Essay Sample on In a World of Growing Population: Effective Communication is Key

Introduction

In a world with an Increasing Population, the need for an effective and efficient means of communication is highly increasing. Communication refers to the process of disseminating verbal or non-verbal communication from one person to another. Communication can be conducted orally through face-to-face means or via the use of telephones. In this kind of communication, the communicators can hear each other's voices. Non-verbal communication entails passing information in written formats. For instance, it involves using letters, emails and telegraphs to pass information from one person to another. When the different forms of communication are supplemented with technology, we call it telecommunication. The International Telecommunications Union defines telecommunication as "the passing of information whether it is in the form of signals, signs, pictures, sounds, and signs through electromagnetic channels which include wires and optical cables." Therefore, telecommunication encompasses various technologies such as the internet, television, mobile phone, and the radio. Although multiple forms and areas of telecommunication exist, this paper is specifically interested in telephones, their evolution into smartphones, and the future trends in the use of phones.

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Background

Telephones date back into the 1870s, specifically 1876 when it was first invented. Before phones, people used telegraphs. This dates back to 1836. Since there was a more excellent agency for efficient communication, Antonio Meucci devised a gadget that in 1849 that made it possible to pass voice messages via a line (Duncan & Gay, 2018). However, it could only require the receiver to place the device in the mouth for communication to be effective. The search for a better gadget continued and in 1876, Alexander Ball and Elisha Gray were able to come up with a standard telephone (Duncan & Gay, 2018). By 1917, the devices had been installed in New Haven and London for use as commercial phones. Although the telephone served a great communication need, another need to have a portable communication device aroused (Duncan & Gay, 2018).

The working of telephones depends on the availability of electronic connections, which callers establish when they call the intended numbers. According to McLean et al. (2017), the microphone in the device transmits electric signals to the other person and they receive it as a voice message. The receiver receives the information using a microphone. In landlines, the speakers' voice is equivalent to the signal voltage, meaning it is analogue. The disadvantage of analogue communication is its ability to pass information only to short distances but not over long distances since it experiences much interference which disrupts communication (Xu & Wang, 2017). The invention of mobile phones was an awakening revelation to the world since it permitted the transmission of data and messages over long distances at the same time. It also meant that portable communication devices were available for use.

After World War II, the first mobile phone was invented. This was the first design of phones that ever existed. In 1973, Motorola Company became the first company to ever create a cell phone (McLean et al., 2017). This happened in Japan as the country had a great support system for automated networks for commercial use. Other countries saw the need for computerized systems in the 1980s but it was not until 1991 that Finland adopted digital signals and abandoned the analogue signals. According to McLean et al. (2017), the generation of mobile phones has been progressively advancing from first to the fourth generation. Following this advancement, it became clear the need for a mobile phone that has computing abilities. Computing services include internet, photography, business services i.e. banking services, games, sending and receiving emails, and watching online videos.

Companies Involved

Since the inception of phones, several companies have come up to take the technology a notch higher, with most of the mobile phone companies hosted in the United States of America. Companies like Microsoft, Apple, and Motorola are USA based companies. Microsoft manufactures phones like Nokia while Apple manufactures products like iPhones, HP and Dell. It has been established that Motorola also provides phones with the same names (Xu & Wang, 2017). Recently, China has become a force to reckon in the global market in phone technology. Companies like Oppo, Alcatel, Lenovo, Hisense, Technology Happy Life, ZTE, and Huawei are hosted in China (Xing, 2019). On a global scale, China and the USA have the most mobile phone producing companies. Japan follows closely with companies like Panasonic, Sony mobile corporations and Sansui (McLean et al., 2017). Companies like LG and Samsung are located in South Korea. It should be noted that Samsung is among the most significant phone manufacturers. Taiwan hosts companies such as HTC, Acer and Asus. In the United Kingdom, we have companies such as Vodafone (Xu & Wang, 2017).

There has been an increased level of competition in the smartphone industry, prompting an increased availability of smartphones at lower prices. Many companies have opted for smartphones over landlines, making them less on demand. When smartphones were first introduced, their application was incredibly high despite the high price they were sold at during that time. Ever since, smartphones have flooded the market, and hence their low prices. According to Viswanathan & Bhatnagar (2015), the lower rate for smartphones is attributed to the high level of competition between smartphone companies. Today, phones are cheaply available even for those poor people in the village since the price has gone down. Moreover, competition has resulted in the development of more advanced and sophisticated devices. Mobile phone producers keep on improving camera resolution and quality each day to attract customers. Besides, the new designs can host various communication and social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp. Today, smartphones can make and receive video calls.

Regulatory Factors

Using telecommunication devices and mobile phones come with several regulatory considerations. Contrary to products like tobacco and alcohol that have age and time restrictions for its consumers, cell phones can be used irrespective of age and time. This means that anyone can use a mobile phone at any given time. This has proved challenging to manage and regulate the use of such devices, especially among teenagers and school-going juveniles. The use of mobile phones has proved quite dangerous, especially in the hands of young people. The organize strikes through the phone while in school, they get exposed to erotic content such as pornography since they have easy access to the internet, and they obtain information on abortion and the use of sexual pills using their phones. All these things have devastating effects on the life of young people. According to Viswanathan & Bhatnagar (2015), parents have found it difficult tracking down what their children do with their phones. The absence of strict rules regulating mobile phone use by the call centres has resulted in the thriving of terrorism.

Privacy inversion has been a significant concern and regulatory issue in telecommunication and mobile phone use. Maintaining the privacy of shared information has become the most challenging thing in a world of hacking. Through hacking of personal messages and conversations, criminal activities and instances of bullying have become vividly evident today. Companies hack one another through the phone calls made by one manager to another or by sharing information via the company phone. Xu & Wang (2017) observed that governments only question their privacy when citizens hack government servers and share information with the citizens openly. Mobile phones have made it possible to have increased incidences of crime against companies, governments, and individuals through hacking. Monitoring and regulating people's calls, internet use and text messages is a necessity if the public has to be protected from piracy and crimes associated with the hacking of their personal information. Nevertheless, this measure will attract a lot of criticism as it advances a motive to deprive personal privacy.

Another regulatory issue associated with mobile phone use is crossing the road and driving while using your phone. There is a gradual increase in the number of road accidents caused by driving while using phones (Oviedo-Trespalacios et al., 2020). One does not know the kind of information they can receive while driving. One may receive either saddening or exciting information, which might lead to an accident (Oviedo-Trespalacios et al., 2017). Pedestrians who cross the road while texting or use earphones might get preoccupied with the conversation or play loud music and forget they are crossing the street. This results in tragic accidents. It has been advised that drivers and pedestrians should keep their phones away when on the road. More importantly, for drivers, they should first pack their vehicles before engaging in any phone conversations they risk causing fatal accidents (Oviedo-Trespalacios et al., 2017). Similarly, pedestrians should not cross crossroads when on their phones. Strict charges have been put up by the government on anyone found involving in these life-risking events while driving or crossing the road (Oviedo-Trespalacios et al., 2020). Although communication is critical, the way people conduct themselves has put many lives at risk. It, therefore, beats logic if communication is the cause of people's tragic death.

Connecting to other phones without the user's consent has been enabled by the various available applications. Applications like hotspot connectivity and Bluetooth allow the user to view information from another person's phone. Most people are not aware of this; thus, their information is manipulated and used for the wrong reasons (Oviedo-Trespalacios et al., 2020). Although sharing information is the goal of communication, there is always the target recipient. For this reason, it is not ethical to hack into someone else's phone and extract private information. This is a moral issue that requires government intervention. Besides, the telecommunication companies need to customise these devices in such a way that personal privacy is given a priority in terms of sharing information from such applications.

The last regulatory factor regards sharing information using mobile phones. It has proved challenging to regulate information shared through mobile phones. Today, nude content is shared via the internet without any shame and the fear of anything happening to them. Society considers people sharing nude and erotic content very courageous and fresh while dismissing those decent sharing content (Sillice et al., 2018). Due to the increasing number of people acquiring smartphones daily, regulating this kind of content has become difficult. It is interesting how manufacturers leave the responsibility of phone use to the consumers after they sell to them. While communication has been made easy by the use of mobile phones, it has also exposed young children to erotica and pornographic content. This has led to the erosion of values in society. Parents should play a leading role in ensuring that children are not exposed to dirty content by regulating what they can view using their phones (Sillice et al., 2018). There is, therefore, a need for the government to control the use of mobile phones by registering them. The government should also put up measures to prevent hacking of information from other people.

Global Implication of Mobile Phone Use

The use o...