Cell Phone Rough Draft.

From the Motorola Dyna TAC 8000X, which only made phone calls, to the latest phones such as the Blackberry Storm 2, Droid, and iPhone, which do things such as send texts in a matter of seconds and search the internet faster than a desktop could, technology has changed dramatically over the years.

Twenty years ago most people would have never imagined that cell phone usage has been banned in most states from even being used in a vehicle. After becoming one of the most important means of communication, 38 percent of households have even gotten rid of their landlines, because of their cell phones, with about 250 to 300 million cell phones being used in the United States.

Although the daily usage of making calls is higher than texting, 63 percent to be exact. Texting still has a very large impact. With Americans sending a total of 1 trillion texts in the year of 2008, teenagers sent an average of 1,500, being considered the largest users of texting. While in 2009, 94 percent of the overall texts sent in one year were from teens, although the usage for older ages has increased as well.

As I interviewed Natalie Ferryman, a 28 year old Dental Assistant, I asked, “How old were you when you got your first cell phone?” after sitting and thinking for a few seconds she was left puzzled. “I did not have one during high school, I remember that. I got my first cell phone the beginning of my sophomore year in college. And to think, my 13 year old step-son has one now.” And when I asked Judy Fogle, a 68 year old Realtor, the same thing she said, “I did not get a cell phone until my husband made me, he wants me to keep it in the car to be safe I guess. I never use it anyway, but do not tell him that.”

It is clear that cell phones are becoming more popular generation by generation. Even bringing something else that people twenty years ago would have never imagined, sexting, sending naked or vulgar images of either oneself or another person through a text message. Now banned in most schools and it has even gone so far that cell phone providers such as Verizon and AT&T are trying to put a stop to it. Fifty percent of people have admitted to flirting through a text, while 20 percent has admitted to sending a sext.

When I asked Ashley Jeter what she thinks about sexting she said, “I think it degrades people, and they don’t really think that it hurts them as much as it does. Even when a bad picture is being passed around high school, like I can remember happening a lot at my school, it can lead to horrible things not many people consider before they hit the send button.” With the rates getting out of control, not all people send sext, 37 percent of all photos that men send via cell phone are of poop that they send to their buddies.

For some fun facts, most cell phones have a full ounce of ear wax and dirt build up in the holes that cover the speakers. The most common word used in a text is not a word; it is in fact a letter, “r”. The number 2 is the most used cell phone number used, with 0 being the least. There are as many active cell phones on the planet as there are people. And up to 60 percent of the radiation that is emitted from a cell phone will be absorbed by the users head.

It is hard to imagine that cell phones have changed so much in the past 45 or so years. Even though there are many negative and positive affects that come from something that is used by almost every American today, the cell phone has become something that is hard to picture life without.