Mobiles: A easy and efficient way of communication

Umeshka Ratnaweera

Without doubt mobiles have become an almost main necessitate or at least is in the close vicinity of becoming so. Mobile phones now ring at weddings, funerals, surgical procedures, job interviews, restaurants, conference rooms, elevators and many more. No occasion or place is immune.

The mobiles industry wants as many people as possible to enjoy the benefits of mobile tele communications and there are more than a billion mobile phone subscribers worldwide.

The dilemma is whether it has drawn closer to us in the form of a divine being or the devil himself. I'm not trying to convince that mobile phones are ghastly products but the mere owners of them pave the way for it to become so.

People should use their mobile phones in a responsible way and to be considerate and aware of situations where using their mobile phone might annoy others. The main excuse for not being responsible will be ignorance. To my knowledge, people are not taught mobile phone manners properly like table manners.

But that doesn't mean we are not responsible for doing things, which make the mobile phones a nuisance to others.

We can simply and plainly do things, which we want other people to do to us. It's not very pleasant for a mobile phone to ring at a dining table or at a conference.

But the way we think about it is totally dissimilar when it comes to ourselves. If it is us who are waiting for an important call we shall not give second thoughts for the people around us.

If you really need to keep your phone on for important calls, then turn it to silent or vibrate mode. It's the ring of a mobile phone in inappropriate places and times, which annoys people the most. Features such as text messaging, answering services, call diversion and vibration alert can be used to receive important calls without disturbing others.

Even in workplaces mobile phones play a harsh role. When one employee is conversing with a customer with all the professional manners and etiquette he or she is capable of, another employee near the place of occurrence is chatting or rather yakking freely with a friend over a mobile phone.

Many would surely not be impressed of such incidents and the firm's or organisation's status will pitch down.

When possible you can go outside or to another room to make your call if your call might disturb others. Road accidents due to usage of mobile phones are also another menace the mobile phones have created. Segregating the attention and alertness to the mobile, welcome these unwanted hazards.

People have now converted to hands free mode of mobile phones but I very much doubt if that is effective, for it is the inattention on the road, which plays the main role in accidents.

Annoying ring tones is also a factor that drives people crasy and makes cell phones, hell phones. What is annoying would differ from person to person therefore this wound would be a bit hard to heal. However you still can take reasonable care at least to the people whom you are acquainted with and facial gestures and body language might work for the rest.

In fact it got so bad a while back that the New York City Council actually had to pass a law, banning cell phone use during live performances and in museums where violators risk a $50 fine.

Another irritant fact is that sometimes, mobile addicts blurt out streams of shocking and confidential revelations.

Who needs to know all the intimate and creepy things we are now forced to overhear? Talking loudly in a confined area tends to violate on others personal space as well. Mobile phones have very sensitive microphones that can pick even the softest voice, so there is no need to shout.

If people are having trouble hearing the other caller, they should check that they have the volume on your phone set high enough.

We should be aware of where we are, whom we are with, and what others are doing before deciding to make or accept a call. In some situations it might be better to send a text message.

Messaging is a great way to communicate, but people should not send offensive or threatening text, voice, image or any other sort of messages of that kind, because it is an offence to use a mobile phone to menace or harass someone.

Mobile phones provide an easy and efficient way of communication and are very much useful to all mankind in their day to day activities. It is only that people do not know how to use it with consideration for others.

Many high technology products and equipments are considered dangerous to the society not due to any dangerousness of the product itself but the users. What we should be aware of is that the very uneasiness in being influenced by mobile phones can be diminished only by ourselves.

We, human beings, which science recognise as the species that have the biggest brain capacity should make use of common sense with a sense of politeness and it surely would go a long way in curing this dreaded disease.

We must use it wisely

Sampath Jayakody

In this highly developed context many things have emanated from the epoch-making researches and experiments of the man. Mobile phone is a result of that. Now this entity which connects people in spite of the distance is very close to our day-to-day life.

Almost all people have got this apparatus. Now anyone can hold the possess of a mobile phone at a very low price. No more exorbitant prices are highly demanded for even highly sophisticated mobile phones. While some use it for their business purposes, others use it just for the fun. Undoubtedly it is the in thing nowadays.

It is a hackneyed notion that, to everything there are two aspects called good and bad. Thus we could agree with that statement even in the present context.

Firstly, there are plenty of examples to be seen the necessity of it. This equipment not only allows people to get connected but also some advance options which make the things easier that man wants to get done is visible at present.

Today, the mobile phone is not concerned as really a fashionable one if not equipped with sophisticated technology. SMSing is now a fad specially among youngsters. It helps people to send a message to a person at a very cheap amount.

Likewise it has so may features which help the man in sundry ways. But on the contrary, there are also some bad points in which public is vexed.

We often witness people moving about pressing the buttons on a mobile phone. From their conduct with the method of working with it other people can conjecture the type of man he is and the work he does.

Now possessing a mobile has been a must lest he is thrown out of others vicinity. So, in this vastly developing world man also must be developed physically and mentally. To achieve that man must move with the alterations that take place in the society. But sometimes, instead of development deterioration could be seen.

Many parents allow their children to use mobile phones. Some concede with this while some do not because they argue that mobile phone is not a necessity to a child who is still schooling. On the one hand it is not true. Today, many people if they get stranded on the road they use the mobile phone and bring down the chaos in the minds of the people living in their houses.

Sometimes, so do the children. In another instance they can call their guardians and ask them to pick them. On the other hand some children are engrossed not with their studies but by sending SMSs.

Because of this they get distracted from school work. Involuntarily, spontaneously, the relevant work is neglected.

Sometimes people who use mobiles become a nuisance to others as they use it in a wrong manner. I have experienced that though they are instructed to switch off or put the mode into silent they do not do so. They just keep answering the calls conceitedly pretending that it is not a problem to others.

Perhaps I feel that they do not understand how inconvenient it is to another. Some people increase the volume of the phone to the maximum. It can be seen in places such as market places, churches and sometimes in private classrooms disturbing others with fearsome ring tones.

There are instances when this useful item becomes a murderer. I have heard about a family where the husband and wife used two separate mobile phones.

One day the husband had seen a message in the wife's mobile phone and it became a catastrophe. Then, some people use this to do many unscrupulous things. And also people receive absurd messages. Not only that, but also calls.

In addition to that possessing a mobile phone sometimes could be dangerous. Because when an offspring holds a phone some lunatics can directly grab the phone or frighten the child and take the phone away and vanish.

Nevertheless its popularity shows its usefulness. We cannot see a person without a mobile phone. Even the coconut plucker or a single fisherman owns a particular phone. Whatever, in this fast developing world man must be able to adapt himself according to the society.

Some may argue that what is the use of a mobile phone to a daily paid labourer, to a humble worker and to a coconut plucker. But they must not forget that they also like to go forward in this fast changing society.

Thus the necessity of a mobile phone depends on one's purpose of using it. Then if parents allow their children to use mobile phones I believe it behoves the parents to see whether they are being used in the proper manner.

Since man is the most intelligent creature in this world he must use it wisely. Finally, I wish to mention that phones should not be rejected as they have already dominated our lives.

Proper use is a must

Seetha Weerasinghe

I do not agree that mobile phones are a necessary evil. It is a very useful tool for communicating with the rest of the world. We have to treat it as a wonderful gift that we are blessed with.

In the hands of the inconsiderate individuals it becomes evil. If people are brought up to think that :"the democracy ends where the other peoples nose/ears begin" then this unwanted intrusion to other people's lives will stop.

People must be taught to use mobiles without causing harassment to others. They can have the phone on silent mode when in public and keep the conversation to a minimum softly. When driving use earphones and not touch the phone.

Use sparing. Pull to a side and answer the phone. When I drive I always put the phone off. People should not be allowed to have phones on in Cinema halls, churches, temples etc.

The phones are a wonderful invention and it is up to the people to be aware how and when to use.

If it is used properly the benefit cannot be measured.

Mobiles: A Necessary Evil?

We have had a huge response to our topic 'Is Political Activism Permissible in Universities ?. This is one of the burning problems facing the country as politics seem to have taken over education at universities.

While some thought that political activism should flourish in universities, others disagreed. Some were of the opinion that politics should be banished altogether from these hallowed seats of learning.

Again, it is a question of democracy. Such steps may not be practical in a country that values the freedom of expression. Unlike school students, university students are adults who are supposed to have a broad understanding of politics and the world around them.

But where do we draw the line ? Politics sometimes practically invade the universities, disrupting lectures and studies. Students have been killed as a result of rivalry among student unions affiliated to various political parties. It is indeed a topic that should be given serious thought by educationists and the public.

Now we move on to our topic for December. Seven million Sri Lankans carry them already and thousands more join them every day. The ubiquitous cell phone or the mobile has become a 'must-have' accessory for most people. Even schoolchildren and grandmothers flaunt them.

They have proliferated to the extent of becoming a menace. There is not a quiet place any more. Enjoying a dinner in a cosy restaurant in peace is next to impossible as the person at the next table yells the details of his dog's breakfast into his handset.

The best line in the movie is rudely interrupted by a crass ringtone. Hello ? Haven't they heard about the silent mode ? Your car is rammed from behind by a driver who is deeply engrossed not in driving but in conversation with some unseen individual over the ether. Your phone is inundated with SMS messages from people you have never heard of. Cellphone etiquette ? Whoever heard of such a thing ?

Does one need to hug the phone always ?

The mobile has its uses but should it practically take over our lives ? Should we use it in a manner that drives others round the bend ? Is a cell phone really necessary for your child in Grade Six ?

Write to us on the topic Mobiles: A Necessary Evil ? using 750-1000 words to Daily News Debate, 35, D.R. Wijewardene Mawatha, Colombo 10 or email [email protected] on or before December 18, 2007.