Utopian and Dystopian Impacts of Mobile Phones on Humanity

SOCIOLOGY
Social and cultural issues of interactive

SOCIOLOGY 1
The field of technology is constantly evolving. A number of debates have been conducted on
the lines that with the benefits of ongoing innovations or developments, comes the damages
in the form of risk of improper use leading to a number of issues. Over the years, numerous
innovations have been taken place in the mobile phone industry, making the same as one of
the prime necessities of humans in the modern world. The following work is aimed at
analysing the utopia and dystopian impacts of the mobile phones on humanity. An
understanding of the utopian and dystopian impacts leads to a situational investigation and
gives an insight of the manners in which the technology is conceptualised as a whole and is
promoted among humans.
Technology, which is comprised of skills, processes, and techniques, was initially
characterised by the utilization of natural resources by humans as simple tools, and evolution
of telephones into mobile phones is one of them. The word utopia means an ideal place which
is a true paradise. The utopian view of mobile phones is characterised by the millennialism
comprised of progressive movement of humanity towards the ultimate fulfilment (Yar, 2014).
It is significant to note that the company Motorola that is over 46 years ago from today
developed the first mobile phone in the year 1973. The act of being able to call wirelessly
was considered as a major step forward in the age of information. Since then the mobile
phones have been shaping the way humans are communicating with each other. It is essential
to note further that in the wake of continuous development, the mobile phone is often the first
phone for many individuals thereby opening new channels for communication for the humans
who never installed expensive and comprehensive infrastructure to communicate, as in the
case of installation of the land lines. The changing facets of communication with the aid of
the mobile phones can be stated to be in the physical space as well as the hybrid spaces. The
embracing of spaces among the humans by the aid of the mobile phone has also encouraged
imagination about the distant contexts and the worlds (Rambe and Nel, 2015).
Another developmental product of the mobile phone is that mobile phones have
revolutionised the business operations, thereby making the information and communication
technology sector most dynamically growing sector in the world. The economic costs of
distance, travelling and infrastructure have decreased strikingly because of the new
generation mobile phones that are capable of doing similar functions like that of a computer,
combined with the benefits of the internet (Foth et. al, 2011). The benefits are further
extended in the areas of the tracking the location which is helpful not only in individual and
business contexts, but also in the case of police investigations and gathering of the criminal