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Whose Phone is Ringing?
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- Parent Category: Lower-Intermediate News Lessons
- Category: Science and Technology
- Written by Chris Cotter
Cell phones are an important part of our everyday lives. You can connect with friends and family, check e-mail and the Internet, and listen to music or watch TV. The invention has made our lives simpler. However, some people think that we might be too dependent on our phones.
Cell phones bring anxiety. Here's an example: You stand in a crowded place, hear someone's phone ring, and reach for you phone. Experts and the media call this "ringxiety." Some people think they hear the phone ring while they are in the shower. Other people often check their phones while they are watching TV or walking down the street.
A doctoral student named David Laramie came up with the word "ringxiety." He believes that TV advertisements, songs on the radio, even running water can make him trigger his ringxiety. Many other people also imagine either the ringing sound of their phone or their phone vibrating.
Although the medical community doesn't recognize ringxiety as an illness, many visitors to discussion boards also complain about the same problem. There is also some scientific truth. The human ear is very sensitive to frequencies between 1,000 and 6,000 hertz. The tones of cell phones fall within this range. Unfortunately, many other sounds do too.
Preview some of the lesson material:
Brainstorm: Brainstorm with a partner(s) words and ideas associated with "cellphones" for 2 minutes. Spend another 5 minutes or less discussing the words and ideas together.
Questions: Answer the questions to check comprehension.
- According to the article, why are cell phones important to everyday life?
- Who came up with the word "ringxiety?"
- How does the article explain that you might have from ringxiety too?
- What do some people say about ringxiety?
- What does the article say about the human ear and ringxiety?
post-Comprehension: Talk about the following questions in pairs/groups. Remember to support your answers!
- Have you ever suffered from ringxiety? If yes, how often does it happen?
- Why do you think people suffer from ringxiety?
- How have cell phones changed society? Why do you think so?
- What other inventions in the last twenty years have changed society? Why?
- Will ringxiety eventually become a real medical problem? Why/not?
Google Search: Type "ringxiety" into Google. Look at the websites, and/or read additional articles on this topic. Discuss or write an essay about your findings.
