If you consider that the advent of cell phone has ushered in a revolution in communication, accessibility and the like, consider the flip and menacing side of this .
A survey conducted by Prof.of Education, Ms.Tetsuro Saito of Japan produced some results which are causes of concern for many, the family, the society and the social fabric in general. They seem to be destroying more than what they seek to build.
The survey was conducted among 1600 middle school students aged around 14. 60% of the participants carried a cell phone and 50% of them had used it just for sending emails ranging from 20 or more a day. Surprisingly, they rarely used the cell phone to talk. The cause for concern according to Prof.Saito was the communication ability among children was bound to decline. In other words the more the penetration of the phones or similar communicating devices, the more the decline in the face-to-face communication ability of children.
The repercussions appear to be far more severe in the context of family relations. Her survey appears to have brought the disturbing element, viz, the Children use the instrument as an ‘emotional crunch’ meaning that the more problems they have at home the more they are dependant on their phones. The children who had responded that they are not happy with their families, which comprised of nearly 60%, had sent 20 or more mails a day, when compared with 35% of those who had responded that they are happy with their families.
It is more often than not used to create or exchange of hatred ness or for bullying each other. Thus a 15 year old girl constantly received messages telling her to ‘die’, ‘you are a nuisance’ and you smell’, ironically found that such messages were sent by her friend who had advised her not to take them seriously.
Many of these children vouch that their lives are meaningless without a cell phone. According to them what is most important to them next to their life is their cell-phone. When this takes the centre-stage in their lives, it plays a multiple role including as a weapon which these teen-aged children wield against each other without knowing or realizing the consequences.
Parents really are not aware that there is a scary world behind the screen of a cell phone. Even if they are aware, such awareness may come at a terrible cost. Kanae Yokoyama, a Japanese man of 36 years, is reported to be facing trial for breaking and spraining the neck of her 15 year old daughter as he got wild when he saw her secretly using the cell phone. After all this may not be a lone example as there may be a number of such incidents which might not have been reported.
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