I find it unbelievable that in this day and age there are people who don’t have a mobile phone. In the West, of course, I’m not including people who don’t have clean water to drink. Got to get your priorities right – food, water, shelter, arms, then mobile phones and laptops.
A few years ago my mother gave me her mobile phone. She couldn’t figure out how to use it. It had the most counter-intuitive menu system in the world. I discovered it only texted in upper case. So I spent the next six months shouting at people. I COULDN’T HELP IT! No wonder my poor old mum couldn’t work the thing. I couldn’t even work it, and I’d had mobiles for about 10 years then. I finally bought myself a nice Nokia. Happy, I was.
My mum’s got a phone again now, one that’s easier to use. She texts me sometimes, with cryptic messages such as ‘I’ll be over shortly’ and ‘Did you get the velvet?’ Somewhat concerning as she lives seven hours drive away. These are followed up with apologies because the messages are actually for her sister. Still, it’s nice to hear from her, even if she doesn’t mean to be talking to me.
But there is someone I know who doesn’t have a mobile phone. My partner! He doesn’t have the excuse of being technologically challenged – he’s a development manager, and in his spare time looks after my home network. But he refuses to have a mobile phone. It drives me crazy. I think he just doesn’t like being contactable.
When he was still on dial-up I had to email him if I needed to talk to him, because he spends all his time on the internet. I bought him an answerphone for his birthday last year, because I got fed up with not being able to get hold of him. He hasn’t switched it on yet. It’s been over a year. Grrr. I’ve become his personal answer service. His sister texts me to see if I know where he is. His netball coach rings me so I can pass on messages. Even his mother texts me.
He says he doesn’t want to get into the mobile phone upgrade cycle. As if he would. His desktop PC is 10 years old, his laptop is eight. He’s only recently returned the non-cordless landline phone he’s been renting off Telecom for 7 years, at $7 a month. He could have bought a mobile phone with what he’s paid for it. But he reckons if he starts, he’d be upgrading every six months and the flat would be littered with old mobiles. I point out that I sell my mobile phones before I upgrade, and my house isn’t littered with phones, but he doesn’t listen.
If you don’t have a mobile phone, don’t be a parasite on all your friends and family. There are some good mobile phone reviews to help you decide. Take pity on your significant others and stay in touch. You never know when someone might desperately need to get hold of you. And how on earth are you going to update yourself on Twitter if you’re stuck in a traffic jam on the way to work?