Sydney Simpson
English 1- 4
February 10, 2015

Ding! Amy’s phone chimed as she was cruising down Highway 80. As tempted as she was to take a quick glance, she remembered her parent’s number one rule: no texting while driving. “Come on, look! What’s the harm?” the phone seemed to chant. Like in Amy’s situation, everybody feels that pulling urge of their cell phones, whether it’s in the car, on a date, or even if it’s an escape from an awkward situation. However, lives are affected by cell phones in ways such as leading to distraction, but also quick effective communication.
The temptation of cell phones can cause both adults and teenagers to block out the world and plug-in to what is going on in the world of social media and texting. Though some distracting cell phone situations may not be very serious, others can be fatal depending on if someone is texting while driving or putting themselves in another fatal situation. For example, I keep my phone by my bed every night while I’m asleep and sometimes the flashing light from my phone screaming, “You got a text!” keeps me awake. Having my phone by my bed is definitely not fatal. However, texting while driving or another distracting phone situation could cause such a distraction that it costs a life.
In addition, cell phones can also be helpful by providing quick communication in emergency situations or just if some quality ranting is needed with a friend. Cells phones these days provide everything from video chat, to texting, to phone calls so there are many ways to communicate with others. Back in the unimaginable days where cell phones were non-existent, people couldn’t communicate like we can now with speed, ease, and convenience. If an emergency were to happen such as a break in or a house fire, it’s a piece of cake to dial that number we all learned in our early ages in need of help: 9-1-1. Having quick effective communication literally at the push of a few buttons is absolutely a life changing effect of cell phones.
After a mental battle with herself, Amy decided that it’s better off to wait to check her texts later than to risk her life catching up with the world of social media. Amy put her phone off to the side and kept her hands at ten and two. Therefore, cells phones provide advantages and disadvantages that affect people’s lives by causing distractions and allowing for quick effective communication.