Planet News Views

Friday, February 16, 2007

Popularity of Mobile Phones and Time with People

Opinion
By Scott McLean

I don't own a mobile phone. If it were my choice, I'd never own one. While it makes sense to carry a phone in case of an emergency, I like to focus entirely on the people I'm with and when I'm alone don't want to talk on a phone.

A few years ago, the day I arrived in Makati (a very cool city, by the way), I couldn't believe how many people were using their phones in public, as they were walking down the street, dining in restaurants or hanging out in a coffee shops. Who were they calling without actually speaking to anyone?? Maybe they were accessing their voice mail, I reasoned.


No, it turned out many of them were reading or sending text messages (it hadn't caught on yet in the U.S.), which I was told is cheaper than talking on the phone. Well, that's cool! I'm not against saving money.

But then the same feeling I had years ago when I was in an airport and everyone was talking on phones (they didn't pay attention to the people with them), that nervous tension took a hold of me.


At the time, I was a victim of people close to me paying more attention to "their damn phones" than to me. It felt lousy! I didn't want to form deep relationships and friendships with mobile phones.

I like people, not phones. But some people value things (phones, cars, computers, etc.) more than time with their family and friends.

I'll write more on this topic later.

3 Comments:

At 9:07 AM, Blogger Horny Ang Moh said...

Hi Scott glad u r back on line. I suppose cell phone is here to stay afterall this is the communication era.However I do agree with u that time spend with physical present of friend & close one is still the most valuable.

 
At 6:28 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sad but true! Even when being with friends and family, there's NO 3 minutes without an interruption of a text message.. Only here in the Philippines!

 
At 12:19 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

While this may be true, some people are actually used to conversing with other people face to face while composing a text message on their phones. Sometimes it gets annoying but most people are used to it.

It is a sad truth, but most people have caught on. It may not be something that we can be proud of, but from a cultural standpoint, this behavior may soon be accepted as a norm.

 

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