Analyzing the Social and Cultural Effects of Smartphones on Society

This report, prepared for KIT311/KIT611, examines the broad societal impacts of mobile phones and smartphones. It begins by defining and applying three key theoretical perspectives: Technological Determinism, Uses Determination, and Social Determination, to analyze the effects of mobile technology. The report explores how mobile phones have reshaped communication, business, healthcare, and education, highlighting both positive and negative consequences. It discusses the ease of communication, access to information, and advancements in various sectors, while also addressing concerns about social interactions, privacy, and health. The analysis covers the evolution of mobile phones from communication devices to multifunctional tools, evaluating their influence on social capital, work-life balance, and overall quality of life. The report concludes with a comprehensive overview of the mixed impacts, offering insights into the complex relationship between technology and society. The document is available on Desklib, a platform providing AI-powered study tools for students.

MANAGEMENT
Social and Cultural Issues of Interactive Digital Media

Introduction
With the enhanced globalisation and the increased dependence on technology, the world has
become a global village. One such technological advancement without which the present
human life seems to be unimaginable is the mobile phones. The role of the mobile phones has
now been not limited to a device for communication, rather the same have become
multifunctional devices comprising of functions like internet browsing, portable cameras,
social media platforms and many more. There have been several researches and arguments in
relation to the utility of the mobile phones and the mixed influence on the society.
The following report is aimed at evaluating the role of the mobile phones in the context of the
society. The objective is to understand both the negative and the positive impacts of the
mobile/ smart phone technology. The theories that would aid in the said evaluation are the
Technological Determinism, Uses Determination and Social Determination. The report would
be inclusive of an overall conclusion on the role of the mobile/smart phones on society.
Definitions
Technological Determinism is regarded as a prominent and a valuable perspective to
understand the influence of the technology on the society. The doctrine was devised by
Thorstein Veblen and is based on the Karl Marx principle who believed that technology holds
the potential to reform the various societal aspects. The term technological determinism
denotes a cause and effect relationship between technology and society. It can be rightly
referred to as an exogenous variable having an independent effect on non-technical
phenomenon. Thus, the idea behind the doctrine is that the technology leads to the shaping of
the society more, than the vice versa case (IGU Global, 2020). There are two concepts in the
technology determinism that are as follows. The first is that a predictable, traceable path is
followed by the technological development which is beyond any kind of cultural or political
influence. The second concept is that the development of technology further leads to the
organization of the society in a way that society develops itself even more. In simple words
believed by the technology determinists that newer means of production are devised by the
technological advancements, which further influence the economic, political and cultural
facets of the society, leading to the transformation of society itself.

In contrast to this, the Used Determination is defined as the theory where the utility of a
material thing is studied in relation to the advancements it has led to the human life. The
efficiency of any technology or a product or a service can be gauged by the changes in the
usages led by the same. In addition, yet another theory that would aid the review of the
influence of the mobile phones is the Social Determination Theory. It is significant to note
that the advancements and changes in the society can be understood with the changes in the
social relationship, a product or service has induced. Thus, as per the social determination
theory, the individual behaviour is determined by the social interactions and constructs,
instead of the objective or the biological factors. Thus, according to this theory, the changes
in the societal relationships are influenced by the surroundings, which includes the use of
phone or other technological changes in the external business environment.
Impact of the Mobile Phones
Technological Determinism
The integration of the mobile phones and the information technology has led to the evolution
of the society in numerous ways. The prime argument for the societal transformation is in the
form of the ease of the communication as led by the mobile phones. The ease of the
communication is not only in terms of the speed, but also in terms of the cost. The cell
phones are cordless and are easy to carry. Further, with the mobile phones becoming the way
of life, the cost of phone nowadays has also become economical and affordable by people
from all walks of life. The yet another argument in favour is in the form of internet browsing
as facilitated by the smart phones. The usage of the internet in the smart phones has become
the central aspect of the human lives, be it in areas of education, medicine, conduct of
business, banking or other aspects. Thus, the society has been influenced in terms of the
speedy conduct of various operations. The integration of the internet has become such
advanced that even the basic phones today are supported by the big screens that enable the
users to view information in a more detailed manner. Further, the phones are also a storage
device in itself. With the built in memory system, numerous details are saved into phone,
including the phone numbers. This further influences in the lesser usage of the paper (wood).
Uses Determination
The next perspective that has been used for the evaluation of the utility of the smart phones is
the uses determination. As stated in the previous parts, the usage of the mobile phone has not

just been restricted to communication. With increasing number of features, the mobile phones
have evolved into multitasking devices. Some of the prime usages of the phones from the
point of view of a common man are elaborated as follows. The mobile phone is in widespread
use for the entertainment and information purposes and connects people from all walks of
life. The smart phones have created new dimensions for the businesses and have deeply
influenced the business communication (Jacobs, 2017). The virtual team members find it easy
to connect with each other through video call and video conferencing facilities, irrespective
of the possession of the desktops or the laptop computers. Further, the sharing of the
information has become much easier with the installation of various applications and the ease
of checking the emails. Further, the mobile phones are supported with the spread sheet and
document formatting features to further aid the communication. In addition, the organisations
are able to connect with the consumers through customised applications, study the analytics
of the product choices and preference and thus, mould the business strategies accordingly.
Thus, with the advancements in the business operations, the business entities have easily
become the global organisations, supporting the societies in economic terms.
The yet another sector of society that has been deeply influenced by the usage of the mobile
phone is medicine and healthcare. Some of the features that have aided in improvement of the
aspects of the clinical practices are the global positioning systems (GPS), sound recorders,
high-quality cameras, and others (Ventola, 2014). It has been assessed in various researches
that the mobile phones have led to the better point of care coordination. If the doctors and
nurses can coordinate with the patient more efficiently in relation to follow up process and
medication, not only the individuals, but the society as a whole is benefited, by the decrease
in the re admissions of the patients and early recoveries. Further the network aids in the
movement of data faster and seamlessly among the professionals (Can, Arnrich and Ersoy,
2019). As per the data of American Medical Association (AMA), there are issues of burnout
being experienced by 60 per cent of medicine doctors in emergency services, the reason
being the clerical and tedious tasks of data entry and such (Kays Harbor Technologies, 2020).
The mobile devices are aiding the doctors in recording of the data with lesser errors and the
synchronization of the phones aid in accessing the information at finger tips. In addition the
synchronization between the various health and wellness applications and digital devices
have led to advancements in the overall quality of life. One of its most recent form of
application is in the form of the phone applications for the pandemic Covid- 19, where the

regulators can connect and pass information to the citizens. This regulatory health based
application usage of phone has been followed in most of the countries at present.
The yet another area of society that has been transformed deeply because of the use of the
mobile phones is the teaching and learning, by devising innovative educational methods. The
mobile devices have acted as a tool of bridging the parents’ teacher gap, and have led to
stimulation of motivation and strengthening of engagement (Sung, Chang and Liu, 2016).
Further, the mobile devices act as a great content-delivery tool. The students around the
world can easily access the lectures and learning material and thus, the trend of distance
learning has advanced (Kuznekoff and Titsworth, 2013). Some of the key tools that are used
in the processes are the e-books, classroom response system, digital pen, pocket dictionary
and others. Hence, the above section highlights how the involvement of the mobile phones
has been useful to the society.
Social Determination
The next perspective that would aid the examination of the utility of the smart phones is the
social determination which would highlight the impacts on the social life in general. Mobile
phone has transformed into a hybrid technology which involves the integration of the video,
audio, messaging and displaying functionalities. With each passing year, the phones are being
more characterised as non-communicative devices as well. The phones are increasingly being
used in place of cameras and other variety of activities. There are mixed views in context of
the societal connections with the increased usage of the mobile or smart phones. The different
uses of the phones have aided in filling the gaps in the social capital in the earlier times where
the same was hindered because of time and distance. In the word of Rainie and Wellman
(2012), the mobile phones have led to the building of the diverse social networks. It has been
further argued that as the information is just a fingertip away, there has been a higher degree
of informational and emotional support, improving the quality of life. The non-civic
behaviours like playing games, listening to music has improved the personal recreation
activities. Further, the access of the social media sites, dating and similar applications have
made it easier in the maintenance of the social capital.
In contrast to this, Turkle (2011) has stated that there is prevailing excessive dependency on
phones in the society which has also led to the reduction of the face to face interactions. The
preference of texting over voice communications and physical interactions in the community
has led to the decline in the social and emotional commitment. Further, the boundaries

between the work life and the personal life have been reduced. It has been further argued that
there are consistent issues in relation to the data and privacy breaches as most of the
information stored in the phones is linked with the online applications and electronic portals.
There are several instances of loss of data because of the inadequate security patches,
antivirus software, malicious apps being downloaded and phishing. One of the yet another
major arguments that has been stated is that the people in general are excessively hooked on
to mobile phones and are severely distracted and often anxious and depressed at workplace
and similar settings (Elhai et. al, 2017). Harmful health effects can be seen as well in the form
of increased stress in the society, followed by psychological issues, hearing ailments,
headaches and sleep disorders. Further, the excessive use of social media is also known to
decrease the productivity of the employees. Not only the productivity of the employees is
reduced, but from the social point of view, the excessive usage of phones by the employees in
the organisation may lead the sensitive details of the organisation on the risk. There has
developed a culture of online interactions and gaming, even for the kids as young as a year
old. Hence, on the social interactions front, there are mixed reviews regarding the utility of
the mobile phones.
Conclusions
The discussions conducted in the previous parts lead to the conclusion that the mobile phone
or the smart phones are undoubtedly one of the significant technological inventions for the
mankind. The work highlighted the various aspects of the mobile phone usage in the modern
society and how has the latter transformed. The three perspectives that have been explored in
detail are that of technological determinism, uses determination and social determination. It
has been assessed that there is a positive relationship between smart phones and society in
context of technological determinism, as there is an overall savings in time and cost of
information and interactions, making it a sustainable invention. In the uses determination
perspective, the various usages of the smart phones and the key societal areas transformed are
highlighted. The business operations, education sector and the health sectors has been
tremendously transformed. Further, the social determination perspective has also been
studied. In this perspective it was found that there are both positive and negative arguments
on the effects of smart phones in context of social capital. While some of the researchers
argue the interactions have improved, others argue that personal space is hindered and there

is loss of efficient communications. Hence, it can be concluded that the smart phones have
undoubtedly influenced the society in one or the other way.

References
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