In this blog post, we will look at the positive changes that smartphones have brought to our lives, as well as the dependence and side effects that have emerged alongside them.
We live in a knowledge-based society where diverse information is a competitive advantage. In an era where the ability to find the right information amid a flood of information is becoming increasingly important, what tools do we use to perform this task? If you look around while walking down the street, you will see many people using smartphones. Although this is not true for everyone, most people use smartphones. Since the advent of smartphones, we have been able to find information easily and quickly, and our lifestyles have changed significantly as a result.
Before the advent of smartphones, people had to go to libraries or use traditional media such as newspapers and magazines to obtain information. However, now, with a single smartphone, it is possible to easily search for information and quickly increase one’s level of knowledge. This has brought about a major change not only in terms of convenience but also in terms of equal access to information. In the past, access to information was limited, but now, anyone with a smartphone can access information from around the world.
First, a smartphone can be described as a multifunctional device that combines the advantages of a personal digital assistant (PDA) with the main function of a mobile phone. Smartphones are an evolution of conventional mobile phones. Conventional mobile phones enabled wireless communication with other mobile phones within a mobile communication network via base stations. They also allowed users to send text messages and use simple applications. Smartphones have all the features of mobile phones, with many additional features. For example, the Simon, released by IBM in 1992, was a smartphone produced by a joint venture between IBM and Bellsouth, and had a touch screen instead of a physical keypad. This smartphone had features that conventional mobile phones did not have, such as email, fax, and call functions, and included various applications. Most importantly, this mobile phone could be updated with various functions and even applications from other companies could be installed. However, despite being such an innovative product, sales were sluggish. Subsequently, with the spread of more innovative and useful smartphones, smartphones became widely available to the general public.
What improvements and additions were made to smartphones compared to conventional mobile phones? To list a few, conventional mobile phones had separate screens and keypads, but smartphones have touch screens, which are more convenient to use, and can perform computer functions through an operating system (OS). In addition, while conventional mobile phones were used passively by users, smartphones allow users to actively change how they use their phones.
With conventional mobile phones, users had to use pre-installed applications, but with smartphones, users can download the applications they need and delete those they don’t need, customizing their phones to suit their own purposes. These applications are called apps. As the app market continues to grow, the things we can do with smartphones are increasing. The development of smartphones has gone beyond simple technological advances and has changed our lives in every way.
For example, smartphones have brought about revolutionary changes in the field of health management. Health management applications linked to smartphones help users continuously monitor their health and manage their exercise and diet. This has enabled users to manage their health more actively, which is a great help to modern people who are highly concerned about their health.
What can we do with smartphones? With smartphones, we can use the Internet just like we do with computers. Computers were installed in one place and could only be used in a limited area, but thanks to smartphones, we can now use the Internet while moving freely. In addition, social networking services (SNS) have made it easier to keep up with our friends. With conventional mobile phones, we could only communicate by phone calls and text messages. However, with smartphones, we can now use SNS to share our daily lives and thoughts with many people and easily communicate with others. With various photo editing apps, even people who aren’t experts can make their photos look great before posting them on social media. There’s also voice recognition, which lets you give commands by voice, making it super handy for people who have trouble using their hands or in situations where it’s hard to use your hands. Now, you don’t even have to go to the bank to deposit money or check your balance. It is now possible to send money and check your balance anywhere using your smartphone. Recently, smartphones themselves are not only providing new functions, but also linking with other devices to provide existing functions more easily. Devices that are used in conjunction with smartphones are called wearable devices. Typical functions of wearable devices include receiving phone calls, sending simple text messages, measuring heart rate, and checking exercise levels. In addition, there are devices with various exercise assistance functions, and it is likely that more diverse functions will be developed in the future.
In addition to wearable devices, the emergence of the concept of smart homes has greatly expanded the use of smartphones in the home. Smartphones now enable functions such as controlling the lighting and temperature in the home and remotely controlling home appliances. In this way, smartphones are making our lives more convenient.
So far, we have briefly looked at smartphones. As we have seen, smartphones provide us with many conveniences and are bringing about revolutionary changes in various areas of our lives. Smartphones are likely to continue to evolve and provide us with even more features in the future. However, we should not become too dependent on smartphones because of this convenience. Much of our personal information stored on smartphones is vulnerable to hacking. We should also be aware that excessive smartphone use can cause turtle neck syndrome and vision impairment. At this point in time, when smartphones are widely available, we need to recognize that while they provide us with many conveniences, there are also problems associated with their use, and we need to use them with restraint.
