to unhealthy diets as well as a decreased efficiency throughout the day, which is a commonality amongst most in society as this is a theme amongst this generation.

Because of the over specific article title, the audience that this article wishes to convey to is teenage females. It takes a survey of 411 females, 409 surveys being valid for the research, and investigated the differences and commonalities amongst the girls. For example, they asked questions like “Do you use your smartphone before bed?”, and 95% had responded that they have in fact used it before bed and have at the same time been stressed out the next day (Wang, 2019). They reassure the audience with the idea that smartphone use is not only linked to poor sleep but to poor health.

The authors of this article are trying to inform the reader on how female become attached to their phones and why it can cause severe problems. They state that, “participants with good nutritional and dietary habits tended to have good sleep quality” and to solidify that in fact, “the degree of smartphone dependence and overall HPLP score were found to be predictors of sleep quality.” (Wang, 2019) They want females to be aware that they are mostly affected by this and that they have to take action in order to be healthier mentally and physically. The authors are trying to “provide guidance for drafting strategies to promote better sleep quality among female college students” (Wang, 2019).

This genre of the article is a scholarly journal style that has been peer-revised and is an excellent source as they built their credibility by splitting the article into sections and overall informs the audience of teenagers on the harms of excessive cell phone usage. This medium of the article is the PLOS ONE Journal which has free access through their website or even through college database portals. It is a credible source as this journal only publishes scientific research and has a range of criteria that one much have completed in order to be in their journal.

Like the other informative, third person, research based articles, this article does not have a clear stance or opinion as the authors are laying out the statistical evidence they find through their research. However, one can infer that because this topic is very specific toward females that the authors have either been directly affected or have seen a pattern of this kind of behavior amongst people in their lives, and especially with the emergence of the popularity of social media. They have also done this with no funding for a university paper making themselves even more credible.

The language used in this article is again sophisticated when talking about the effects of smart phones on sleep quality. An example includes, “Smartphone dependence and overall HPLP score were both predictors of sleep quality” (Wang, 2019).

Source 4:

            The page “Cell Phones and Cancer Risk Fact Sheet” published on the National Cancer Institutewebsite, which is a government website, elaborates on commonly asked questions regarding cell phones and cancer risks. It is labelled under the possible risk factors, and it gives very detailed responses providing the audience with the specific scientific names of possible cancers, tumors, providing data, even going as far as linking international research that has been studied on this issue. They strongly advise to limit cell phone use, and even say to try to use “hand free” technology so that the person doesn’t physically come into contact with the radio waves.

This specific government website goes to show that cellphones have become so imbedded in our daily functions, that they had to make a public, well researched page discussing various possible risk factors. Everybody is so focused on their cellphone that reports of cancer cases specifically linked to brain tumors and cancer, are now being followed by the government.

The audience of this website can be anyone that wants to learn more about cancers and how they are now most commonly caused as well as possible risk factors that are associated with cell phones. The age range of the audience can be anywhere from 10-99 as long as they know what cancer is and why it is so vital to avoid anything to instigate the growth of tumors. Specifically, since this is a U.S. government website, it might be limited to outside viewers as they may have internet restrictions, so it is most likely written for the American general public.

The main reason as to why this government page was written and thoroughly well researched was because it contains statistics showing that the use of cellphones has been rapidly increasing which means that people are more exposed to radiation. The report mentions, “Cell phones emit radiofrequency radiation (radio waves), a form of non-ionizing radiation, from their antennas. Parts of the body nearest to the antenna can absorb this energy.” (“Cell Phones and Cancer Risk Fact Sheet”) The US Government want to make sure that Americans are aware of this ongoing study and they should still take precautions.

The medium of this article is a government website which can be accessed for free by anyone.

The genre is an online article which can be accessed by anyone.

The language used in the article is informative. By using statistical evidence however, they make themselves more credible as they provide evidence for each of the answers, they provide to the most commonly asked questions the public has regarding cancer and cellphones.

Although this is a government website, they have used first person to enrich and convince the audience. They used a quote from the FDA, which is also a government organization, which stated, “based on this current information, we believe the current safety limits for cell phones are acceptable for protecting the public health.” The use of “we” here indicates that they are trying appeal to the public by connecting the audience with themselves, making them feel as though they are not alone, part of a bigger movement. The article aims to bring ease to this topic but still encourages readers to take precautions on being close to their cellphones all the time.

Reflection on all sources:

All four sources can be deemed credible as sufficient research was done when creating these articles. By using statistics and credible sources of their own, they are able to provide sufficient evidence and information on their topics. Furthermore, all 4 sources don’t provide an opinion but instead provide information and statistics on this issue. Sources 1, 2, and 3 are similar as they both present numerous studies that were done on the effects of cell phones on people. A great addition to all 4 sources were the use of statistics as they further emphasize that a good portion of society are heavily dependent on their cellphones. Despite some sources using sophisticated language and other using vague language, they all provide sufficient information on their presenting topics.

 

 

Works Cited:

Kohli, D., et al. “Cell phones and tumor: Still in no man’s land.” Indian Journal of Cancer, vol. 46, no. 1, 2009, p. 5. Gale Academic Onefile, https://link-gale-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/apps/doc/A195665329/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=AONE&xid=64715c5b. Accessed 18 Sept. 2019.

Shen, Ruihang, and Meina Liu. “Time-Orientation, Social Media Use, and Coping Style:

Cultural Similarities and Differences in How and Why College Students Procrastinate.” China Media Research, vol. 15, no. 3, 2019, p. 115+. Gale Academic Onefile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A596319017/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=AONE&xid=1153feef. Accessed 18 Sept. 2019

Wang, Po-Yu, et al. “Relationship of sleep quality, smartphone dependence, and health-related

behaviors in female junior college students.” PLoS ONE, vol. 14, no. 4, 2019, p. e0214769. Gale Academic Onefile, https://link-gale-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/apps/doc/A581128092/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=AONE&xid=748da1eb. Accessed 17 Sept. 2019.

“Cell Phones and Cancer Risk Fact Sheet.” National Cancer Institute, 9 Jan. 2019,

https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/cell-phones-fact-sheet.