Introduction:

The advancement in technology has made a huge difference in society. Cellphone technology has made communicating with others easy and more accessible. In addition to being able to communicate with anyone while on the go, you also have the ability to surf the web, check you bank accounts, social media, and send and receive communications of all kinds. With the capacity to be used as phonebooks, appointment calendars, internet portals, tip calculators, maps, gaming devices, and much more, smartphones seem capable of performing an almost limitless range of cognitive activities for us, and of satisfying many of our affective urges (Smith et al., 2013, p. 19). However, as useful as cellphones are, they can also be very addictive and can become harmful to one's self or others. Statement of Problem Cell phone use has become ubiquitous, particularly among teenagers and young adults (Smith et al., 2013, p. 19). Due to the Christmas holiday approaching, I decided to go to a local mall for about three hours. I assumed it would be been busy with people trying to get gifts and catch sales. I entered the mall and walked from one end to the other monitoring the customers walking through the mall as well. Within those three hours, I observed many individuals on their cellphones. Many of them were so into their phones they barely looked up to even see where they were going. As I was walking and watching others, I started to notice that many of them appeared to be young adults. Some of them were in groups of three or four. Usually, all of them were looking at their cellphones rarely paying attention and if everyone was not, at least 50% of them were. There were a few young parents who had their children with them. Many of them seemed to be either talking on the phone or actually looking at their phones while walking through the mall. Even when I stepped inside a few stores to shop, I also observed that there were many people walking around looking at their phones. Throughout my time in the mall, many of the individuals I observed on their phones distracted were younger individuals, and young adults. I even observed a few people run into clothing racks, walls, and bump into individuals while being distracted by their cellphones. Discussion With the advancement in cellphone technology, cell phone ownership has grown exponentially over the years. Cell phone use in the United States grew more than 3.1-fold during the study years 2000 to 2011: from 97 million to 306 million connections (Smith et al., 2013). It is no secret that too much of anything is bad for you. The same statement can be said for cell phones, as they come with not only a physical price tag but an invisible one as well. The amount of cellphone usage in the youth and young adult age groups can be considered alarming. Cellphone distractions have been known to cause injury and death to so many individuals. During my observation, I witnessed multiple "accidents" that caused people to run into objects and other people. While smartphones and related mobile technologies are recognized as flexible and powerful tools that, when used prudently, can augment human cognition, there is also a growing perception that habitual involvement with these devices may have a negative and lasting impact on users' ability to think, remember, pay attention, and regulate emotion (Wilmer et al., 2017).

Analysis:

Distraction while driving is a sprouting serious road safety issue that causes a proportion of preventable deaths (Eid & Abu-Zidan, 2017). Cellphones are extremely addictive and distracting. As portable media devices, such as smartphones, have become an increasinglypervasive part of our lives, they have also become increasingly capable of supplementing, or even supplanting, various mental functions (Smith et al., 2013, p. 19). The level of distraction caused by cellphones is unhealthy and should be addressed. Being distracted doing any task, makes it difficult to effectively complete the task at hand, especially driving. Performing a secondary task will distract us from the primary task. Telecommunication keeps us connected with others with great advantages. Nevertheless, this has increased the injury and death on roads (Eid & Abu-Zidan, 2017, p. 496).

Findings:

There is a growing body of work exploring how technology-related habits may be affecting the development of individuals' social competencies and emotion reading, cellphone distraction is another one to be added to the list. Road traffic collisions (RTC) continue to be a global public health problem. RTC was the ninth leading cause of death in 2004 (Eid & AbuZidan, 2017, p. 495). Not only does consistent cellphone usage affect you as a driver, but it can also affect you as a pedestrian in addition your health such as your hearing and sight. Although the use of a cell phone can limit ipsilateral hearing and peripheral sight (sensory deprivation), all features of the phone (texting, watching media, typing in phone numbers) require attention, limiting faculties that a pedestrian would otherwise devote to assessment of his/her surroundings (Smith et al., 2013, p. 21). If someone is focused on their phone more than anything else, they start to neglect the things that are important such as safety and wellbeing. During my observation I found that individuals neglected their surroundings and wellbeing while being immersed into their cellphones. Individuals were walking into objects and even other people as they were into their cellphones talking, texting, scrolling through social media and whatever else they were using their cellphones for. The most common distraction behaviors while driving were; using a mobile phone, being pre-occupied by thinking, talking with other passengers, handling things inside the vehicle, and using the entertainment systems (Eid & Abu-Zidan, 2017, p. 496). If someone is not able to pay attention to the direction they are walking in while on the phone, it makes sense that driving while being distracted with a cellphone can be deadly.

Conclusion:

Using a cell phone while driving increases the risk of having a road traffic collision by fourfold. (Eid & Abu-Zidan, 2017, p.496). The 21st century has already provided us with a vast array of technological advances that markedly shape the ways by which we interact with the world (Smith et al., 2013, p. 20). Being distracted by anything especially a cellphone can cost someone their life. The rapid development in the era of technology forces us to be connected with others wherever we are. Furthermore, the pressure of time led us to combine multiple tasks to save time (Eid & Abu-Zidan, 2017, p. 491). Cell phones can be a useful tool to communicate and get tasks done. However, using your cellphone and driving or trying to do anything else that requires your attention can lead to fatal consequences. Be smart and wait to post that video, respond to that text or look at that post when you are in motion. It could save your life or someone else's.