Advantages and disadvantages of mobile phones

Introduction

The use of smartphones or smartphones today is becoming increasingly widespread among the people regardless of age limits. In the past, only adults were using cell phones but nowadays, schoolchildren have also used mobile phones including smartphones.

The widespread use of smartphones among schoolchildren has had a negative impact on students as students become more passive, infecting social phenomena such as surfing pornographic websites and discarding time playing games in the smartphone and so on affecting student achievement in the lesson.

Smartphones are a sophisticated, dynamic and mobile tool that provides users with access to information no matter when and where (Al-Barashdi et al, 2015; Alfawareh and Jusoh, 2014). The capacity of smartphones capable of operating like computers provides a great deal of convenience to consumers and increases the level of smartphone ownership and the way they are used (Lay-Yee et al., 2013; Weinberg, 2012). Through the use of smartphones, many activities can be implemented including information sharing, communication, internet browsing, document creation and editing and other activities (Al-Barashdi et al, 2015). The ease of recording photos and videos as well as multiple apps also contributes to increasing the use of smartphones (Weinberg, 2012). With the advent of various applications on smartphones, it has become popular among consumers especially for socialization purposes that are able to enhance communication (Hong et al., 2012).

The Malaysian Institute of Occupational Safety and Health is a Department under the Ministry of Human Resources. It is responsible for ensuring the safety, health and welfare of the person at work, and protecting others from the safety and health hazards arising from the activities of various sectors.

The Institute works to conduct research, research, development and technical analysis on occupational safety and health issues that exist at workplaces. The Institute also serves to enforce the following laws:

Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 and regulationsmade under it.

Factories and Machinery Act 1967 and regulations made thereunder.

Part of the Petroleum (Safety Measures) Act 1984 and the regulations made thereunder.

In addition, the institute also conducts technical reviews and analysis on occupational safety issues in place of work besides carrying out programs of encouragement and publicity to employers, workers and the public to foster and raise their awareness of security and occupational health.

Finally, the institute also serves as a place to provide advisory and information services to government and private agencies in terms of management and technical aspects that relate to occupational safety and health.

Purpose of the Report

In the world around this scientific and technological progress, mobile phones have become a necessity for most humanity. In the past, only the rich people who used mobile phones, but now, in the life of this materialistic world, most adults, teenagers and students and primary school students are also able to use mobile phones. Teenagers and elementary students also follow the footsteps of adults using mobile phones. Have we ever thought about the implications of mobile phone use among students? As a result, good and bad implications that color the focus of the discussion will be described in detail for the sake of mutual benefit.

As an Occupational Safety and Health Manager, it is my responsibility to ensure that the Occupational Safety and Security standards pertaining to the use of mobile phones and tighter measures will be recommended. I will report on the advantages and disadvantages of using cell phones and submit proposals that are appropriate to their health or social impact to facilitate the parties responsible for providing a regulation or promotion on their use. 2. 0 Safety and Health Matters

Discussions on this report will be commenced on the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Next, the discussion on the use of mobile phones will be highlighted along with the proposed solution.

Occupational Safety and Health Act

The Occupational Safety and Health Act is an Act to make further provisions to ensure the safety, health and welfare of persons at work, to protect others against risks to safety or health in connection with the activities of persons at work. The Occupational Safety and Health Act has come into force on 25 feb 1994. Act 514 is formulated based on self-management which responsibilities ensure the safety and health of the workplace are to employers and employees as they manage other things at work such as production, administration and monetization.

The purpose of this Act is

• to ensure the safety, health and welfare of persons working at a risk to safety or health arising from the activities of persons at work;
• to protect persons at work other than those working at a safety or health risk arising from the activities of persons at work;
• to promote a working environment for working people tailored to their physiological and psychological needs;
• to prescribe the manner in which the relevant occupational safety and health legislation may be replaced in stages by an approved industry regulation and code of conduct, which is in force in conjunction with the provisions of this Act intended to maintain or improve safety and health standards.

Responsibilities of an Occupational Health Manager

As a health and Occupational Safety manager, my job includes advising employers on steps to take in the interests of safety and health. It is my responsibility to check and assist employers or stakeholders in ensuring the safety of their employees and their health. For this reporting purpose, I have also provided a mobile phone questionnaire to facilitate reporting on it.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Mobile Phones

Mobile phones have become a necessity for most societies. Mobile phones have become one of the most important communication mediums for the whole society in today’s world. Mobile phones are not only used as a tool to communicate but also have a variety of features and other functions such as browsing the internet, listening to music, playing games, camera apps, downloading videos and so on. With the following advantages, people worldwide are not limited to interacting within and outside the country, and mobile phones can be used for other purposes. Having a mobile phone is no longer a necessity but has become a current trend. From high-ranking officials, businessmen, college students to high school and junior high school students, already many have their own handsets. However, in the pursuit of modernity, the sophistication of cell phone functions has been misused by many parties resulting in adverse and negative effects on its use. According to the Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture, on average, a Malaysian now has two mobile phones. The statistics clearly show that mobile phones are a necessity in our lives. Consumers assume that mobile phones are a must which is one that is considered very useful without thinking about the problems they may face with uncontrolled use. Here are four possible problems that may arise based on the use of non-controllable handphones from their special users to students.

Cell Phones may be fatal

The more sophisticated mobile phones they use, the more applications they can use and of course require them to charge regularly. Users are often advised not to use a charged phone to avoid any blasting or injury. Mobile phone blasts are often associated with battery problems, overcharging or unauthorized charging devices. Recently, a mother of two eyes is the first victim to die of electric shock while talking on a charged cell phone. Some examples of dangers of mobile phones that have been proven with the occurrences are as below.

Malaysia-February 2007 – A poorly burned student at the site and right-hand fingers when the charging cell phone suddenly exploded and burned in his house. The cellphone placed under the pillow then fires and grabs a mattress. The victim acknowledged that the mobile phone may explode due to charge for too long.

Chicago-February 2016 – Gabbie Fedro is experiencing electric shock due to the use of a charging cell phone. He immediately did not expect the use of the iron chain in the neck to cause the flow of electricity to his body. As a result, she experiences permanent scarring around the neck.

Abandon

The addiction to smartphones is now a serious issue. In fact, the obsessive attitude towards this gadget has been given its own name, nomophobia or no-mobile-phone-phobia. Not only is it difficult to ‘ release’ yourself from ‘ spinning’ the phone, the stress will also indirectly appear if it can not answer a call or message. This keeps us focused on finding other alternatives by checking on social media.

The use of uncontrolled cell phones can result in wastage. This is because the teenagers want to have the latest mobile phone model when they see other friends as well. Not only that, students are forced to pay expensive phone bills because they often call and chat with friends even knowing their rates. The use of mobile phones among students has indeed affected their education. This is because students using unmanaged handsets will cause academic performance among students to decline. This is especially serious because education is the core of the power of the community to be competitive with global markets in a rapidly changing globalization era. For example, students have ignored their studies because the student’s focus during teaching and learning time has decreased. According to studies, the average young generation uses apps in smartphones to browse chat sites and virtual game apps so addictive. Implicitly, the student’s academic performance will decline because of the lack of initiative and the spirit to focus on the lesson. Furthermore, if students bring their mobile phones to school, they will not focus on learning but being complacent with video games. They also have to risk losing their handsets. It is evident that the addictive use of mobile phones among students will affect their academic performance.

Insomnia

The March 29 issue of Harian Metro states that among the adverse effects of a disease that can affect the health of students if the obsessive behavior of this technology continues without limitations is Insomnia where the use of smartphones such as video games, browsing the Internet and so on can indirectly affect the quality of sleep. Addiction to social media, for example, will bring the habit of night-numbing and ultimately leading to problems of lack of sleep and fatigue. Too dependent on technology will cause short-term memory to be less effective and may result in poor student memory. Every status and partnership that we see in Facebook’s ‘ newsfeed’ as an example, can also affect one’s mood. It can be a source of negative attitudes and jealousy when looking at pictures and reading about the status of other people can cause the student to get depressed. Smartphones can also be a place of accumulation of germs even more dirty than toilet brush holders. We know that germs can lead to a variety of diseases. The phone does not necessarily be cleaner than being a source of bacteria. A study at the University of Arizona, USA found a number of germs on the phone in quantities 10 times more than in the bathroom. So make sure you clean your smartphone as often as possible to prevent us from giving space to different types of illnesses. In addition, mobile phones will produce waves when we answer the phone and will interfere with the functioning of the brain, causing cancer or cancer.

Cell Phone Causes of Brain Cancer

A research conducted by a group of researchers led by Anna Lahkola from the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, Finland found that cellular phone use is persistent – although modern – increases the risk of brain tumor formation to many users. Research results are reported in the International Journal of Cancer.

A study conducted in Israel by researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science reported in the Biochemicla Journal found that the use of a cellphone for only 10 minutes could trigger changes in brain cells cited by cell division and cancer formation.

Earlier the pioneer who claimed the use of mobile phones as safe had defended their remarks that its use would not cause brain damage as the radiation level of the released microwave was very low to allow it to heat the body cells. In recent studies the changes in biological processes start at lower energy levels than those used by mobile phones. The biological changes are also found without heating. The conclusions that can be made from this study are the use of mobile phones that have bad implications for health.

In the study, researchers have exposed manudia and mice cells to low- frequency radiation with a frequency of 875 mehaHertz which is similar frequency used by most mobile phones. However radiation intensity is below the level used by most phones. Within 10 minutes the scientists found some changes in the cells. The working chemical switch controls open cell division – a switch that is associated with various types of cancer. From the study, there is no direct evidence that cancer is formed. Among the conclusions from the study were cells responded to mobile phone radiation in non-thermal form (not heating reasons). Rony Seger says they only use 1/10 of the radiation levels commonly used by mobile phones. They found strong evidence that mobile phone use causes the risk of having a brain tumor known as glioma increased between 40-70%. This increased risk goes to the head of the commonly used cellphone to attach the ear to the ear.

Actions to overcome the problems

Every problem there must have been a solution. Similarly, with the many problems in the use of mobile phones by today’s society. Hence, the best solution should be made to ensure that all of the above mentioned problems can be overcome or at least minimized.

The use of a deadly handset can be avoided by ensuring that it is not regularl charged when cell phone use is taking place. There should be routine on this and users should be more careful. Avoid using the cellphone when it is charging and control the use of cell phone batteries not often charged.

To prevent children from being exposed to mobile phones, the control of parents is indispensable. Parents should ensure that their children are usually controlled for mobile use by monitoring and setting certain times for use. Parents are also advised not to buy too much sophisticated mobile phones for the sake of their children as this will cause their special children to use their handsets without control and thus neglect them. With the neat control of parents and setting up mobile phone usage among their children will also reduce insomnia.

Imsonia is also not limited to students but to all hardcore cellphone users. It is also worthwhile to spend more time on other activities that are more beneficial than to face the phone all the time, especially the software that neglects and causes the mobile phone users to forget to relax.

Many studies have we read about the effects of cell phone use on our health. Hence, mobile phone users need to be cautious in the ongoing use of mobile phones without control. Limit the time to talk on the phone and do not practice too long conversations as it will damage our brain resistance as it is too much to deal with the radiation from the cell phone. 3. 0 Conclusion and Recommendations

On the whole, the use of cell phones is certainly a lot of benefit to consumers. Nevertheless, despite the advantages there is also the disadvantage that needs to be seen and avoided to make it a tool that is useful but not problematic to the user.

Conclusion

The speed of cellular technology will continue to grow over time. Technology is the thing we can not afford to block its development. Denying modern technology in life means ‘ killing’ its development in the digital era as well as globalization. Hence, the support and cooperation of all parties is essential to ensure their development in a healthy and safe environment. In addition to parents, these roles and responsibilities are also no exception to the government as policy builders, schools, communities of the place, the surrounding community and the parties involved directly create and plan the technology. All parties should take responsibility to ensure that users benefit from the abundance of available technology resources throughout their lives. Consequently, all parties are expected to play their respective roles and contribute in ensuring that the use of mobile phones is tailored to the situation and avoids negative effects and thus adopts a healthy lifestyle.

Recommendations

To ensure that the use of mobile phones is fully controlled in terms of health to consumers, all organizations involved with it should play a role. For suppliers of mobile phones, they should be more responsible in ensuring that the brands they have manufactured have been thoroughly inspected before being distributed to users to avoid occurring such things as exploding and so on.

For broadband providers, they need to be more responsible in ensuring the services they provide can be controlled. Website, language and terminology services should be accessible, clear and relevant to all users including children, young people, parents and guardians, especially related terms and conditions, privacy policies, safety information and reporting mechanisms. Service providers need to provide a place and procedure for managing complaints. For example, complaints about disruptions and content do not apply. Additionally, suppliers need to provide mechanisms such as links to report abuse of pictures or profiles directly connected with the authorities. Service providers also need to continuously assess the effectiveness of a technology that identifies and verifies the user’s age.

On the basis of policy makers, it is hoped that they will enforce laws to producers and consumers for the welfare of both. Increase the promotion of Education and Awareness by paying attention to stakeholder knowledge and experience as well as building internet security messages and materials that reflect cultural and legal norms and ensure that these are disseminated appropriately to all audiences.