Mobile addiction?

[MarkJ]

Just spotted this on the BBC -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7452463.stm

Spain is treating children in a clinic for mobile phone addiction!
Whatever next? When we (most of us here) were younger - and until very recently even - mobiles didn't exist at all. I can see the use for the things in emergency situations or to allow people to contact you if they really need to, but the damn things are getting out of hand.

The prices for calls are silly for starters. Then there is the "txt tlk" that every child seems to use in their daily conversations and school work.
Then you get folks waltzing around the supermarkets taking on them - asking how many tins of beans to buy and whether little Jimmy likes cornflakes or rice krispies this week.... Why? Seriously, nobody should need to shop with a mobile glued to their heads, talking so loudly that everyone knows what they will be having for lunch tomorrow!

I haven't even mentioned the mindless cretins who still insist on driving along with one hand on the phone and another on the wheel of their cars! As I drive around, I guess probably 10% of drivers are using mobiles as they travel along - despite the fact that it is dangerous and illegal.

Yes, I do have a mobile phone. It has no credit on it at all and I only have the thing because my wife insists I have a way to contact the emergency services if I become unwell (I never have used it - but she feels happier if I have it).

Rant over!

Mark

Edit: Can one of the Mods please move this to the rants section please? It was originally going to be a chatter thing, but I got carried away with my hatred of mobile phones and the companies who run the mobile networks!

[Sue Mackay]

Edit: Can one of the Mods please move this to the rants section please? It was originally going to be a chatter thing, but I got carried away with my hatred of mobile phones and the companies who run the mobile networks!

Your wish is my command.

My husband, son and mother-in-law are the only ones who have my mobile number, and it's mostly used for texts. Recently I was cold called by a mobile phone rep who assured me that he was confident they would be able to save me money on my current plan AND give me a new phone. I told him I doubted that because I only spent about £10-£20 a year on Pay as you Go. To my surprise he said he thought they could better that. We went through a few figures before his stunned realisation that I had said YEAR and not month. He quickly put the phone down.

I do have a separate sim4travel card that I use for keeping in touch with family when we are abroad. It doesn't charge me the silly roaming rates that the mobile companies charge.

[maltonboy]

I haven't even mentioned the mindless cretins who still insist on driving along with one hand on the phone and another on the wheel of their cars! As I drive around, I guess probably 10% of drivers are using mobiles as they travel along - despite the fact that it is dangerous and illegal.

and what is even worse is the little spoiled children on their Heelies using their mobile phones in pedestrian areas.

regards
maltonboy

[Sandyhall]

I refuse to have one :D that way they can't find me if I don't want them to. LoL

Daughter has just got a new one said I can have her old one for emergency's, only because she lost me in town the other week, I got fed up waiting for her (got better things to do with my time) so got the bus home with my free bus pass.

Sandy

[v.wells]

I have one and it was for the sole purpose of travel out of town and is pay and talk. The thing is off most of the time and I only turn it on when I remember and it usually needs recharging. I have a house phone I can use if I need to so I don`t NEED a mobile phone (they are called cell phones here). I DO tell people to turn off their phones in the checkout line. I hate the damn things - I think society has gone downhill on account of them - they turn people into disrepectful jerks!

[Pam Downes]

About 9 years ago I got caught in a major traffic jam whilst returning home alone from Lincolnshire. Fortunately I was able to stop at a service area and phone home and explain the situation. Decided then that a mobile phone for 'mum and dad' would be a good idea after all.
Still use it mainly for emergencies and for contact when we're on holiday (which is the only time it's switched on all day), though I have been known to use it in the supermarket on the odd occasion. |oopsredfa
Equally guilty of using it on the train/at the station - but that's usually because I'm ordering a taxi. Certainly can't think of anything worse than having a girly natter on a mobile on a train. :eek:
Though if it had been anything like the chat with my cousin the other day I would have emptied any carriage for sure because we were droning on about genealogy. :D
Pam

[Davran]

I also hate mobiles, but they do have their uses. I carry one for emergencies and occasional texts. Usually it is switched off and everyone realises this, so don't try to contact me.

However, it was very useful last weekend. We had Open Gardens in the village and I was the one on call. The village is about 1 mile from end to end and I was out and about on foot (being green and not using the car for stop-start short journeys) checking that all the gardeners were OK. I had my mobile on and was contacted a few times for help/advice. Otherwise I would have had to stay in the house in case anyone wanted to get hold of me. The only hiccup was when I was in the village hall (where there were refreshments and the raffle) and it is a dead spot for mobile phone coverage.

[AnnB]

We have a mobile for emergencies only - and the only other person who has the number is my father. It has come in useful on one occasion for 'phoning the AA, but it is nice to know we have it should we need it. To be honest, I think I would have trouble remembering how to use it and I certainly wouldn't have a clue how to text anyone.......:o

Best wishes
Ann

[busyglen]

I don't particularly like mobile phones, but I do have one. I keep it mostly so that my sister can contact me in and emergency (she has an ailing husband). We mostly use the landline phone, but when I'm out she knows she can call. The only other time it is used is for a friend 20 miles away, who occasionally texts me to see how I am, or I use it to ring home and check on 88yr MiL when we are away on holiday.

Like Vanessa, even though I do keep it on during the day and turn off at night, I quite often forget that it needs charging! £10 PAYG last me ages.

Glenys

[Neil Wilson]

Here me with 2 mobiles|nopity|
One is the works one that is on 24/7, handsfree in the car.
Mine these days is only on during the evening and weekends so I can be contacted. Not many people have my house number but they all have my mobile, is that why no one calls me?

[Barnzzz]

I've got one too. However, its a complete waste of time as I either forget to take it with me, leave it switched off or just forget to charge it up. I did ring the AA once but as I was in ASDA car park I think I could have managed to find a call box !

Still, you never know when it will come in handy..........
Sue

[susan-y]

I have my cell phone for security when travelling...there's alot of distance between some towns around here and I don't have a very new car. It's also handy to let someone know you're "on your way, but have been delayed" if you know you're going to be late.
My phone also gets used alot during the day as my husband has his own business and often has to call home for me to contact someone or get something ready for when he gets home. We have a plan where we can call between all the phones for the company and its all covered under a monthly fee. I have seen people with unbelievable monthly bills.
I have also met alot of rude people..when I worked in retail it was nothing for some customers to come in and then talk on their phone the whole time they expected you to wait on them.
Only family members have my phone number and that's how it will stay.
I really don't think the kids should be going for therapy....their parents should be going for brain transplants|scold|Kids aren't allowed to be kids anymore.
Sue

[brianb]

Yes these mobiles are often more trouble than they are worth, but with two teenagers in the family (and two twenty somethings) THEY have no excuse to let us know when they are going to be late home.

As for the motorists, oh boy did my back hurt when that so and so failed to stop and almost 4 years later I am now classed as physically disabled due to it. Yes we all see these people using them when driving, but are there any drivers on the forum willing to admit to it ? |scold|

Like all things, there is a time and a place for mobiles, and some people walking around with bits of plastic stuck to there ear do look odd dont they !

Brian

[Sue Mackay]

Like all things, there is a time and a place for mobiles, and some people walking around with bits of plastic stuck to there ear do look odd dont they !


Yes, though it's often a bit disconcerting when you are walking next to someone who does NOT have a phone stuck to his ear but who suddenly shouts Hallo. A couple of times I have thought 'Oh dear he obviously knows me and I haven't a clue who he is' before realising he has one of these (admittedly very sensible) ear pieces and is on the phone!

[busyglen]

Friday morning we were going through our town High St. which is a one way system, and travelling at no more than 10 miles per hour, due to cars stopping and starting to drop people off, and finding a parking space. There was a gap and my husband put his foot down a bit to catch up with the car in front, when a female, with a phone to her ear, walked straight out in front of us and so engrossed in her conversation was she, that she didn't even notice that we nearly hit her!! If we had hit her it would have been our fault!
|scold|

Glenys

[v.wells]

Yes these mobiles are often more trouble than they are worth, but with two teenagers in the family (and two twenty somethings) THEY have no excuse to let us know when they are going to be late home.

As for the motorists, oh boy did my back hurt when that so and so failed to stop and almost 4 years later I am now classed as physically disabled due to it. Yes we all see these people using them when driving, but are there any drivers on the forum willing to admit to it ? |scold|

Like all things, there is a time and a place for mobiles, and some people walking around with bits of plastic stuck to there ear do look odd dont they !

Brian

The twits with earpieces look like something out of Star Trek - freaky! Drivers on the Forum PLEASE DON'T use them unless you are a passenger or stopped on the side of the road|scold| These people show a huge lack of respect to society in general! And I am sorry Brian that this happened to you!|hug|

[MarkJ]

Yes these mobiles are often more trouble than they are worth, but with two teenagers in the family (and two twenty somethings) THEY have no excuse to let us know when they are going to be late home.

As for the motorists, oh boy did my back hurt when that so and so failed to stop and almost 4 years later I am now classed as physically disabled due to it. Yes we all see these people using them when driving, but are there any drivers on the forum willing to admit to it ? |scold|

Like all things, there is a time and a place for mobiles, and some people walking around with bits of plastic stuck to there ear do look odd dont they !

Brian

I would never use a mobile whilst driving. I don't even use the damn thing if walking - being a guy, I find "multi-tasking too difficult ;)

Sorry to hear you were "rear-ended" by someone :( I must admit that I ran into the back of someones car whilst on my motorbike years ago when I was in my early twenties. I was distracted - but not by a mobile phone! I was driving down a hill in Truro, Cornwall and it was where the old hospital used to be and there was a young nurse walking down the road who was far more interesting to me that the road :D Oops!

Mark

[brianb]

I would never use a mobile whilst driving. I don't even use the damn thing if walking - being a guy, I find "multi-tasking too difficult ;)

Sorry to hear you were "rear-ended" by someone :( I must admit that I ran into the back of someones car whilst on my motorbike years ago when I was in my early twenties. I was distracted - but not by a mobile phone! I was driving down a hill in Truro, Cornwall and it was where the old hospital used to be and there was a young nurse walking down the road who was far more interesting to me that the road :D Oops!

Mark



Thanks folks,
but Mark, that was a bit of a drastic way to get her attention ! Did she practice her nursing skills on you afterwards ?

Brian

[MarkJ]

Sadly I was uninjured - well, except for dented pride and a hole in my pocket from the repair expenses!
The nurse just laughed - it was obvious what I was doing and nobody was hurt :D

Mark

[Roger47]

OH you did have to mention THOSE things
Yes they have a use but I feel it needs to be in the right place, Not in the super market or restaurant or train etc I have no interest in other folks phone calls and it is especially galling when for some reason they get the call in the shop and 7 people with the same dial tone all rush to get their phone out with total disregard for people actually shopping they then start the " Mobile Waltz " why can't they at least STAND STILL and talk in soft tones ?????
and the look when they almost crash into them how dare you push your shopping trolley through my Phone Box !!!!
The mobile has a use for emergencies but why oh why do they need to have them surgically attached to ears and with Blue tooth head sets it looks like a Dr Spock convention how can ANY one be that important that they need to be available in the Gents at Waterloo station
What a load of gimmick led sheep our nation has become what did we do with all that talk before the mobile ??????? We took the trouble to meet and Speak to people
Time to make them socially unacceptable in public areas just like smoking ( why not Drinking???) after all I wouldn't place my head voluntarily into a micro wave oven

YES I do have one in my glove box a "brick " Nokia 3310 it's PAYG and has a £5 on it that has been there for over 18 months ( I have a car charger just in case ) no one has my number because I bought it to help me in an emergency if you are so important that the world will stop if you are not available to talk at least try to remember that the rest of us mere mortals just want to get through your PHONE BOX

Now that’s made me feel so good Thank you for bringing that up

Roger47

[Jan1954]

I fought against having a mobile for years. However, my father bullied me into getting one in the end.

I drive over 20,000 miles a year - most of them alone - and Dad was quite concerned that, should I be stranded, I would not be able to summon help. So I hummed and haa'd about it and finally gave in. A pay-as-you-go which, like Roger47, has a set amount on it that has not been topped up in goodness knows how long.

However, just to prove that my dear old dad was right all along, 5 weeks after I got the mobile, my car broke down on the North Circular in the middle of the rush-hour and I was able to summon help. :o

[MarkJ]

In a situation like that, a mobile is a useful tool. However, it is the morons who insist on shouting into them on trains, buses, shop aisles etc who drive me insane! I really am not interested in some girls social activities or little Jimmys evening out arrangements... so why tell me - and everyone else within 50 yards?

Mark

[Barnzzz]

I walk to work every morning and see people walking along talking on their 'phones. What have they got to talk about at 8am ? Nothing has happened yet. I have enough trouble putting one foot in front of the other at that time in the morning let alone conducting a 'phone conversation over and above the noise of the traffic.

[MarkJ]

There is an 8 o'clock in the morning as well??? ;)
If some fool rang me at that time I would not be very happy! Maybe I would need to return the call at 3 or 4 am just before I went to bed ;)

Mark