Cell phone advocates point out that thanks to these devices, you can speak to anyone in the world. In the workplace, these devices are indispensable. It is easier for companies in two different countries to do business with each other. They can also be used to hold interoffice meetings between various departments and branches. Cell phone usage can help you to perform better at work, since the office can contact you whenever it needs to. With the Bluetooth devices that are available with many of the newer models of these phones, you can download your files from your office computer that will enable you to continue your work on your personal computer at home. You can also use your cell phone features such as the calendar to remind yourself of important meetings and appointments.

Cell phones can also allow you to stay in closer contact with your family members. Your children can call you if they need a ride home or your spouse can call to remind you to pick up a gallon of milk on the way home. For family member who live out of town, you can talk for hours at little or no cost to you. Cell phones seem to be a perfect way to bring people closer together.

Other individuals feel that cell phones are actually breaking down communications between people. These opponents of cell phone use point out that there are times that you may not want to disturbed by your office. If you have a cell phone, this contact is almost unavoidable.

There may also a lack of personal communication in your workplace. Before cell phones, you might have had to leave your office several times a day to talk to an associate, greeting other employees along the way. Now you may find that you can go all day without seeing another living soul.

Having the ability to bring you work home can also lead to you spending less time with your family. If you are able to work at home, you probably will, which will cut into any quality time that you may have planned to spend with your spouse and children.

Family relationships may also be harmed by the use of cell phones. You may find that you talk to your children more on the phone than you do face to face. Your children may communicate more with their friends than they do with other family members. Many families may have forgotten how to turn off their cell phones and speak to each other.

A child's written skills may suffer due to the use of text messaging. This form of communication has developed its own language using initials and shorter forms of ordinary words. Children that are growing up using this type of format can carry it over into their written and oral communications.

As well as a lack of communication in the workplace and at home, people do not talk to strangers as they once did. In the past, people who rode the same bus to work or shared a taxi would strike up a conversation. Thanks to cell phones, people are having their own conversations, missing the opportunity to begin new friendships. People have also ceased to talk to their neighbors. In today' society, you may not even know who your neighbors are.

Both sides to the communication issue have made valid points. While cell phones are great communication tools, they are not the only ones. You need to remember to turn your cell phone off every once in awhile to help you stay involved in the world around you.