Like mobile devices, society has been continually adapting and changing along with technology.  Mobile devices are extremely prevalent in today's society. Cellular devices are a piece of technology that have an undeniably large impact on the way individuals and society operate.  Since their origination, smartphones have constantly been evolving and becoming more advanced.  Cellular phones are no longer just a way to communicate with friends and family due to their wide range of capabilities.  As a result of technology, cell phones are being replaced with smartphones that provide their users with access to the internet and the ability to download applications that provide an uncountable number of services.  With those advances, mobile phones are changing and becoming more accessible, practical and essential in people's daily lives.  As the popularity of smartphones grow, so do their effects on society.  Smartphone's have completely altered the way people interact with one another and the way people act in social situations.  This social change is why smartphones have had such a large impact on society.    Some believe that smartphones have improved communication because they provide people with the ability to remain in contact with others from nearly anywhere in the world at any time of the day and, therefore, strengthen relationships.  Despite this positive belief, smartphone usage has an overall negative effect on the quality of social relationships. Smartphones have altered the ways in which individuals in society interact with one another in a way that ultimately lessens the quality of their social relationships.

Smartphone's have made it possible for individuals to interact with multiple people at any point in the day therefore increasing the quantity of relationships and decreasing the quality of their relationships.  With the ability to communicate and keep in touch with millions of people across the world, many individuals have greatly increased the number of relationships that they focus on at any point throughout their lives.  After much analysis, researchers found that mobile phones have allowed us to "accumulate a very large stock of relationships often spanning large distances geographically. Consequently, the time and energy that is available for any

one relationship decreases" (Misra 291).  With maintaining a large number of relationships, it is naturally impossible for an individual to put a lot of time into each individual relationship.   Because individuals are not putting enough time into their relationships, the quality of those relationships is not very strong.  People are taking large amounts of time out of their daily lives and dedicating it to their smartphones in order to connect with hundreds of people.  Rather than taking the time to maintain many shallow relationships, if people were to put that time into only a few relationships they could improve those relationship.  Individuals that spend more time together get to know each other better and form stronger bonds to ultimately possess higher quality relationships. Without the ability, provided by smartphones, for individuals to maintain many relationships, people would have more time to put into only a few relationships and ultimately improve the quality of those relationships and make deeper connections.

Smartphones' addictive traits decrease daily face-to-face interactions and prevent the formation of quality relationships.  Essentially, smartphones provide people with the world at their fingertips. The convenience and versatility of smartphones has undeniably caused a widespread addiction to these mobile devices.  The average American spends almost five hours a day on their smartphone (Chang).  People are dedicating so much time of their day to looking at their smartphone rather than connecting with the people around them.  Before smartphone people would spend their time interacting with other people rather than just simply looking at their phones.  For example, instead of meeting new people while waiting for a bus, people isolate themselves from the people around them to simply look at their mobile devices and ultimately eliminate any chance of forming new relationships.  The natural instinct to always my connected to a mobile device caused by an addiction to the advice, draws people away from their surrounding environment and prevents them from forming real life connections.  The limitations on face-to-face interactions caused by smartphones decreases the chances of forming quality relationships and lessens the quality of interactions between people throughout society.

Smartphones decrease the quality of face-to-face interactions and as a result decrease the quality of relationships.  Based on an experiment performed to study the effects smartphones have on face-to-face- interaction, researchers have found "If either participant placed a mobile communication device (e.g., smartphone or a cell phone) on the table or held it in their hand during the course of the 10-min conversation, the quality of the conversation was rated to be less fulfilling compared with conversations that took place in the absence of mobile devices" (Misra 289).  This study shows that simply having a smartphone in one's possession creates a constant urge to use the phone, and that urge can distract them from their conversation.  Consequently, smartphones decreases the quality of real life interactions. By decreasing the quality of real life interactions, mobile phones decrease the quality of those relationships.  Smartphones have changed the way we interact with one another in person in a way that harms social relationships.

Smartphones provide people with ways to form online relationships that lack the quality of relationships that are formed during face-to-face interactions.  Cellular phones no longer serve the purpose of simply just texting and calling.  Research shows that in 2013 "58% of mobile phone owners were using smartphones," (Cho 351).  Smartphones possess the ability to download social media apps and provide the user with access to the internet.  Individuals with smartphones possess the ability at any point in the day to connect with new people and form new relationships.  The problem with relationships formed online is that they entail a lot less of a commitment then relationships in real life.  Unable of the effects technology based relationships have on real life, "Many young people and adults use social networking as a means to launch significant relationships without realizing that there may be implications such as inability to deal with the demands of real relationships in daily life and reduced sensitivity toward others in general," (Sharif 208).  In other words, social relationships that are formed via smartphones can alter people's perceptions of all relationships in a negative way.  Because they are less of a commitment, an online relationship can cause one to be unaware of the time and effort that needs to be put into a real life relationship.  With an altered perception of relationships, one may harm or destroy completely any real relationships.  In general, "There is a perception that hurting someone has fewer repercussions if the person is not really present" (Sharif 208).  People are less sensitive and lack some emotion they might otherwise possess when dealing with online relationships because they do not have to directly deal with the negative repercussions of their actions in a person face-to-face interaction.  Online relationships are more impersonal and, therefore, lack the quality of face-to-face relationships, Therefore, with an increase in online based relationships changing people's outlooks on how to maintain quality relationships, there is a decrease in the number of face-to-face relationships.  With a decrease in real life relationships, there is ultimately a decrease in the quality of the relationships of the individual. 

Smartphones can interfere with family relationships and put stress on relationships that would otherwise be good and therefore decrease the quality of those relationships.   Family members are typically people who individuals spend extensive hours of the day with and form strong relationships with as a result.  Smartphones are altering these relationships in ways that lessen their worth. People are now spending more and more time on their smartphones and are therefore spending less time with their families.  The time spent on those smartphones instead of investing quality time into an individual's familial relationships has a negative effect on those relationships.  Parent-child relationships often fall victim to smartphones because parents feel as though they are "competing for time with their children against online activities in peer relationships" (Sharif 209).  Smartphones are adding stress to relationships that may not otherwise be there as well as decreasing the time people spend focusing on these relationships.  The time that family members would typically spend communicating with one another is spent sitting around in silence on smartphones.  The change smartphones cause in the interactions between family members decreases the quality in family relationships.

Smartphones also interfere with romantic relationships in a way that decreases their quality.  Smartphones are individual devices that allow one to have personal relationships online.  Many researchers have found that smartphone usage increases infidelity in relationships. If an individual is unsatisfied with a relationship, instead of finding productive way to deal with their dissatisfaction, they can turn to their mobile devices as an easy way out.  The individualized use of the internet on a smartphone provides people with "anonymity and convenience in finding someone without one's husband, wife, or significant other finding out" (Sharif 210).  Smartphones open up new doors for people, to easily cheat on their significant other without them knowing.  People often use these technology based relationships as a way to supplement their real-life relationships that they feel are lacking something.  Consequently, this short term fix ultimately causes greater dissatisfaction in the future and decreases the quality of the relationships possessed.  Smartphone infidelity both detaches someone from their real life relationship and may eventually lead to the termination of that relationship.  Not only does it ruin real life relationships, but it also replaces them with ones that possesses less quality.  Smartphones provide people with way to make up for a feeling of insufficiency in their romantic relationship by creating one that has less depth and quality.  Furthermore, the betrayal of the other relationship decreases the quality of that relationship as well as eliminating any possibility to improve the quality of that relationship.  Ultimately, smartphones promote infidelity and decrease the quality of romantic relationships.

Smartphones have negative effects on the quality of the social relationships people process.  Smartphones not only take away from relationships but they also cause the formation of relationships that lack quality and meaning. Generally this shift in relationships caused by iPhone in all damages the quality of relationships. Although smartphone do provide many positive effects such as keeping people in contact with one another, the negative effects they have can largely damage the quality of their relationships.  Quality relationships are essential for the health and happiness of an individual. Furthermore, if smartphone take away the quality of relationships then they ultimately have a negative effect on the health and happiness of society as a whole.
