Hand Held Devices in Society: Pros and Cons

Brief Explanation of Hand-Held Devices Tetrad. by Devonee Trivett Hand held mobile devices such as Smartphones and tablets create improvements in human communications, accessibility to information and new technology applications. This technology also enhances personal autonomy, and the ability to manage information and time. With the emergence of this new technology cameras and telephones are becoming obsolete. What this technology creates as unintended consequences -and may eventually lead to its eventual obsolescence- are changes to face to face relationships and modern conversations, challenges to etiquette, infringement upon personal family time or personal time, and privacy. The advent of popular use of this device among teens and the younger generation has increased their ability and willingness to communicate through text and pictures in ways and in numbers that they did not previous to the advent of this device, and this technology rekindles a heated discussion on the ethics of communication and privacy that had not been important to the average person before the emergence of this technology. Hand held devices retrieve a renewed sense of interconnectivity, something lost in our modern world where many before this device had emerged felt isolated. Hand held devices are also used in the classroom, creating a multitude of new learning opportunities for all types of learners. This is also a way to motivate digital learners, who feel comfortable with this mode of learning. "Handheld technologies like personal digital assistants (PDAs), iPads, wireless laptop, e–reader and smart phones are causing a paradigm shift in education" (Ochola,Stachowaik, & Bills, April, 2013. This creates a ripple effect in the educational community, which is why education is both exciting, and experiencing a detectable shift, that can be felt by all today. Reference Ochola,E., Stachowaik, J., & Bills, D. (April, 2013). Learning environments and rapidly evolving handheld technologies. First Mind: Peer Reviewed Journal on the Internet.18, 4-1 Retrieved @ http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3932/3643.