ACTIVITY 2

CELLULAR PHONE
AND
SMARTPHONE

Submitted to
Engr. Roen Dagoy

Submitted by
Ericka Jane T. Olasiman

I. Science, Technology and Society

1. Science
 a. Who invented cellular phone?

Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876. And then in 1900, on December 23 on
the outskirts of Washington, D.C., an inventor named Reginald Fessenden accomplished a
remarkable feat: He made the first wireless telephone call. He was the first to transmit the human
voice via radio waves, sending a signal from one radio tower to another.

Fessenden's work paved the way for broadcast radio but it also provided the foundation for cell
phones and networks. In 1947, an engineer named William Rae Young proposed that radio
towers arranged in a hexagonal pattern could support a telephone network. Young worked under
another engineer named D.H. Ring, who led a team at Bell Laboratories, which was part of
AT&T at the time.

Young's design allowed for low-power transmitters to carry calls across the network. It also
accounted for handoffs, which is when a caller moves from one tower's broadcast radius to
another. But though the theory was sound, the technology to make it happen was lacking. It
would take more than 10 years for the next development.

While the world waited for further developments in cellular technology, companies like AT&T
offered some customers the chance to use radio telephones. These devices were primitive
compared to today's cell phones and resembled walkie-talkie transceivers. Only a few calls --
sometimes as few as three -- could be made on the system at a time. Callers would sometimes
have to wait for another conversation to end before completing a call, which also meant that
private conversations were practically impossible. The phones were expensive and some
weighed up to 80 pounds (36.3 kilograms) -- not the sort of device you can carry around in your
pocket.

By the 1960s, Bell Labs engineers Richard H. Frenkiel and Joel S. Engel developed the
technology that could support Young's design of a cellular network. But as AT&T sought
permission from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to develop a cellular network,
a competitor made a bold and cheeky move in 1973.

That competitor was Martin Cooper, who at the time was an executive with Motorola, one of
AT&T's competitors. Cooper led a team that designed the first practical cell phone. It was called
the Motorola DynaTAC, and it still wasn't a tiny device -- it was 9 inches (22.9 centimeters) long
and weighed 2.5 pounds (1.1 kilograms). Cooper decided to make one of the first cellular
telephone calls to professional rival Joel Engel at Bell Labs. That's right -- the first cell phone
was involved in what some might refer to as a prank call. It would take many more years to build
out cellular networks and drive down production costs to make cell phones a viable commercial
product. But after more than a century of research and development, the considerable investment
has paid off.

b. Who invented smartphone?

A smartphone is a handheld electronic device that provides a connection to a cellular

network. Smartphones were introduced to the world in 1994 by IBM but have since expanded to
include companies like Apple and Samsung. Although they were originally meant to allow
individuals to communicate via phone and email, smartphones now allow people to access the
internet, play games, and send text messages in addition to making phone calls and sending
emails.

The first handheld mobile phone was invented in 1973 by Motorola. The first call was made by
Martin Cooper, one of the company’s engineers, on a DynaTAC 8000X.

Cell phones became popular in the ‘90s and early 2000s. As wireless networks improved,
especially between 3G and 4G/4G LTE, the technology shifted from cell phones to smartphones.
Today, 5G offers even more speed and reliability than ever.

Some brands use newer smartphone design to appeal to the nostalgia that many customers have
for previously popular cell phones. The Motorola razr, for example, pairs the original foldable
form with current day specs.

The first version of what we’d consider a smartphone was invented in 1992 by IBM. Called
the Simon Personal Communicator (or just IBM Simon), it was made available for purchase in
1994 and sold by the tens of thousands.

IBM Simon distinguished itself from previous generations of cell phones with features like the
ability to send and receive emails, and a touch screen. It also came with built-in programs
including:

 Calendar
 Address book
 Appointment scheduler
 Standard and predictive stylus input keyboards
 Electronic note pad
 Handwritten annotations
The design, tools, and performance capabilities of smartphones have evolved massively over the
years, however, many of the same features found in the IBM Simon and other early models are
now standard in today’s smartphones.

The term “smartphone” became commonplace as smartphones themselves became more

affordable and accessible throughout the 2000s. Many consider the arrival of the first Apple
iPhone in 2007 as the first fully realized smartphone. This iconic device allowed for a full
internet experience, similar to a laptop or desktop computer. Now in its 13th generation, the
iPhone is still one of the most in-demand devices on the market.

Wireless technology is constantly advancing, which means advancements for a wide range of
other industries. 5G has made integrating smartphones, tablets, and other devices into our
lifestyles and workspaces much easier. They’re already being used together to improve how you
access healthcare and public services, along with work and entertainment. Future devices may
feature AR and VR more heavily, creating more immersive online experience that you can share
from anywhere in the world.

Currently, 85% of adults say they own a smartphone. While “smartphone” and “cell phone” are
completely distinct terms, they’re often used interchangeably now. Cell phones remain an
important milestone in the history of smartphones, but their newer, more feature-rich
counterparts were made to work with faster, higher capacity networks, like Verizon 5G.

Founded in 1993, Cellular Sales proudly serves as Verizon’s premier retail partner. With almost
800 locations nationwide and more than 7,000 employees, we proudly connect customers with
top-tier products and services. We were recently named the Verizon Agent of the Year 2021 and
have been named to Inc. Magazine’s 5000 as one of the nation’s fastest growing companies nine
times.

c. Why does the scientist invented the Cellular Phone and Smartphone?

The concept of cellular technology had already been created by Motorola's rival, AT&T, whose
Bell Labs introduced a system allowing calls to be moved from one cell to another while
remaining on the same channel. But AT&T was focusing this technology on the car phone.

Cooper wanted people to have freedom to talk on the phone away from their cars. So, in reaction,
he and Motorola embarked on a project to create a more portable device. Motorola spent three
months building a prototype for a portable, mobile handset that Cooper publicly demonstrated in
April of 1973. The company's first commercial cellular phone, the "DynaTAC," went on sale 10
years later.
Cooper, now 81, is founder of ArrayComm, a company working to improve cellular networks,
smart antenna and wireless communication. He and his wife are also inventors of the Jitterbug, a
simplified cell phone geared to senior citizens.

Martin Cooper placed what's recognized as the first public cell phone call in New York City in 1973.

Cooper was surprised when his landline dropped our call. After calling him back on his mobile,
we had a chance to ask him about the creation of the device that changed the face of
communication as we know it.

CNN: What was the technology climate like back in 1973, and what gave you the idea to move
with the cell phone and compete with AT&T's car phone?

Cooper: There were no large-scale integrated circuits, no computers, no closed-circuit

televisions, no LCD screens -- I can't tell you all the things that did not exist in 1973. But we'd
been building phones for years and years in cars, and we [Motorola] thought the time was
ready for personal communication, 'cause people are just naturally mobile.

For 100 years, people wanting to talk on the phone have been constrained by being tied to
their desks or their homes with a wire, and now we're going to trap them in their cars? That's
not good. So, we decided to take on AT&T. By 1973, we decided to put on a dazzling
presentation, and I decided the best way to do that was to build a phone and have someone
actually have the experience of talking on a real personal handheld telephone. And that was
the genesis of that phone that we built.

2. Technology
a. State the history of Cellular Phone.

The First Cell Phones and Their Origins

Bell Labs (or AT&T as we know them now) began the initiative for cell communications back in
1947. There were many early attempts to create mobile communication devices, but it would not
be until sometime later that the first cell phone was created. Until then, companies relied on the
mobility of vehicles to create their mobile phones.

The First Mobile Phone

The first concept of the mobile phone was the car phone. While the first car phone might have
technically been invented in Sweden in 1910 by Lars Magnus Ericsson, it was not mobile, as it
required the user to stop and manually connect to phone lines with a long pole. Not the most
convenient thing out there.

When car phones became mobile in 1946, they weighed 80 pounds. They required the power of
the car battery to be able to operate, and were considered a luxury item. By the 70s, car phones
were more common and cheaper but still required upwards of 30 pounds of equipment installed
in the trunk and the installation of a massive antenna on the car to function.

The DynaTAC 8000X

We can thank Martin Cooper for the creation of the first truly mobile phone. He worked for
Motorola, Bell Labs’ biggest competitor as far as the creation of a cellular telephone was
concerned. In 1973 he made history by using the cell phone he created to call his lead rival at
Bell Labs as a statement of his success.

His phone was called the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, which stood for Dynamic Adaptive Total
Area Coverage. You’re likely familiar with the look of this brick phone, an iconic design of the
80s. It was by no means a good device, weighing a little over two pounds and with a battery life
of 30 minutes, and required a 10-hour charge time. Despite its lackluster performance by today’s
standards, it was a truly revolutionary device.

In 1983, the DynaTAC would be available commercially in a 16-ounce version, the one that we
are most familiar with. This version cost between $3,500 to $4,000, which would be closer to
$8,000 today. Obviously, this would not be the device that put cell phones into the massive
number of hands that they are in today, but it was a major first step in introducing the technology
to the public.

Motorola’s Improved Phones and Nokia’s Evolution

By 1989, Motorola would make their first improvements towards making their phones smaller
with the MicroTAC 9800X. This new version of the DynaTAC was an evolution of the same
format but designed to be lighter and to fit in a shirt pocket. Its flip-open design and collapsible
antenna allowed it to be easier to carry around by its user. Motorola’s series of flip phones would
be seen often on the TV show X-Files.

While the MicroTAC was the first cell phone out there to be slim and compact, Nokia would
come to drastically change the cellular phone landscape. In 1992, they introduced the Nokia
1011, which was the first phone to introduce text messages. By then, the battery life had
improved to 90 minutes of talk time, a significant jump from 30 minutes.

The Nokia 1011 would also be the first phone to make a call on the newly established GSM
network. GSM stands for Global System for Mobile Communications. It was a standard of
communications that united Europe under one cellular network, making cell networks easier for
everyone to utilize.

Nokia drastically changed the game for cell phone design. The Nokia 6000, which had the iconic
rectangular shape with a much smaller body, was one of the first commercially affordable cell
phones. It popularized cell phone use and made it much easier for the average person to own a
phone.

Cell phone games would also appear first on Nokia phones. They started simply with the game
Snake, one which has appeared in many formats, even on scientific calculators. But it was an
important step in making people realize the full potential of mobile devices.

The First Smartphone and the Internet Revolution

In 1994, there was a device that we can consider the first smartphone. It was a touchscreen
phone, with email, a stylus, a calendar, an appointment book, and an address book. This device
was the IBM Simon Personal Communicator. The device didn’t take the world by storm but was
somewhat popular and an important step in making a mobile device and an all-in-one machine.

Another major step in the development of the smartphone was the ability to connect to the
internet seamlessly with the implementation of a 3G network in Japan. In 2001 the network
would be turned on, and soon more 3G networks would come about in the rest of the world. 3G
allowed for better call quality and faster internet speeds.

Samsung and the Next Steps Towards the Normalizing the Smartphone

The Samsung SPH-I300 came out in 2001 and had a touch screen that was used to dial instead of
a traditional keypad. Apple would not come out with the first iPhone until five years later. While
this phone couldn’t do all of the things that our modern phones are able to do, it was another
precursor to what phones are now capable of.

In 2002, T-Mobile released the Sidekick, which was also one of the forerunners of the
smartphone generation. With a fully built-in qwerty keyboard, the Sidekick allowed people to
have a little computer in their pocket, even if it did not have all of the full features that a
computer has. It was meant to be affordable and easy to use.

The Blackberry would become an important player in the history of smartphones as well. With a
focus on emailing, it was a unique device in its own right. It would take some time until it
became a necessity for every business person out there, but its ability to let users connect to their
email was important at the time.

Camera Phones Becoming Popular

2002 also saw the camera phone becoming popular, at least in the United States. It had actually
already become a trend in Japan two years earlier. The first camera phones could only take
mediocre photos, like the Sanyo SCP-5300 that was available through Sprint, which was able to
snap photos at 640 x 480 pixels (that’s really bad!). It seems like a distant memory with how
easily we are now able to take pictures, but this was the norm and it was revolutionary.

Phones continued to improve on their designs, making phones smaller, slimmer, and more
usable. Think of the RAZR from Motorola. It was massively influential thanks to the sleekness
of its design and was the top-selling cell phone for 12 quarters. This would be one of Motorola’s
last influential designs for some time, however, because Apple would soon come bursting onto
the scene with the phone, we have all come to see as synonymous with smartphones: the iPhone.

Apple and the Iconic iPhone Design

In 2007, Apple threw the cell phone market on its head with the release of the iPhone. Apple had
already made headway with the release of the iPod in 2001, and the iPhone in many ways was
the evolution of that design but taken several steps further. It normalized the idea of the
touchscreen, virtual keyboard, music player, web browsing capability, and email access all being
rolled into one device.

It had heavy competition from the Blackberry, however, which was still the top-selling device
around the same time. The Blackberry did not adopt all of the same features as the iPhone, but it
did normalize texting and mobile devices keeping you connected to the internet and email. In
fact, without the Blackberry’s full keyboard in conjunction with mobile networks, texting would
probably not be what it is today.

Shifting Features of Cell Phones and the Smartphone Revolution

Phones began to incorporate more features prior to the iPhone, but even with the implementation
of cameras and texting, it is still safe to say that the cell phone’s primary use was
communication. In 2008, the cell phone would shift to become a mobile computer, the type that
we all now know today.

Apple introduced the App Store in 2008. This storefront, designed to open up new access points
on our cell phones, was a major step towards turning the cell phone into a multimedia device.
Developers could create special programs designed to take advantage of the features of a mobile
device.

Here's a brief timeline outlining the history of cellular phones:

o 1833: Carl Friedrich Gauss and Wilhelm Weber invent the first electromagnetic
telegraph, laying the foundation for wireless communication.
o 1876: Alexander Graham Bell patents the first practical telephone, enabling voice
communication over long distances.
o 1947: Bell Labs introduces the concept of cellular communications in a research
study.
 o 1973: Martin Cooper, an engineer at Motorola, makes the first handheld mobile
phone call on April 3. This phone was the size of a brick and weighed about 2.2
pounds.
o 1983: Motorola releases the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, the first commercially
available handheld mobile phone. It costs nearly $4,000 and has a battery life of
about 30 minutes.
o 1985: The first automated cellular network, known as 1G (first generation), is
launched in the United States by AT&T.
o 1990s: The 2G (second generation) digital cellular networks begin to replace
analog systems, offering improved sound quality and security. SMS (Short
Message Service) is introduced, allowing text messages to be sent between
phones.
o 1992: The first smartphone, the IBM Simon, is introduced. It featured a
touchscreen, email capability, and could run third-party apps.
o Late 1990s: Nokia becomes a dominant player in the mobile phone market with
its line of user-friendly devices.
o Early 2000s: 3G (third generation) networks are introduced, offering faster data
transfer rates, enabling features like video calling and mobile internet browsing.
o 2007: Apple launches the iPhone, revolutionizing the smartphone industry with its
touchscreen interface and intuitive design.
o Late 2000s: Android operating system is introduced, leading to the proliferation
of smartphones from various manufacturers.
o 2010s: 4G (fourth generation) networks become widespread, offering even faster
data speeds and enabling high-definition video streaming and online gaming.
o 2013: Samsung introduces the Galaxy Gear, one of the first smartwatches to pair
with smartphones.
o 2016: Google releases the first Pixel phone, entering the smartphone hardware
market.
o 2020s: 5G (fifth generation) networks begin to roll out, promising significantly
faster speeds, lower latency, and the ability to connect more devices
simultaneously.
o 2023: Continuous advancements in smartphone technology, network
infrastructure, and artificial intelligence contribute to the further integration of
mobile devices into various aspects of daily life.

b. State the History of Smartphone.

1973: The First Cell Phone Is Invented

Cellular phones preceded smartphones on the road to portable digital technology. Motorola’s
Martin Cooper made the first cell phone call in April 1973. While carrying portable phones was
not realized for ten more years, this development paved the way for further advancements in
mobile communications.

1984: The First Portable Mobile Device

Almost 40 years ago, Motorola debuted the DynaTAC 8000X – the first mobile phone. With a
price tag of $4,000, it was never destined to become a must-have for the general population.
It was clunky, weighing in at a whopping two pounds, earning its nickname “The Brick.” Its
battery life? 30 minutes.

The DynaTAC 8000X was mostly a status symbol. Nonetheless, it represents a big step in the
evolution of the smartphone. So when did smartphones come out?

1992: The First Smartphone

IBM announced the first smartphone in 1992, which wouldn’t be available for purchase for two
more years. The Simon Personal Communicator (or SPC, commonly called IBM Simon)
included many features familiar to modern smartphone users, such as a touch screen that
required a stylus (a what?). However, proper touch screens were still more than a few years into
the future.

However, with a small monochrome LCD screen and a one-hour battery life, the SPC was still
relatively primitive compared to today’s smartphones.

1994: The Earliest Form of Smartphone Apps

IBM Simon finally hit the market in 1994. With a price tag of $1,100, it was significantly
cheaper than the DynaTAC 8000X but only sold about 50,000 in its first six months. In addition,
its use was pretty limited – it only worked in 15 U.S. states. And while it wasn’t as bulky as
earlier phones, the SPC was still big and boxy.

One of the more revolutionary aspects of the SPC was that each phone came with a calendar,
address book, calculator, email, notepad and other features.

Mobile applications had arrived.

1997: The Start of Mobile Gaming

Do you love Wordle? Or is Roblox more your style? In 1997, your options for mobile gaming
were much more limited.

Starting that year, Nokia 6110 users could play Snake, a game developed by Finnish software
engineer Taneli Armanto. It was a simple, family-friendly game, so people quickly became
hooked. Snake started the mobile gaming industry, now worth over $152 billion.

Ericsson coined the term “smartphone” in 1997 to describe their GS88, a prototype device that
never reached the market – ten years before the iPhone’s debut.

2000: The First Camera Phone

At the start of the new millennium, Sharp introduced the world to the wonders of the camera
phone. Although the J-SH04 was limited to Japan, it represented the start of a love affair between
phone users and photography.
And weighing just four ounces, the J-SHO4 was one step closer to today's sleek and slim phones.

Not surprisingly, the photo quality was nowhere near what modern smartphone users have come
to expect: Its camera was only 110,000 pixels.

By comparison, the iPhone 14 camera has three rear cameras, with a 48-megapixel main camera.
The J-SH04’s camera was also back-facing – the era of the selfie was still to come.

2001: Cell Phones Access the Internet

Finally, smartphones and the Internet meet. For the first time in 2001, smartphones could
connect wirelessly with a 3G network. This capability opened up a whole new world to
smartphone users, who could now send email attachments and video conference with their
mobile devices.

This evolution didn’t come cheap, however. Although mobile devices were now around $300-
$700, the cost of data proved inaccessible to most users.

2007: Apple Takes a Bite of the Smartphone Market

2007 was a game-changer for smartphones. Steve Jobs announced the world’s first iPhone at
January’s Macworld convention. The first iteration included a touchscreen, iPod, camera, full
internet access capabilities (a first!) and a wide LCD screen designed for video. It was sleek,
lightweight and available in 4GB ($499) and 8GB ($599) models.

Another groundbreaking aspect of the iPhone was its software capabilities. Soon, users could
download millions of third-party applications, limiting the iPhone’s capabilities only to the
imagination of software developers.

Jobs wasn’t wrong when he described the iPhone as a “revolutionary and magical product that is
literally five years ahead of any other mobile phone.” It was, far and away, the most advanced
smartphone the world had seen. In its first year on the market, upwards of 1.4 million iPhones
were sold.

By 2008, that number would reach a truly impressive 11.6 million. Apple has now launched 38
new iPhone models, and the world has never looked back.

2008: The First Android Smartphone

The first Android smartphone was the HTC Dream, also known as the T-Mobile G1. A
collaboration between HTC and Google, it ran on Android 1.0, the first version of the Android
operating system.

The HTC Dream featured a 3.2-inch touchscreen display, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and a
3.2-megapixel camera. The HTC Dream was the first device to feature the Android Market,
which later became the Google Play Store. It was a groundbreaking device that marked the
beginning of the Android era, and it paved the way for the many Android smartphones that
followed.

2020: The Modern Smartphone

The iPhone’s debut revolutionized smartphones and triggered a domino effect of rapidly
advancing features and capabilities. It was a true turning point in smartphone history.

Modern cell phones have more memory, speed and power than previously imaginable, and
countless apps have become available and monetized.

We’ve seen incredible advancements in almost every aspect of the smartphone. For example,
smartphone cameras take professional-quality pictures (including selfies) and stream music,
videos and games effortlessly. In addition, 24/7 access to social media on the go has forever
changed our relationships and interactions.

3. Society
a. State the good side of using Smartphone.

 Borderless, Easier Connection

The typical old phones can call and text and while it can get your message across, a smartphone
also allows you multiple ways of communicating with your staff, customers and suppliers. A
phone is no longer limited to just calling, text or direct message these days. One of the
advantages of smartphone is it also gives you access to your email, video calling, video
conferencing and photo sharing can be done immediately too.

There is also an abundance of social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn,
that enable you to remain connected indefinitely. Smartphones developed from the earliest
devices for communication. It has therefore been built to primarily strengthen the way people
interact with each other. The development of technology for smartphones modernized
communications.

It has paved the way for SMS, text messages, calls, video chat, and applications that allow
individuals to connect with others around the world instantly. They fit easily into your pocket or
bag. Moreover, they don’t weigh much. There are inexpensive models available for those with a
limited budget. If the battery gets low, you can recharge them in your car or plug them into an
electrical outlet using a cable.

 Keeping Life Intact, More Organized

In the past you might have needed a backpack to carry around all the devices needed for daily
business activities. You would need your pager, cell phone and your PDA. You also need an
MP3 player, an e-book reader, a camera and a GPS device for you to go through your life
properly. Not even mentioning the desk calendar and This is where the advantages of
smartphone come into the frame. Through miniaturized hardware that packs a processor,
speakers, a camera, a GPS receiver, a Wi-Fi adapter and a high definition touch-sensitive screen,
you can now easily embrace all of the functionalities in just a soap-shaped size that can fit into
your pocket.

Setting the reminder on your son’s football match from the calendar and navigating to the venue
easily with the direction set on the phone while listening to a podcast before capturing the venue
photo and sharing it to other family members in a group chat, you can now do all that easily. Life
gets easier and smoother thanks to all these advantages of smartphone.

 Brings the Whole World Closer to You

All those years of the latest happenings around the world only made known to you hours after it
happened are long gone. Now the world is closer than ever, thanks to countless news channels
that offer live updates across the oceans, besides livestream forums that spring up like
mushrooms online, all made possible by the Internet. Due to this one of the advantages of
smartphone, you don’t have to fear missing out on the hottest news at the moment out there.

Another advantage of smartphone that make this world feel a little smaller is that it also allows
you to share Wi-Fi networks. With the hotspot option, you can access the Internet mobile data of
a known person that allows it to be turned into Wi-Fi connection. And through that, you can
either connect through a laptop or phone, as you will be connected to Wi-Fi without the device.
That makes life a lot better and closer, as we can easily reach anywhere that we want to go while
knowing about the live updates of the area if we follow the maps. All in all, we have the world
map in our hands. All you got to do is just open maps on your smartphone and follow the lead.

 Endless Entertainment Like Never Before

You probably have come to the conclusion that smartphones are super useful but the fun does not
stop there. Most of the time, we need to have our time out and have some easy going fun and all
that is easier with other advantages of smartphone. You can watch funny videos, listen to music
or play your favorite games using your smartphone. You can never get bored if you own a
mobile phone. Entertainment sources have widened because of mobile phones. There are a
multitude of games to download and play.

Also, you can read an online article or get involved with social media to pass the time.
Smartphones allow video watching, as well as listening to radio, podcasts, or music. Plus, if you
attend a real-life event, you can often store your ticket on your phone to display at the door.
Smartphones also make it easier for users to surf the internet. These devices are integrated with
mobile browsers that allow websites to be searched and viewed anywhere and at any time.

b. State the bad side of using Smartphone.

 Eye Discomfort and Damaged Eyesight

Though there is currently no research yet to prove that looking at screens for long durations of
time can cause permanent eye damage, it is certainly known to cause discomfort. While both
adults and children who use excessive smartphones experience this discomfort, children are more
susceptible to developing symptoms depending on the ways they use their devices. The term
“digital eye strain” refers to symptoms caused by prolonged usage of smartphones that include
pain, blurred vision, headaches, dry eyes, and fatigue.

Young children these days increasingly involve themselves in playing online games and
watching YouTube videos for hours together, which can in fact affect their eyesight. Children
aren’t very cautious about the use of smartphones and hold their phones too close to their eyes,
which eye specialists all over the world have continuously advised as something to be avoided.
According to a popular research from the Chonnam National University most children aged 7 to
16 who spent a significant amount of time on their smartphones were said to have become cross-
eyed. The research concluded saying that spending 4 to 8 hours a day on smartphones is most
likely to cause cross eye.

While these problems may be temporary, doctors suggest that smartphone usage must be limited
to a certain amount of time every day or to take 30 minutes intervals as a break for the eyes now
and then. It is also important to teach children to hold their phones further away from their eyes
and to adjust their devices’ brightness to a necessary minimum.

 Disrupted Sleep Pattern

Most children use their smartphones before going to bed. They could either be staying up late
talking to their friends or playing games, watching videos or just scrolling through social media.
This mindless staring at smartphones at late hours over a period of time causes fatigue and
restlessness, as using any electronic devices late at night can lead to reduced sleep timing. This is
caused due to the emission of blue light, which all digital devices emit and are known to be
harmful to our eyes, and also trick our brain into thinking that it is still daytime.

These sleep disturbances even disrupt children’s academic life as when children are sleep
deprived during the night, they are too sleepy to concentrate during classes, leading to the
domino effect that seeps into all walks of their lives.
There have also been several recent studies which show that the lack of quality sleep in children
not only affects their academic performance but also affects their physical development,
productivity, attention, and energy levels. Therefore, it is essential for us to enforce strict rules
about smartphone usage at night to ensure quality sleep for our children.

 Effect on Mental Health

The increased use of smartphones makes children addicted to social media as most children use
social media as a platform to connect with friends and to be updated on the new trends today. It
is commonplace for children to compare themselves with their peers and to even post content in
a certain manner to gain more engagement.

The Internet is a very vast space and there is a high probability of children encountering a variety
of inappropriate behavior which may have a negative effect on their mental health. Many kids
who come in contact with cyberbullies and face harassment over the Internet only admit their
experience much later in life when the damage has already been done to their mental health.

New studies also suggest that an hour a day spent with their smartphones plays a significant part
in the rise of depression and anxiety among children. Kids and teens who use social media tend
to have low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and poor-quality sleep according to the British
Psychological Society.

 Affects Their Ability to Learn

Many researchers have confirmed that smartphones are detrimental to children’s social and
economic development as the Child’s attention is diverted by the use of it. To be more specific,
the use of interactive screen time on hand-held devices such as smartphones also impairs
children’s development of the skills needed to learn math and science according to the findings
of the research.

As most children carry phones along with them to their schools and classes these days, it is the
smartphones that take precedence over what is being taught at school. The result of such
behavior is an obvious impact on their academic performance as children increasingly become
addicted to their smartphones and fail to pay attention during class and miss out on important
chapters consequently being clueless about the same during examinations, causing low grades.

There is also a high chance of academic malpractice as smartphones are capable of storing a lot
of educational information and give the children the ability to find any answer at their fingertips.
As simple as storing screenshots or pictures of notes, to using the internet to search for an answer
or using the inbuilt calculator in test where using a calculator is not allowed, to even exchanging
answers with other students via chat during the exams are all behaviors that have been widely
observed in various schools. These kinds of activities not only lower their grade and reduce their
learning capacity but also result in personality issues.