Hold the phone

At the risk of sounding like an old fogey, I remember the days when people answered the phone and said ‘how are you?’ not ‘where are you?’

It used to be that there was one fixed line in any given house (hell, my bestie didn’t even have a phone when we were growing up – we’d have to arrange a time for me to call the public phone at the old folks’ home across the road from her house).

Generally, the household phone was located somewhere central (like the kitchen) where everyone could hear your calls because cordless was yet to be invented. If you wanted to talk with your friends, you had to be prepared to speak politely to their parents first. My mum even put a padlock around the dial on our phone to (try to) stop us running up the phone bill.

More than 800 million people around the world currently use mobile phones and that figure is growing. Australians bought around 3.5 million mobile phones in the last 12 months.

Mobile phones are a mixed blessing.



Keeping track

You can ask your partner to bring home milk, tell the teen to wait because you’re running late, track your sister down in a department store… People have never been so connected.

On the flipside, because I can text and chat via phone so easily, I chat F2F less.

Another negative is that GPS is getting a bit ‘big brother’, don’t you think? And even without that feature, sometimes I don’t want to be found (like if I’m on leave and the boss calls).

Also, it’s hard for kids to leave any stresses at school/netball/singing lessons when they’re sending and receiving texts all evening. Home used to be a haven. Now it’s just one more space where the world can find you.

Then again, finding other people can be tricky – many don’t list their mobiles in the WhitePages.

Health and safety

With a mobile phone, you can tell someone if you’re in trouble from just about anywhere in the world – cars break down, rides don’t show, wallets get stolen and dates go wrong.

On the other hand, despite laws that ban the practices, people talking or texting on phones while driving cause car crashes.

Also on health, did you ever consider how much bacteria covers a mobile’s surface? Iiieeewww.

And don’t forget, some people reckon mobile phones cause brain tumors.

Entertainment

Games, music, movies, internet… Need I say more?

Recording

Taking photos, recording speech and taking video is available to everyone. Not only does this make sharing content easy but it’s also practical. When some muppet ran in to my car, I photographed his car and number plate as well as the damage to my vehicle for the insurance company.

Tools

Calculators, maps, calendars, reminders, alarms… These are all good but now you have no excuse if you forget your wedding anniversary.

Fashion statement

Like clothes, shoes, bags and other accessories, you phone can say a lot about you.

This is not cool if you have a fugly old brick.

Expense

Trapped on an inferior plan or with an obsolete phone is not where I want to be. I ran over my $800 Motorola one year in to a two-year plan and about five minutes after the insurance expired. Not happy, Jan.

If you go over your cap, you can pay through the nose.

Then there are ringtones, apps, accessories and repairs to pay for.

Rudeness

Some people haven’t quite got phone etiquette down pat and will take calls in the middle of a meeting or coffee date.

Environment

Mobile phones and accessories contain toxic heavy metals that can be an environmental hazard.

Australians are hoarding 10 million old phones. Unless we find an alternative, many of these will end up in landfill.

Regardless of the downsides – especially the fact that there are hardly any phone-free zones any more – if I leave home without my mobile, I feel naked – or worse, as though I’ve left my arm or leg behind.


I love my phone – but I really need to upgrade soon. I have serious iPhone envy.

Image: Gregory Szarkiewicz