Literature Review

Mobile phones are increasingly becoming a part of many people’s everyday lives. In his book, Ling (2004, pp 21) states that “Mobile telephony is a technology that is quickly finding its niche. The technology has become reliable and easily accessible.In addition, it has been adopted on a large scale, and it is on the way to becoming a taken-for-granted part of the social landscape in many countries”. Due to this fact, they are raising speculations about the effects of mobile phones on the society. The main issue on this subject is the impact on health, particularly concerning the radiation levels emitted by mobile phones.

In a recent science journal, it is reported that “The current study found that there is possible evidence linking mobile phone use to an increased risk of tumours from a meta-analysis of low-biased case-control studies. Prospective cohort studies providing a higher level of evidence are needed.” (Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2009, pp 5572). This extract from the Journal of Clinical Oncology does not say that the evidence is clearly showing that there is a link between mobile phone radiation and tumours but what it does say is that there is possible evidence linking mobile phone use to the risk of tumours.

Another factor affecting the society is the social alienation brought upon by the use of mobile phones. Sociologists argue that people who use mobile phones are spending more time speaking to other people while they pay less attention to people they are with. This is stated by Ling (2004, pp 177) when he says, “If the mobile telephone contributes to individualization, it follows that the device also plays into our experience of social capital”.

There are many publications and reports from scientists from all over the world linking mobile phone radiation to the risk of cancer but none of them offer hard concrete evidence to back this up. This has led to organisations such as the World Health Organisation not forcing any laws to govern this issue. Other researchers and scientists also argue that mobile phones have a more positive effect on the society than negative. Mobile phones are very useful for communication, security and personal leisure.








References

Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol 27, 2009: pg 5572. Available at http://jco.ascopubs.org/cgi/content/abstract/27/33/5565 [accessed 23 November 2009]

Ling, Richard C. 2004, Mobile Connection: The Cell Phone's Impact on Society. The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Interactive Technologies., Elsevier Science & Technology, Available from: http://lib.myilibrary.com/Browse/open.asp?ID=102862&loc=218 December 2009