People have become reliant on smartphones. Although this trend can produce favourable outcomes, such as easing everyday responsibilities and communication over long distances, it is not without its drawbacks.
On the one hand, thanks to mobile phones, people are no longer obligated to commute to post offices, utility payment points, or other similar venues to pay for electricity, water, or TV subscriptions. Furthermore, mobile phones eliminate geographical barriers to communication. In contrast to the past, when a simple response letter from a family member studying or living abroad could take days or weeks to reach the recipient, people now can enjoy near-instant communication with family members, relatives, or friends residing in foreign countries. This, in turn, prevents people’s stress levels which used to accumulate when waiting for a response.
On the other hand, people’s dependence on smartphones could also have counterproductive consequences. First, owing to constant exposure of the young to the allure of social media, they become too immersed in a virtual world, ignoring their real-life commitments. This is particularly evident among the teenagers who refuse to disconnect from the internet, neglecting their academic assignments. Another adverse effect concerns the elderly. To clarify, a considerable number of older people are not sufficiently informed about how to use technology and are thus vulnerable to cyberattacks and financial exploitation. Therefore, numerous elderly victims of such illicit activities are reported daily in many countries.
To conclude, despite smartphones simplifying people’s routine chores and removing geographical obstacles to interaction, they also experience implications: young people become addicted to the virtual world, while the ageing population is targeted by cybercriminals.