Forty-one years ago, on April 7, 1973, Motorola engineer Martin Cooper changed the world by making the world's first telephone call. With a 10-inch-long, 2.5-pound phone nicknamed “the brick,” he called his engineering nemesis at the much larger company Bell Labs (Here&Now, 2014). The phone offered 30 minutes of talk time after 10 hours of charging and cost a total of $3,995. At that time, the average middle-class person could not afford a cell phone. In the late 1990s, cell phones gradually became available to the entire population. (Ef.org.vt.edu, 2014). Since then, cell phone sizes and technologies have changed to accommodate the masses. Decades later, cell phones, and now smartphones, are in the pocket or purse of almost everyone in the United States. Cell phones tell us the time, give us directions, take photos, entertain us, and help us exercise, all while allowing us to post every sordid detail on the Internet without going near a computer. These new devices, as convenient as they are, also come with complications. This research paper will examine the advantages and disadvantages of a cell phone, examine the health risks and factors affecting people exposed to cell phones, discuss how cell phones have changed the way we communicate and socialize with each other, will outline the preventative measures surrounding how cell phones have degraded our way of life and state the thesis: Although cell phones have provided many benefits since their inception, they cause more harm than their benefits that 'they are worth. Definition of Terms Cell Phones: A cell phone that uses wireless technology to send and receive telephone signals. This technology...... middle of paper ......e-inventor [Accessed May 6. 2014].Imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov, (2014). Electromagnetic spectrum -Introduction. [online] Available at: http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l1/emspectrum.html [Accessed May 8. 2014].Telephone, H. (2014). How to protect yourself when using a cell phone. [online] wikiHow. Available at: http://www.wikihow.com/Protect-Yourself-when-Using-a-Cell-Phone [Accessed May 9. 2014].Rothman, K. (2008). "Epidemiological evidence on the health risks of cell phones". [online] Available at: http://www.controlyourimpact.com/2008/03/disadvantages-of-cell-phones/#_note-1 [Accessed May 8. 2014].Serrano, T. (2013). Cell phones can harbor dangerous levels of germs and bacteria. [online] Cell Phone Health Blog. Available at: http://blog.cellphone-health.com/2013/06/cell-phones-can-harbor-dangerous-levels-of-germs-and-bacteria.html/[Accessed May 9. 2014].