How many copies have been broken in recent decades when discussing what more mobile phones have brought to our lives: benefit or harm? Difficult to answer. Moreover, the number of obvious supporters and opponents of the mass entry of mobile communications and mobile phones into our daily lives is large, and the arguments of each side in defense of their point of view seem quite objective.
However, despite any arguments about the dangers and negative consequences of using mobile communications, it has already entered our lives so firmly that it is difficult to imagine how they managed without it before (nevertheless, they somehow managed...).
Taking mobile communications for granted, as a fact of objective reality, even those who use mobile communications but also recognize its negative aspects have established World Mobile Phone Failure Day, or World Mobile Phone Free Day, which is celebrated annually on February 6th.
The initiators of the date, as well as their supporters, invite all people to think about what mobile communications give them and what they are deprived of, what benefits it brings to society and what harm it can cause to human health, if not physical, then mental. It is believed that the idea of holding the «Days without a mobile phone» campaign belongs to the French journalist and writer Phil Marceau, who voiced his idea in 2001.
So, why do supporters of the Day propose to put your mobile phone aside at least once a year, leave it at home, going to work, to the store or for a walk?
It is difficult to overestimate the positive aspects of mobile communications, which have greatly simplified our lives. We got the opportunity to be in touch constantly, ask questions on time and answer them, hear the voice of a loved one when there is an urgent need for this, when the soul requires it. Mobile communications have made people more mobile and accessible. Along with mobile communications, the need for correspondence between family, friends and acquaintances disappeared. Mobile communications allow you to resolve issues of security and recovery from critical situations, calling emergency services and rescuing from places remote from telephone communications.
The development of mobile communications and the emergence of smartphones have expanded a person’s capabilities, in fact providing him not just a means of communication, but a kind of computer with the ability to access the Internet, record and transmit photos and videos, communicate through social networks, video calls and video conferences.
Mobile phones are addictive to a significant number of their users. First of all, this concerns teenagers... (Photo: serrnovik, licensed by depositphotos.com)
It would seem, what can a negative mobile connection bring, and how can it harm a person? Organizers of events dedicated to days without a mobile phone, now starting on February 6, give the following arguments:
• The mobile phone, by giving a person the ability to always be in touch, has denied the person the ability to be quiet and silent. The abundance of incoming calls, a significant part of which are advertising calls or spam, begins to irritate a person, unbalance him psychologically, and cause a negative reaction. As a result, sometimes a mobile phone turns into a kind of irritant.
• The impact of electromagnetic fields and radiation from a mobile phone on human health continues to be an open topic in which some scientists agree that long-term use of mobile communications can cause serious harm to human health and lead to serious illnesses (Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, reproductive damage, neuroses).
• The ease and accessibility of mobile phone and social media communication leaves a person unable to communicate live, in which much information is shared nonverbal means.
• Mobile phones are addictive to a significant number of their users. First of all, this applies to teenagers. The ability to use a smartphone for games, as well as an attachment to communication on social networks, turned it into something like a tablet and a game console, and teenagers’ tendency to various kinds of addictions (more precisely, weak psychological stability) led to the fact that in 2008 the term «nomophobia » appeared in psychology fear of being without access to a – mobile phone from the English no-mobile-phone phobia.
• Lack of access to a mobile phone for one reason or another (forgot at home or at work, lost, unable to charge a battery) is becoming a stress factor for many modern people, causing discomfort and nervous tension.
• A mobile phone can be a factor in overcoming a number of personal communication problems, as it provides such a person with an easier way to communicate.
This list of the main negative factors is provided by supporters of World Mobile Phone Failure Day, which now lasts several days, usually from February 6 to 8. And it is difficult not to accept the arguments of these people. Therefore, on February 6-8, all people are invited, if not to stop using a mobile phone, then at least limit its use to the maximum!
By the way, in addition to today’s date, there are at least two more days a year when you can take a break from technology and the endless flow of information – is International Day WITHOUT the Internet and World Day without Wi-Fi.