Mobile phones' social impacts on sustainable human development: case studies, Morocco and Italy

Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) include the modern tools of knowledge-sharing and communication used in daily citizen’s activities, such as Internet, computers and mobile technologies. The expansion of mobile telephony has been one of the most spectacular changes in the developing world over the previous decade. The increasing ubiquity of mobiles in developing countries presents both opportunities and challenges, especially for critical segments such as social one.The use of mobile phones is influencing numerous aspects of society, and its positive and negative impacts are widely highlighted: relationships and involvement in public life, the new communities that has been created and the human relationships that have radically changed. Smartphones are not just communication devices but can also take pictures, playing music and games, provide location-based services, internet... In developing countries, the main use is through phone communications and messages to overcome the distances. Yet, all these profits only come from the use of mobiles. However, we should not forget the social issues related to it. Our work investigates how some human attitudes, while using mobile phones can influence sustainable human development in Morocco and Italy. Specifically, the study seeks to assess how mobile phones can impede over social issues. The analysis was conducted in the framework of the Europeen project ShuMed; it relies on a survey that involved different categories of people (students, employees, unemployed, professors, engineers, administrators…). A total of approximately 120 participants were randomly selected and included in the investigation. The analysis of the collected data; from a questionnaire; showed that the majority of the respondents used their mobile phones without paying attention to some daily attitudes, that has a significant negative impact on the human well-being.