Get rid of your mobile phone!
‘Are you mad! How can you suggesting such a thing!’ I imagine you are shouting at your computer screen. I do understand: Your mobile is a part of you. Where would you be without it, etc etc. Well, believe it or not - despite the fact that I am a fully functioning adult male in the high-flying media world - I have never owned a mobile phone. How can that be? I hear you all ask, in astonishment. The answers quite simple.You may be old enough to remember when mobiles first appeared on the scene and we were all irritated by the sight of all those high-fliers who appeared to be holding large black bricks to their ears. It drove us crazy to hear their innane chatter on the bus, which prevented us from concentrating on the book we were trying to read – and how bloody stupid they looked! Well, I never lost that feeling that mobile phones were an unnessessary and expensive luxury. In fact I eventually concluded that the person that would most benifit from me owning a mobile phone wouldn’t be me, it would be the person trying to phone me to tell me they were going to be late for a meeting: if I didn’t have a phone then they would have to make more of an effort to reach me on time! It would be they who would have to get their act together.
Or when my wife trying to find out where the hell I was, and what time I was going to get home, and could I pick up a takeaway on my way home. The mobile phone was in fact a sinister little devise – an electronic manicle – which would effectively make me on-call to all people at all times. The only benefit it seemed to offer me was that I would suddenly be in a position to tell anyone I wanted to that I was ‘on the bus.’ I have actually seen children phoning their parents to tell them to open the front door for them, as they are walking up the front path! This was a world I wanted no part of.
But, yes, I know. You’ve got used to having one – how could you now live without it? Well, if the media does suddenly announce that those little magic devices really do, definitely give us brain cancer, you’ll all have to learn to live without them pretty quickly or I’ll end up the only man left alive on Planet Earth.
But scare-mongering aside, I know in my heart of hearts that you and your mobile are inseperable, so I’m just going to suggest some new ground rules for yourself. For one thing, if you just decided to make all your conversations purely functional rather than conversational. In other words you used the phone simply to make arrangements. If you are the kind of person who likes to chat for half an hour - on the way to meet the person you are chatting to – this could save you a small fortune! If you feel the urge on the train home, just read a book instead, or enjoy the scenary. Trust me, you’ll not only feel superior to all those around you who are nattering away about nothing – you’ll also knock about 75% off your phone bill.
Or shop around for a better deal. Most mobile phobne users just stick with what they know, but it’s a competive market, so there’s always going to be someone out there who will save you money on your phone. If you think you’ve got the best mobile deal in town, let us know!