We may loathe them, but then can we really do without them? A cross-section of people give their opinions.
Remember looking at monstrous cellphones they promised would revolutionise telephony a decade back, and thinking: 'Never in my life would I be caught dead with 'that'!'
Aah, if only we'd known better ...
Just two decades on and it appears mobiles have overrun the planet!
Everywhere you turn, you see people fiddling with their mobiles. While often they can be irritating, we cannot imagine life without them today.
It's a catch-22 situation. We hate them (sometimes), but cannot do without them.
Or can we?
We asked a cross-section of people two questions.
A) Are mobiles a pain or a pleasure?
B) How would life be without mobile phones?
Kazi Najib, Vice President, BenQ Mobile-Middle East and Africa
A) To tell you the truth I'll love it as long as I know that my family is reachable easily. This is one dream that usually does not get fulfilled, especially with the dual SIM card facility, as I always have a spare card with me at office!
Mobiles were initially perceived as a fine luxury allowing one the convenience of staying in contact family and friends.
B) Now this is serious. For a day or two it's OK but now a mobile phone has become one of our vital organs and it would be a tragedy to miss it permanently.
Melanie Dimayuga, Supervisor- Scarletts, Emirates Towers Hotel
A) Mobile phones are the best creation ever. They are the true definition of pleasure come to life. It makes life easier.
At this stage of the development curve in human history, I would say we need to add another item to the basic elements of life.
The list should now read: earth, wind, water, fire and cellphones.
B) Life will never be the same if mobile phones are banished with just a snap of a finger. I can't ever imagine the chaos it would bring about. It's like cutting off an arm of each and every human being.
I guess there would be 50 per cent less noise and 60 per cent less car accidents caused due to talking on mobile phones while driving, but still cellphones are something we can't live without.
Life without mobile phones will be like the burger without the patty.
Dr Minal P Patwardhan, Private Practitioner, Minal Medical Clinic, Sharjah
A) Mobile phones are like marriages ... you can't do with them and most definitely cannot do without them!
They keep you connected, in sync with those you want to, but they are also a pain, because sometimes you need your space. Of course you can choose to ignore a call or press busy, but then quite like in a relationship, such behaviour would go against social norms.
Used while driving, in meetings, movies and by kids, they are not just a pain, but a DISASTER! And to keep up with mobile technology is also such a big pain!
B) We would regress back to the 'Stone Age'. It's like asking to live without salt: you can do without it, albeit unhappily, but with it flavour abounds.
Benedict Lobo, Sales, Citizen Watches Gulf Co.
A) Definitely a pain. But a pain you can't live without.
It's like being tied in chains to your boss or your wife. Whereever you may be, you hear the familiar ?Where are you now?? query.
You do not have your privacy any more: anyone can reach you easily whenever they want. Today's mobiles have become fashion accessories as well as technological devices.
You hear of children being ridiculed in school by their friends for not having the latest tech/trendy mobile. Add to that the evils of downloading inappropriate content and (scientifically unproven) health risks.
However I think the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages. The mobile device is often the single most important communication tool in a person's life. It is often within arm's reach 24/7.
B) Mobile phones have become such a part of everyday life one wonders how we ever managed without them. However if mobile phones were banished from the earth, we would be free souls once again like in the good old days. No one to track us down or check what we are doing. There will be no mobile towers to give you microwave radiation (health hazard). But can we really do without them?
Alfred Chrispanous, Sales (IT), UAE
A) Pleasure at work and with the family.
At work it has always kept me connected and helped me provide the best service to my customers. To me it's my key working tool. I can't work without a cell.
If you can manage it well, you will be lucky enough not to receive calls you wish to avoid!
At home I have never have a land line in all these years. Cellphones have always been my first choice to reach each other at any given point of time. For calls after cut-off time, there is always an option called beep/silent.
B) Not likely to happen, unless they are replaced with some future generation technology.
Positive fallout: No more irritating ring tones, and those whispers in cinemas, places of worship etc. It will also bring back a sense of surprise while heading back to the family.
Negative fallout: Mobile phones make me feel safer, more confident and in control, while I am traveling on business or having a good time in the middle of a desert. Without them I wonder how it would all be.
Payal Jagasia, Marketing Executive, Sonic Systems
A) There is no pleasure without pain! While sometimes cellphones can be a pain (while, for example, someone blabbers on their cell, while you are watching a movie/ programme or at places of worship), the positive aspects far outweigh the small irritants. I, for one, love to listen to the 150 songs, or watch videos on my cell. I also revel in the power of spontaneous pictures with the built-in two megapixel camera. Then of course there is the convenience of speaking to anyone, anytime and from almost anywhere.
B) Its impossible to think of life without mobiles. Your friend/loved one suffers a stroke on the roads, you need that cell to call up the police or ambulance. Without 24/7 connectivity, trade and commerce - infact our very way of life, as we know it now - would go for a toss.
Fedra Machado, Airport Service Agent, Emirates airline
A) It is an absolute pleasure to have a mobile phone. I feel connected to the world each time I carry my mobile phone. I don't know what I'd do without it tagging along in my hand.
It is a wonderful tool and I would say one of the finest inventions of this century.
But the lack of social etiquette by some people while using it makes it a pain sometimes.
B) I can't really imagine life without mobile phones. I would feel a complete handicap without it. It is more of a necessity than a luxury in today's world.
Tushar Naik, Logistics, Yamaha Music
A) It really depends on who you're talking to. A pretty girl: Pleasure.
Someone you've been avoiding for a long time, but are forced to answer: Pain.
B) We can go about life without constantly being checked on by our spouses/partners, and we would use the good old public phone booth, as we used to before, to make our calls. At least one would not have to bother about recharging the public phone. Mind you, those queues were pretty good meeting points! n
