Mobile Dependency
I have just returned from shopping and realised just how conspicuous mobile phone usage has become. It seems like everyone finds it necessary to walk around with a mobile phone stuck to the side of their face.
How have we got to the stage where we can’t live our daily lives without having to call each other or send text messages to each other. Yesterday (and not for the first time) I watched in disbelief as a your girl crossed over while texting. And the worst case of addiction I have seen, someone actually texting whilst driving their car.
It’s not so long ago thatI but remember having to use public phone boxes when out and about, but not regularly it wasn’t necessary. You may call your parents to let them know you are going to be late or use one in an emergency but it certainly wasn’t necessary to make tens of calls per day.
And the laziest thing I have witnessed so far was today. A woman came to sit next to us on a bench in the shopping mall whilst we were nibbling a sandwich. Her husband stood waiting for assistance at a mobile phone kiosk just four meters away. I’m eating my food and she takes out her mobile, dials and then her husband, who is only a couple of paces away picks his up.
She then started to have a conversation with him which lasted about 5 minutes. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Have we become so dependent on mobiles that we can’t use our legs any more.
Oh and one last thing before I finish my winge. Lol I was in the supermarket the other day buying some bleach and the a guy stood next to me started to speak to someone, I assume his wife, about which cleaner to purchase, he was actually reading out the labels on the back of toilet cleaners!
There could be a future in rehab …The Suzanne Mobile Dependency Clinic. 🙂
Tags: cell phone, mobile phone, transformers, transformer phone, cell phone dependency, mobile phone dependency, text messge, texting, SMS messaging
I really hate it when people text while out to dinner or even just for coffee with friends. It is SO RUDE!
i agree with you totally on this…it is amazing how many people have these glued to their faces…i get so angry when i see kids like this…i can only imagine what will happen next.
xoxo
While our computers died the other week, my mobile phone died while I was on vacation too and I realised just how much I use it. Other than not being able to have as much contact with Mr SD, it was kind of nice not being bothered by anybody.
Ms SD
I bought my first mobile in 1996 for the convenience of it: you know “just in case”. I’ve rarely been out without since then but most of the time I don’t use it. It’s still a “just in case” tool that has been very helpful sometimes. I’m glad I haven’t become a stupid user of it but I have to admit I’m addicted to it. If I forget it I almost panic lol.
They have their uses, Suze. A former boss of mine was having difficulty catching the waiter’s eye in a supposedly up-market restaurant. After a considerable time with no service he simply phoned the restaurant’s number from his mobile and watched as the maître d’ walked across to take the call, then turn a very livid colour indeed as he despatched a waiter to the table.
This post sums up my return home from work this evening. The bus was crowded, and a seat half vacated, and this woman was seated at the window, so I sat down and from the CBD until three quarters of the way home (30 minutes), she was repeatedly calling people on her mobile phone.
Normally there’ll be one conversation, even if long, but she didn’t stop. She’d end one call and go on to the next. I had my iPod on and I could still hear her, and thought bugger this for a joke, so cranked up the volume (until she could probably hear the whispery beat of music). But I noticed how many people were annoyed. People on mobiles don’t realise how loud they are.
You’re spot on about the danger factor. Here, police have on the spot fines for people using their mobile phones while driving, but pedestrians! LOL I saw a guy recently, so enamored with his mobile phone, texting away, that he was crossing this little side street at my work, and almost got hit by a courier on a cycle. It was weird. I thought how stupid he was to endanger himself, but thought it hilarious. I haven’t upgraded to a newer mobile phone, mine no longer works unless I press the plastic backing against the battery (it cuts mid call otherwise), and I haven’t any plans on buying one. It would be different if I needed it for work, owned a small business or similar, but in my current capacity I don’t need it. If I’m at work, everyone at home has my direct extension, and that’s sufficient, and the kiddie is always with one of us.
N, you are so right, surely the conversations can wait.
DP, kids these days are frying their tiny brains with mobiles stuck to their ears all the time. I agree, it’s frightening.
Ms SD, they can be useful when you are apart from your lover but most of the time people use them to talk nonsense.
Froggy, I agree they are so useful to have in an emergency, especially the ones with a camera in.
FC, that is so funny! I can imagine the embarrassment on the guys face. Lol
Ana, I would love to know what the figures are for the number of pedestrians who have been involved in accidents relating to mobile phone usage.