Can you imagine life without a cell phone?
Less a telephone than a multi-purpose computer, today's cell phone is a music/radio player, game console, still camera, e-mail system, text messenger and carrier of entertainment and business data.
With a cellphone, you not only remain connected at all times, but also have a feeling of safety. Imagine being in an accident, or even stranded in the desert? Obviously your cell phone could be your life-saving device.
Last-mile access has become a necessity in today's world. Particular age cohorts and subcultures have even begun to appropriate cell phones for myriad uses that help to define their niche or social identity.
However, even though cellphones are tremendous gadgets, one must remember, as with any technology, with the benefits there also come negatives. In this case, it could be the nuisance factor, and the fact that you are always answerable to someone.
Cellphones assault your peace of mind no matter what you do. If you turn them off, why have one? If you do not pick up a call, you are called uncivilised. If they're on and no one calls, you're irrelevant, unloved or both. If everyone calls, you're a basket case.
And how about being subjected to others' private conversations? Imagine being privy to lurid details about someone's health problems, love life or family feuds.
Notwithstanding such minor irritants, at the end of the day there's no denying the fact that mobiles have brought convenience to our fingertips.
With cellphones becoming such an important tool, Gulf News decided to speak to a few recent converts to find out how life has changed for them.
Arpita Bhattacharya,
Homemaker
I started using the mobile phone about two years back. I believe it has not changed my life all that much, since I am a housewife. However, I would like to mention that it is definitely not a nuisance. For instance, when I step out leaving my children behind at home, it definitely gives me a sense of security with regards to their whereabouts and safety.
At the same time, I can always be contacted in case of any emergency. Since I have two small children, I often use my mobile phone as a camera to record some unforgettable moments. I also do a lot of SMSing to India, especially to know the whereabouts of my parents and to enquire on their health. This way I save a lot
of money.
Savio J D'Silva,
Training and Development Officer, The Emirates Aviation College
To be honest, I am one of those who came on-board the mobile bandwagon pretty late in life.
I just did not fancy my life being governed or controlled by a hand-held techno-device, and tried resisting the advancements of technology till I could.
In fact, if it weren't for my wife Sabrina, who gave me a Nokia 6600 for my birthday, I probably would have gone through life without a mobile phone.
Today, after a year of using it, I can very well understand why the world goes gaga over this magical creation. I mean, it does everything for you, doesn't it?
Besides the primary function of making and receiving calls, the mobile phone is my alarm bell, my watch, my calculator, my calendar, my reminder trigger...
There's no more wishing I had a camera on me to capture those unanticipated picture-perfect moments, because my mobile phone is a camera too, not to mention an audio recorder and a video recorder. Gosh, the list is endless!
The mobile phone helps me keep in touch with reality and the world, in spite of the fact that my job entails extensive travel.
MMS SMS, e-mail, surfing the web... I guess there isn't very much that you can't do with a mobile these days, is there? I am at the airport waiting for the flight to take off. Where, previously I would be bored of waiting, now I just remove my little magic box and start gaming.
To me, my mobile phone is like an extension of myself. I feel incomplete without it.
Now, while I do know of people who go to town on the evils of being slave to the mobile phone, I tend to disagree, because for me life has become more streamlined, structured, smoother and easier to manage with this wonderful gadget.
Biswajeet Goswami,
Label Executive, Warner Business Unit, Viva Entertainment
Mobile phones are no longer a luxury, but rather a necessity. I felt the need for a mobile phone when I landed in Delhi from Assam in India two years back. Since then, I have never had occasion to regret having
a cellphone.
Sometimes, mobiles can be a nuisance, but that cannot take away from its various benefits. Mobile phones have managed to diminish boundaries and distance.
In my case, the mobile phone was critical in my being accessible to placement agencies and get interview calls. Hence, it was an accessory in helping me kick-start my career. Slowly and surely it became an extension of myself, thanks to features such as the alarm, which helps me wake up in time, the to-do list, which keeps me updated on my tasks and helps me streamline my schedules, while I can easily get in touch with anyone at the push of a button.
Other than the above, I use my cellphone a lot (and have a whole lot of fun) to give and receive "missed calls" from that someone special to let the other person know you are missing them — a sort of signal between two people that they are very close to each other in spirit, if not physically. Availability of different features such as camera, web, radio, etc., offers a good basket of entertainment. Mobiles have done away with the need to carrying the phone book, alarm clock, music player, radio, computer, etc., as your mobile phone can offer all (and much more) of these features bundled inside one tiny box.
Mobiles are really a marvel of technology, which helps us lead our lives freely and smoothly.
Sreedevi Balgopal,
Homemaker
I am 82 years old and have shunned technology for most part of my life. For instance, I only purchased a television set and a dish antenna recently. Till then, I had been using the radio to entertain me.
So when mobiles entered my hamlet, I did not give it much thought... that is until a distant relative of mine gave me one.
Although I was initially reluctant to carry it on me all the time, and even found it a tad difficult to decipher the buttons and functions, I gradually got used to it, and found out that getting used to creature comforts was easy. Now, I don't have to drag my feet (arthritic-prone at that) to the landline every time the phone rings.
I have also stored emergency hospital numbers, contact numbers of relatives on my phone. Since I live alone, it provides me with a sense
of security.
