Did you know that it was 131 years ago today that Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone?
He would have never dreamt that all these years later people would take telephones with them wherever they went. Walk down almost any street and you’re sure to see at least one or two people talking away on their mobile phones.
Today’s phones can be very convenient but if we don’t manage their use properly they can end up managing us. People run up huge bills that they can’t afford and many feel uncomfortable if they don’t have their phones within reach 24 hours a day.
We are now more contactable than ever before and this fact gives other people license to decide what we do with our time. By having a phone with us at all times and accepting whatever calls come in we’re handing the responsibility of our time management over to other people, often times people we don’t even know. They’re free to talk to us at any time, night or day, rather than us deciding when we should meet or talk.
Do you have a mobile or cell phone? Do you know how to turn the phone off? Do you decide when to take calls and who you’ll take them from or are you letting other people set the agenda for your life?
I’ve got to admit that I love having a mobile phone. Even when I was in the middle of India, thousands of kilometres away from home, or cycling across Australia, Pauline and the kids were only ever a phone call away. I love the comfort of knowing that I can very quickly get help in case of emergency or even just call home to say that I’m running late.
I don’t use my phone very much at all but I do use the phone rather than letting it use me. I’m happy to switch it off and be out of contact or reject calls if they come at a time when they’re not convenient.
What about you? Have you managed to tame your phone? What kind of phone use annoys you in other people?
Posted by Rodney Olsen
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I have a love-hate relationship with my cell phone…I love the convenience it provides for me, and I hate the convenience it provides for others…Maybe hate is too strong a word…Sometimes yes and sometimes no…
I am a scant cell phone user. It really annoys me when people talk on the phone very loudly in a very public place. Also, people who go for a walk and talk on the phone. It’s very funny to watch though – especially if they have a headset and talk with their hands…
Yeah the mobile phone has changed our lives…. sometimes too intrusive. I HATE the unsolicited calls on home phone – like spam I guess.
I need you to help me through changing some of my links Rodney. Maybe I’ll phone you one night – 8 pm our time (free calls!)
I have a cell phone and love it for its convenience.
I definately control it, it doesn’t control me.
Hi Rodney,
I only use for mobile for family calls. I don’t give my number out to anyone else. If it rings I know it is my wife or kids. Other than that I have it in case my car breaks down or to let my wife know I am running late.
I am like you in that it is nice to know wherever I am my family is just a call away!
God Bless,
Dave
Yeah, I love having a mobile for it’s convenience but not the cost or risk of brain tumours of whatever they’re meant to cause.
I class the following as annoying phone behaviour:
* People talking on their phones in the cinema – Ssssshh!
* People who look down on you because you don’t own the latest, trendiest mobile – oh please!
* Friends who ring my mobile when they know I’m at work because they feel like having a chat (maybe I should turn it off).
* People who prefer to SMS rather than meet face-to-face to talk.
I have a mobile/cell phone at home somewhere, but I’m throwing it out the minute I find it (which I’m not in any hurry to do). I find those things never work when I want them to, but for some reason they seem to give other people the impression that bugging me at the most inconvenient time is their constitutional right.
Turning it off only really delays the inevitable — next time I speak to anyone who tried to phone me while it was turned off I’ll get an ear bashing for “ignoring” them. And that’s without even mentioning the cost (although mine costs nothing while it sits idle buried under clutter). I’m better off without it.
i rarely use my mobile (i got it just cuz when i was working casually they wouldn’t take my partner saying “yes, shawna will work tomorrow for you” as a yes when they called his mobile). i does come in handy though when trying to meet up with people
i find it really annoying (and rude) when people will actually stop a conversation with someone as soon as they hear the beep (or whatever sound) from a txt message coming in and grab the phone to read the message– its not going anywhere. finish your conversation with the person infront of you then excuse yourself when the time is right and check the message. i figure if it was genuinely urgent the person would have called.
I just joined the century and got a cell phone last summer. I know, I?m weird. The only reason I got it is because now that my daughter is almost a teenager, it?s harder to keep track of her. So we both got them. Now of course my friends and family call me, and I?m still having trouble adjusting. When I?m just sitting here and the Looney Tunes theme starts coming out of my purse, I jump out of my skin! I guess I need to get with the program.
But just think of all the employment it’s created.
Thousands of telemarketers would be out of a job if it wasn’t for the phone! 😛