“Research has found that smart phones are affecting productivity, communication in the work place,

social engagement, and have an effect in education”. Do you agree with this statement?

1.What is a Smartphone?2.How does a smart phone differ from a normal phone?3.Statistics of how many people use smartphones4.Disadvantages of smart phones5.Effects on productivity, communication in the workplace.6.Effects on social engagement7.Effects on education.8.Research findings9.Conclusion 10. References

What is a smart phone?

A Smartphone is a cell phone that has more capabilities than a typical phone, such as Web browsing, full keyboards and e-mail. A smartphone is probably best described as a hybrid of a cell phone and a personal computer

How does a Smartphone differ from a cell phone?

A Smartphone differs from a cell phone in that it has many advanced features as well general cell phone features. A Smartphone has its own operating system, some form of QWERTY keyboard, web access, and can be expanded with many types of software. Smartphones include the iPhone, Blackberry, and Android phones among others.

How many people own and use smartphones?

Note: users of smartphones start from as young as 13, at this age it is dangerous to expose a child to social networking.

Disadvantages of a smartphone

High cost-Most cell phone providers require users to sign long-term contracts. Internet access is provided at an additional cost, raising the cost of owning a smartphone monthly depending on the terms of the contract.

Stalkers- the social networks that users of smartphones access can be accessed by anyone.

Mature content- unlimited internet access can expose children below the ages of 18 to porn and dating websites.

Effects on productivity, communication in the workplace

difficult for users to designate clear delineation between work life and home life

Users are distracted by incoming messages and constant notifications

Do work half heartedly, errors occur or incompletion of tasks

Users are too busy communicating with contacts on chat rooms and not colleagues.

Effects on social engagement

Body language- people read how you are feeling by judging body language. Users are accustom to texting, struggle to express themselves vocally.

Social events- users attend popular events. Hard to socialise there because of maximum attendance.

The who’s who- users only socialise and communicate with fellow users.

Effects on education.

Concentration- students don’t give full attention to what is being taught, they are too distracted. Can lead to failure.

Peer pressure- students without smartphones feel left out and don’t belong. Could affect learners attitude about school

Colloquialism and slang- students use abbreviated words and non-formal English in essays and get marked down. Essays and assignments have grammatical errors.

Conclusion

With all the information gathered it is clear to see that although the smartphone is a huge advancement in technology, its cons, outweigh its pros. And there are areas that are directly and indirectly effected by smartphones, such as the personal and professional life of users. Smartphones are linked very closely to social networking, which leaves people distracted in the workplace, makes people aloof or unable express themselves vocally and subjects users to possible stalkers and untrustworthy characters. In younger children, a free access to internet can expose them to porn and dating sites.

http://www.ehow.com/list7468796_disadvantages_smartphone.html.(accessed 30 March 2011)

http://www.rim.com/smartphone_survey.(accessed 30 March 2011)

http://www.ask.com/computers/other/what+is+a+smartphone.(accessed 30 March 2011)