Cell phones provide convenience

They are in classrooms, they are in neighborhoods, they are at parties and they are in churches.

Technology has made it possible for cell phone users to not only receive calls on the go, but also get sports updates, check the news and weather, surf the internet and receive stock quotes, flight information, directions and traffic reports.

Some have found it better to use a cell phone as their only telephone.

Statistics from the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association indicate that five percent of Americans have no landline phone number and use cell phones.

Justin Wimberly a Verizon Wireless sales representative said, cell phones are more convenient and more beneficial than landline phones.

“If you get in a car wreck you can’t exactly run back to your house and tell somebody to come and pick you up,” he said.

Some other advantages to having only a cell phone include having only one bill, having a phone number that follows you everywhere, overall convenience and usefulness in emergency situations, according to the CTIA.

“I think that both cell phones and home phones are equally useful,” said Shay Hicks, 21, an education student from Jacksonville.

“If I am out running errands I am still able to receive calls as though I am sitting in my living room,” she said.

“However, with home phones, you don’t worry about how many minutes you have left or if you have service.”

An adequate cell phone plan may cost much more than a landline service, and cell phones are not listed in phone directories.

Some companies have tried to accommodate the lifestyle and needs of students by offering plans that make day and night time, national, regional and local calls affordable.

These companies also offer prepaid phone plans and extra options, such as three-way calling, caller ID and free long distance.

“A land-line phone is more convenient because if you have a landline you have unlimited local calls and access to the Internet,” said Erica Giegg, 20, a history student from Fort Lauderdale.

“You also don’t have to worry about dropped calls,”

While cell phones can be convenient, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates that up to one-quarter of the 6.3 million reported traffic accidents in the United States each year are caused by drivers who use cell phones while driving.

Although these technologies have been invented, drivers are encouraged not to use their cell phones at all while driving.

Some scientists suspect that low-frequency electromagnetic radiation from mobile phones may cause health problems ranging from memory loss to brain cancer.

While theories linking mobile phone use and major health problems have not yet been supported by scientific evidence, cell phone users are encouraged to use a head piece or fully extend their phone’s antenna while using it.