Compare and Contrast: Cell Phone vs. Landline Calling, Research Paper Example

Probably like a lot of students given this essay to write, I had to pause to remember the last time I used a landline telephone. It didn’t take too long, but it says a lot about the differences between the two these days. This essay will reflect my own user’s view of the two systems.

The first difference is that when a landline phone rings, you have to go to it. Of course, if you have an office job, you are usually going to be where the landline is anyway, so there is no difference. But at home, you have to get off the couch and walk to the phone in the kitchen, or to the desk in your bedroom. It’s interesting that a lot of home- and even office-landlines are still rather old fashioned and will probably stay that way because it isn’t worthwhile to bother getting newer ones. Cell phone technology is so common that landlines are simply left to perform the dedicated, single-purpose function everyone is used to. No one expects them to do otherwise. Their three advantages: they do not require recharging, do not drop calls, and you can tuck the receiver under your chin and then talk and type or write at the same time. That’s about it.

By contrast, cell phones offer a totally different experience. Unlike landlines, calls come to you wherever you are, and you can tell who is calling from the ring you choose. It is also your own phone, so it isn’t going to have the public’s germs all over it, like a public payphone does. You don’t necessarily even have to talk as often anymore because more people text instead. Cell phones (especially smartphones) are beautifully designed, and offer a host of functions and apps to integrate your life around. The more you use your cell phone, the more it becomes you. This tendency only grows with each upgrade, and upgrades are a basic part of cell-phone use.

As cellular technology gets smaller, cheaper, and stronger, it will get harder and harder for all of us to remember the last time we used a landline. Finally, we won’t remember at all.