Andrew Smathers, Krysten Hughes

Persuasive Essay
Due Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Iphones, Androids, touch screens, texting, social media...what do

they all have in common? They can be dangerous in many cases and
ways. There are many dangerous side effects from cell phones, so
yes, cell phones are, in fact, dangerous. Cell phones can cause
health problems; cell phones also cause distractions, which could be
fatal; cyberbullying is also a negative impact from cell phones.
A primary reason cell phones are dangerous is because they cause
health problems. One health problem caused by cell phones is carpal
tunnel. Pamf.org says that carpal tunnel is caused when there is
excessive pressure on the median nerve. This occurs when repetitively
bending and extending your wrist, which happens during texting, typing,...
Cell phones are mainly used for texting these days, so carpal tunnel is very
likely. Another reason cell phones are dangerous is they can cause cancer.
On cancer.gov it is stated that cell phones emit radiofrequency energy, a
form of non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation, which can be absorbed by
tissues closest to where the phone is held (2013). As a result of the

amount of cell phone usage, cancer risks are on the rise. Furthermore cell
phones also cause changes in brain activity. On who.int it states scientists
have reported other health effects of using mobile phones including
changes in brain activity, reaction times, and sleep patterns.
A second reason cell phones are dangerous is because they can
cause distractions. There are many things that can cause distractions from
cell phones including GPS, texting, and social media. One of the many
ways cell phones can cause distractions is from the GPS on the phone.
You could be entering an address on your phone into the GPS look down to
type the last letter and it could be the last seconds of your life. On
Distraction.gov it says in 2012 alone 3,328 were killed in distracted driving
crashes. There are many ways cell phones can be distracting, and using
GPS while driving is one of them. A GPS could get you to where you need
to be faster and at the right place but it could also take your life if you're not
careful. A second way that cell phones can be distracted is by texting and
driving. 71% of teens and young people say they have composed/sent
SMS messages while driving (NHTSA.gov). That one or two minutes that it
takes for somebody to look away from the phone just to read or type a text
messages could be the last two minutes of your life. Take one small look at
your phone and a car would be coming at you and you wouldnt even

realize it, and once you do, it will be too late. Another thing that can cause
distractions on your phone is social media. While some of these photos
may be snapped while drivers are at a complete stop, the danger with
phone use while driving is that often drivers finalize posts after theyre in
motion..., looking away from the road for only two seconds doubles a
drivers risk of getting an accident. Posing and snapping a photo generally
takes longer than two seconds, with an additional three seconds or more to
post the photo and compose a creative comment to go with it
(socialmediaweek.org). Taking a selfie and posting it to a social media
site takes at least five seconds. Just two seconds doubles a drivers risk of
an accident, and it takes at least five seconds to take and post a selfie to
a social media site; two seconds doubles the risk of an accident, imagine
what five seconds could do.
One of the many reasons Cell Phones can be very dangerous is
cyberbullying. A claim on infohio.org stated that on January 14, 2010 a girl
named Phoebe Prince hung herself from being bullied online and at school
in Massachusetts. The school in Massachusetts has established an anti
bullying task force to help prevent this from happening again. Next, self
harm is another result caused by cyber bullying. On
meganmeierfoundation.org a report says that in 2011 2.2 million students in

9-12th grade experienced cyber bullying equal to 9% and started self

harming, Compared to the 6.2% in 2009. 71.9% reported being bullied
once or twice in a school year. Another big result from cyber bullying is
depression. If a child is bullied as a kid and has become depressed it can
continue on into their adult lives too. On Stopbullying.gov it says in 12 of
15 school shooting cases, the shooters had a history of being bullied.
In conclusion, there are many dangerous side effects from cell phone
use. Cell phones could be helpful but could also be very harmful for many
people. Cell phones can cause health problems, distractions, and
cyberbullying which could be fatal.
Works Cited
"Comprehensive Cancer Information." National Cancer Institute. Web. 03
Feb. 2015. <http://cancer.gov/>.
"Doctors, Patient Care, Health Education, Medical Research." Doctors,
Patient Care, Health Education, Medical Research. Web. 03 Feb.
2015. <http://pamf.org/>.
"Home | StopBullying.gov." Home | StopBullying.gov. Web. 03 Feb. 2015.
<http://stopbullying.gov/>.
"INFOhio Home." INFOhio Home. Web. 03 Feb. 2015. <http://infohio.org/>.
"Imagining the Future of Transportation." Home. Web. 03 Feb. 2015.

<http://NHTSA.gov/>.
"Our Mission." Megan Meier Foundation. Web. 03 Feb. 2015.
<http://meganmeierfoundation.org/>.
"WHO | World Health Organization." WHO | World Health Organization.
Web. 03 Feb. 2015. <http://who.int/>.