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View Full Version : Mobile phones: A good idea??



landmarker
21-May-06, 20:15
I've just outlined my thoughts in a another thread.
Although I've had them before my last mobile went largely unused for three years and wouldn't work at all when exhumed from a drawer the other week.
My wife bought me another one for my birthday recently.
I do not think much of the concept. Obviously there are good and bad points concerning mobiles.

On balance are they a positive or negative development for society? The genie is out of the bottle now of course and there is no going back but I thought it might prove an interesting debating point.

pultneytooner
21-May-06, 20:40
I've just outlined my thoughts in a another thread.
Although I've had them before my last mobile went largely unused for three years and wouldn't work at all when exhumed from a drawer the other week.
My wife bought me another one for my birthday recently.
I do not think much of the concept. Obviously there are good and bad points concerning mobiles.

On balance are they a positive or negative development for society? The genie is out of the bottle now of course and there is no going back but I thought it might prove an interesting debating point.
Awright if you want a brain tumour.

sjwahwah
21-May-06, 22:58
Awright if you want a brain tumour.

Exactly! I've never owned one & hopefully never will and am shocked at the way they have turned society for the worse! Every where I turn people texting... people talking about nothing really loudly on the bus. Not to mention.. totally detrimental to your health.. heating up your brain 3 degrees everytime you use it. Plus, all the folk that live in the cross hairs of all the masts ( I do right now sadly) Must say though I've been considering one of these data cards for the computer but, don't really wanna contribute to this scourge!

Whitewater
21-May-06, 23:01
I find them very useful, particularly when I'm out and about on my bike in case of an accident. In my hill walking days, I always used to carry one in case one of the party had an accident of some sort, but often found that I had no reception in particular areas, so in some cases they were useless. Overall I think they are very useful when used properly, particularly when my wife wanders off in the shops when we are in a city, I always manage to find her (when I want to). My only objection to them is, that some people do not know when switch them off, particularly when you are in the cinema or theatre, or some other such place, they can be very annoying.

I must admit that I do like to get away from the world for a few days or so sometimes, so as I can shut myself off in the hills or some such place, have the phone with me but switched off, just incase I need it. I know the purists among you will say I'm not really away from it all as long as the phone is with me. Perhaps your right, but I guess it acts as my security blanket.

sjwahwah
21-May-06, 23:23
I guess we can say goodbye to the news stories of some chap sawing off his arm to escape a hillwalking accident.

ice box
21-May-06, 23:48
Exactly! I've never owned one & hopefully never will and am shocked at the way they have turned society for the worse! Every where I turn people texting... people talking about nothing really loudly on the bus. Not to mention.. totally detrimental to your health.. heating up your brain 3 degrees everytime you use it. Plus, all the folk that live in the cross hairs of all the masts ( I do right now sadly) Must say though I've been considering one of these data cards for the computer but, don't really wanna contribute to this scourge!
But it's good to talk talk

melted_wellie
22-May-06, 00:12
But it's good to talk talki couldnt be without mine,it makes a great door-stop.

Niall Fernie
22-May-06, 10:18
Have one that sits uncharged in a drawer somwhere although I do charge it and take with if I'm going outwith the town.

As for phones in cinemas etc the French have the right idea:
http://networks.silicon.com/mobile/0,39024665,39125045,00.htm

candyfloss
22-May-06, 10:24
I have one too, but don't use it very often, though it is handy when your out and about, and to keep track of the kids when their out somewhere and their late home for dinner:roll:

Murdina Bug
22-May-06, 11:55
Niall, the French idea of blocking all phone reception may seem like a good idea but I am not for it. On the odd occasion that my hubby and I get out to the cinema together I have my phone on silent in case the baby sitter needs us.

How about just dragging the offenders outside and photographing them so that they are not allowed back again!! Surely the humiliation would put them off doing it again?

Whitewater
22-May-06, 12:13
I guess we can all have problems in public places, but I wonder how we ever managed in these places before mobile phones we invented. I think it is probably OK to keep phone in silent mode, and go outside to answer.

Niall Fernie
22-May-06, 12:41
Murdina Bug, I cannot agree with that one. If you have a reason that requires you to leave your phone on all the time, then should you really be going out to the cinema?

JimH
22-May-06, 12:51
I used to have to be contactable 24 hours a day, and found the mobile a god send. If i was in a public place I would put it on silent alert and move somewhere quiet to answer. It can be done without annoying people.
I did see some pillock prancing about on a corner in the city making a big thing about talking to somebody - unfortunately for him, his phone rang whilst he was talking.
Mobile phones must be a god send to parents wanting to keep tabs on their children.

changilass
22-May-06, 13:00
Murdina Bug, I cannot agree with that one. If you have a reason that requires you to leave your phone on all the time, then should you really be going out to the cinema?

For some of us, being able to go out and have the mob on silent/vibrate is the only way we get the chance of having a social life.

Typical that the ignorant few again spoil things for the majority.

jings00
22-May-06, 15:35
i use mine mainly for texting, i hate usin the fone. landline, mobile or whatever.
annoys me when you hear ringtones set on full volume, is it necessary? and should just be common courtesy to switch off when yer in the pictures or in a restaurant or similar. even more annoying when you see people using them INSIDE hospitals!!

JAWS
22-May-06, 16:55
Exactly! I've never owned one & hopefully never will and am shocked at the way they have turned society for the worse! Every where I turn people texting... people talking about nothing really loudly on the bus. Not to mention.. totally detrimental to your health.. heating up your brain 3 degrees everytime you use it. Plus, all the folk that live in the cross hairs of all the masts ( I do right now sadly) Must say though I've been considering one of these data cards for the computer but, don't really wanna contribute to this scourge!
What's the difference between somebody talking on a mobile and having to listen to the life stories if every numbskull on a bus or in a restaurant.
At such times I usually find that the most irritating thing is some loudmouth doing their best to be the centre of attention. This is only slightly more annoying than the person who insists that you couldn't possibly want to miss the opportunity to become engaged in conversation with them.
At least when I'm on the phone I have some chance of ignoring them.

Rheghead
22-May-06, 17:15
I don't like loud or annoying ringtones on phones, they are completely unnecessary and are very annoying to all around. I believe folk can have a 'organic' sound option like birds twittering or other less intrusive sounds or the vibe option.

RandomHero
22-May-06, 17:27
Exactly! I've never owned one & hopefully never will and am shocked at the way they have turned society for the worse! Every where I turn people texting... people talking about nothing really loudly on the bus. Not to mention.. totally detrimental to your health.. heating up your brain 3 degrees everytime you use it. Plus, all the folk that live in the cross hairs of all the masts ( I do right now sadly) Must say though I've been considering one of these data cards for the computer but, don't really wanna contribute to this scourge!

communication. mobiles have helped people connect with people we havnt seen in a long time. if u want to use them, use them.

Bingobabe
22-May-06, 17:43
I have a mobile and it is a god send would not be without it. Its really handy if im working and i have to phone home to check on my baby which i do every day. So what if people have diffrent ring tones some of them i find quite amusing and so what if there loud and as the saying goes if the music to loud youre getting to old.:Razz

landmarker
22-May-06, 18:26
If only people were as considerate as some in here.
Interesting comments for which I thank thee.
I wince when I hear the occasional banal ringtone. Of course it's wrong to be judgemental (I suppose) but you can't help musing to yourself 'what a pratt'
when one hears a silly noise as the precursor to an incoming call.

Mind you, I once had the sound of a 1340cc. vee twin heralding most functions of my computer. That was a long time ago though and it was entirely private.

I personally think camera phones should be outlawed. Given the rise of personal assaults filmed for entertainment. Mobiles have made many the target for streets robbers. I do not like to see kids with their ears clamped to phones at tender ages. Eery time I see somebody stood at a bus stop,or simply walking down the street staring into their hand held device I roll my eyes. So many of these tied in contracts result in 'free minutes' which are used simply because they are there. The resultant conversations, when public, should be enough to induce termination by a bolt of lightning from above.

I understand that some folk see them as essential pieces of kit, but we all managed for so long. Is all 'progress' good. I see delivery drivers wired up for sound with 'Madonna' type fancy bits of plastic stuck in their earhole.
I could never submit myself to such indignity. An automaton , permanently on call. I think it's slightly de-humanising.

Whenever I see drivers holding phones I want to scream. It happens many times a day, and most of them are women.This offence should be punishable with six points minimum.

But then I'm a traditionalist old trumper and happy to admit it.

On balance,in my opinion mobiles have been a negative for society. Big Brother (the state, not the prog) will always know where you are and where you have been. Bothered? Me neither, not really, but it is worth thinking about.

mccaugm
22-May-06, 18:49
The amount of times I think someone has lost the plot and is talking to themselves with those earpiece thingies.
I know they are the things of the future, they remind me of the "beam me up Scottie" devices from Star Trek strapped to peoples lugs instead of their chests. :lol:

Murdina Bug
22-May-06, 18:56
Murdina Bug, I cannot agree with that one. If you have a reason that requires you to leave your phone on all the time, then should you really be going out to the cinema?

Are you serious?? I have a child and rarely manage to get out at the same time as my husband. On the occasion we do go out together we like to be contactable in case of emergencies. I think that there will be a lot of people in the same situation, including those on-call etc. Does that mean that I shouldn't have a social life at all? I really don't think it is too unreasonable to be carrying a mobile phone in silent mode and blanket blockage of signals is really taking a hammer to crack a nut in my opinion. As Changilass said as usual it's the few spoiling it for everyone else.

I also hate the loudmouths who use them in public, annoying ringtones, use in cinemas, restaurants, cars etc but that is a social issue which should be tackled in individual cases, NOT by such a heavy handed approach.

Bingobabe
22-May-06, 19:06
Are you serious?? I have a child and rarely manage to get out at the same time as my husband. On the occasion we do go out together we like to be contactable in case of emergencies. I think that there will be a lot of people in the same situation, including those on-call etc. Does that mean that I shouldn't have a social life at all? I really don't think it is too unreasonable to be carrying a mobile phone in silent mode and blanket blockage of signals is really taking a hammer to crack a nut in my opinion. As Changilass said as usual it's the few spoiling it for everyone else.

I also hate the loudmouths who use them in public, annoying ringtones, use in cinemas, restaurants, cars etc but that is a social issue which should be tackled in individual cases, NOT by such a heavy handed approach.He must have no children by saying something like that.

fred
22-May-06, 19:09
Have one that sits uncharged in a drawer somwhere although I do charge it and take with if I'm going outwith the town.

As for phones in cinemas etc the French have the right idea:
http://networks.silicon.com/mobile/0,39024665,39125045,00.htm

I just saw an advert for Toot Tone (http://www.redneckworld.com/Redneck_Humor/TootTone.wmv) the other day and was thinking about getting one.

It just struck me that they could do it in reverse so no one knows you have your phone on in the cinema.

obiron
22-May-06, 19:25
of course mobile phones are a great. can keep track of my oldest when he's down the street. get jokes from pals. our house phone was off for a few years and we just used the mobile. only switched it back on cos we got the computer.

Fluff
22-May-06, 20:04
i like my phone for many reasons. one of thembeing now i have moved from thurso to reading, i can almost always reach my mum for a yatter. as for children using them, i am so against children having mobiles. here is rarely a need for them to have them.
i didnt get my first phone until i was 16. it was a present from my parents after doing my standard grades. i have only had 3 phones, i dont see the point of people changing their mobiles like their socks!
as with anything there are problems and risks, but be sensible and you will be fine!

scorrie
22-May-06, 20:10
I just saw an advert for Toot Tone (http://www.redneckworld.com/Redneck_Humor/TootTone.wmv) the other day and was thinking about getting one.

It just struck me that they could do it in reverse so no one knows you have your phone on in the cinema.

Toot Tone? I am sure we bought a paint called that some time ago. It was a whitey/pinky colour that we needed to match our big purple pelmet ;o)

JAWS
22-May-06, 20:25
I wouldn't be without my phone, it the best thing for attracting birds I've ever come across. They find it so alluring every time my phone rings that they all flock towards me.

I have a cockerel for the ringtone and every hen for miles around......:eek:

Fran
23-May-06, 00:54
I would be lost without my mobile, never go out without it, but dont use it. I only use it for emergencies, especially when travelling, and incase of accidents when i have had to use it on 3 occasions. i think it is a lifesaver.

sjwahwah
23-May-06, 03:22
What's the difference between somebody talking on a mobile and having to listen to the life stories if every numbskull on a bus or in a restaurant.
At such times I usually find that the most irritating thing is some loudmouth doing their best to be the centre of attention. This is only slightly more annoying than the person who insists that you couldn't possibly want to miss the opportunity to become engaged in conversation with them.
At least when I'm on the phone I have some chance of ignoring them.

Here's the sma difference.. they are talking to themselves.. having a right good laugh that everyone has to put up with, when they're sittin' there lookin' like eejits! And no offence.. but c'mon.. what about the new bionic earpiece thingie! LAME! get a life. sorry.

succumb
succumb
succumb.....

sjwahwah
23-May-06, 03:24
Are you serious?? I have a child and rarely manage to get out at the same time as my husband. On the occasion we do go out together we like to be contactable in case of emergencies. I think that there will be a lot of people in the same situation, including those on-call etc. Does that mean that I shouldn't have a social life at all? I really don't think it is too unreasonable to be carrying a mobile phone in silent mode and blanket blockage of signals is really taking a hammer to crack a nut in my opinion. As Changilass said as usual it's the few spoiling it for everyone else.


I also hate the loudmouths who use them in public, annoying ringtones, use in cinemas, restaurants, cars etc but that is a social issue which should be tackled in individual cases, NOT by such a heavy handed approach.
what? you gonna tell me you don't have landline? let's get real... so, I suppose while yer oot do you phone to "check in" on the kids?

and.. it is the many that spoil it for the mobile phone haters that gotta put up with numerous highly dangerous moby towers in their backgarden & dottin the landscape all over!

sjwahwah
23-May-06, 03:28
maybe ya'll dig it but, I find it to be a scourge and highly UNsociable item. yes. unsociable. you walk doon the street with yer mate and they're on a moby to someone in glasgow. yer having a right laugh in the pub.. deet deet deet.. mates gotta text gotta go home. blah blah

and.. anyone that's got a moby has NO place moanin about pylons or windfarms... all this CRAP perpetuates it.

amen. (even tho I think relig is a crock.)

plutonio
23-May-06, 10:50
a must have, when driving in the winter time up the A9.

Niall Fernie
23-May-06, 10:59
He must have no children by saying something like that.
hehe, caught... Just don't get me started on baby monitors...

Cedric Farthsbottom III
23-May-06, 14:47
My mobile isn't for texts.Isn't for calls.Not even for a few games of snake.

Its the best alarm clock...ever!!Won't need it this week though..on holiday in sunny Wick:cool: :cool:

pultneytooner
23-May-06, 20:47
My mobile isn't for texts.Isn't for calls.Not even for a few games of snake.

Its the best alarm clock...ever!!Won't need it this week though..on holiday in sunny Wick:cool: That's what I used mine for.[lol]

Bingobabe
23-May-06, 21:03
hehe, caught... Just don't get me started on baby monitors...

I have 3 baby monitors.lol

Niall Fernie
23-May-06, 21:56
I've watched people lose weight and go grey due to the effects of Babymonitoritus :eek: Can't be good for your knees either running up and down the stairs every time the monitor makes a squeak. I'm pretty confident now (having no children of my own) that all babies can actually breath without making a loud noise and like the rest of the human population they sometimes need to clear their throat with a little cough :roll: The monitors are noisier than the baby and should come with a wee sticker that you can put on your front door, warning guests of possible manic behavior.

To be honest, I think I'd rather put up with the cot being in the corner of the living room and just get used to being quiet etc, although I'm also pretty sure that none of the baby monitor owners I know would agree with me.

Rheghead
23-May-06, 22:35
I have 3 baby monitors.lol

You must wear out your parents summat chronic?

George Brims
23-May-06, 23:26
What's this nonsense about a phone heating up your brain by 3 degrees? If you wired the battery to a heating coil and used the battery to generate heat directly I bet there's not enough energy in it to heat your brain, never mind indirectly where most of the radiated energy is speeding off at the speed of light to all corners of the universe. Perhaps the person whose brain heated up was asleep and answering the phone forced them to wake up and think?

brandy
24-May-06, 13:27
ok adding my 2 p worth here..
on baby monitors..
a lot of the ones now adays.. are the ones that go off when they do not detect the baby breathing.
so yes as a parent i think that they are worth every penny and every sleepless moment.. there is nothing worth the risk of your childs life.
if we have another baby i plan on getting the video feed so that we can look in without "looking in"

as for mobiles.. i think they are great when used responsibly.
as there are very few phone boxes now adays mobiles are more a necessity.
a few examples in my experiance.
in one day.. on a trip to glasgow.. first the tire blew out and we had to call the AA
then later that same night the car hydroplaned on a very rural road.. and we hit a stone wall.. we were able to call 999 that time.
being able to call the house when i have been caught in traffic .. due to work or an accident to call spouce so that he will not worry that something has happened when i am hours late.
having teh mobile with us .. on one of the 3 occasions yearly we get to go out for a meal without the kids.. just in case..
calling from the airport to say that yes the plane hasnt crashed..
to call my mom overseas to tell her that yes im on my way..
dont cry.. ill be there soon.. as im rushing to catch a flight.
the lists go on and on.. and none of them are silly or stupid reasons to have a phone.
a mobile is just like a landline..
you should have good phone manners.
you would not sit in your house on the phone if you had company in now would you?
you would not be rude and loud,
and most people wait to have those long intimate phone calls to a time they have privacy.
we teach our children good phone manners just have to extend that to mobiles as well.
and once they are old enought to have a mobile .. if we lead by example.. hopefully they will follow

JAWS
24-May-06, 13:58
What's this nonsense about a phone heating up your brain by 3 degrees? If you wired the battery to a heating coil and used the battery to generate heat directly I bet there's not enough energy in it to heat your brain, never mind indirectly where most of the radiated energy is speeding off at the speed of light to all corners of the universe. Perhaps the person whose brain heated up was asleep and answering the phone forced them to wake up and think?
It's another Scare Story put out by somebody looking for funding. As soon as advice was given to use earpieces the danger immediately became that the earpieces would act as antennae and fry the brain even faster.
When that was shown to be rubbish again it changed to saying they hadn't been around for long enough to be sure what the effects might be after fifty years.
The though which worries me is of waking up in my coffin in 2300 only to find that five hundred years previously my mobile phone had fried my brain and the battery had gone flat so I could not phone for help.

It's like the warnings not to use them in Filling Stations. Everybody knows it can cause explosions but, despite the millions of mobile phones and the hundreds of thousands of filling stations, there is not one documented case of this ever having happened.

Everybody hates Mobile Phones but just watch when one rings anywhere where there are a lot of people, even in Resaurants, and see how many people start to check it's not theirs! In fact, quietly make your own ring so you can watch the reactions when it continues ringing, it's fun to see how many of those who hate them reaching for pockets, bags etc. If your lucky you can even catch the staff at it!

Rheghead
24-May-06, 13:59
On the question of baby monitors, what sort of things are the parents looking out for? In the case of cot death, with all the hi-tech in the world, I don't think baby monitors will prevent it.

As for baby CPR, I believe that it only works in 2% of all cases.

When rheghead junior comes along, i think i would go the other way and put earplugs in if it acts up.

Niall Fernie
24-May-06, 15:00
A baby monitor that detects if your child is breathing? Surely this must be similar to the glass box they put premature babys in? Plenty of wires and sensors to go with it. A nanny would surely be cheaper. :roll:

I was more referring to the one way radio where people put the "mic" in the room with the baby and attach the other end to a 200 gigawatt PA system so they can hear the babys heartbeat in New Zealand. [evil]

brandy
24-May-06, 18:26
nial the ones that detect that a baby is breathing is only about 60 pounds.. they range from about 60-100 pounds .. so dont think that is too expensive.. for sensors..
and yup they are the same as what they use in the hospital..
just cheaper versions.. *G*

brandy
24-May-06, 18:27
just to clarify its sensors that go under teh matress.. not the whole kit and kaboodle

Alice in Blunderland
24-May-06, 18:52
I think my mobile phone is a welcome addition to my handbag.I found my phone a lifeline a few years ago when my car decided to give up on the M6 north of Manchester.I had my two youngest in the car and it decided to breakdown nowhere near an emergency phone had I not been able to call for help I would have panicked worse than I did.It has to be said again its the few who spoil it for the rest who use our phones thoughtfully.

Ricco
24-May-06, 20:25
One day I was travelling upto London for a conference and there was a young lady in the same carriage. She entertained us all with a clear and detailed description of her night's activities with some young chap. Amasingly, she was oblivious to the audience seated around her. Stunning display of 'blondness'!