MOBILOMANIA: Are You Mobile Safe?

Mobile phone today is not just a calling device it is much more. It can connect to the internet as efficiently as it can play the music. Work or play it can manage both effortlessly. It has really transformed into an ‘all-in-one’ device and thus has become a part and parcel of our daily life. But using this device for our convenience is one thing and getting addicted to it is another. Do a small exercise and you will find the truth for yourself. Just walk around a street near you and observe the people around. You will find that six out of ten people are busy with this hand held device. I call this as Mobilomania. Mabilomania, this word doesn’t exist in the English dictionary but looking at the ongoing craze for mobile phones, that day is not far when a need will arise to coin such a word.

Can this craze be hazardous, let’s check out.

Spectacles, which were once a sign of forty plus are now aiding the vision of four plus kids thanks to the high end games which their parents’ smart phones offer. TV and computers were already creating a hindrance in the physical activities and outdoor sports of kids. To add fuel to this we now have mobile phones. No doubt that these phones are making the generation smart but are also equally responsible for their physical degradation.

In the past we greeted people by removing our hat, today, we do it by removing our earphones. Bus or train no matter which mode of transport we are travelling in, we always find people around with their earphones on. In our company buses too somewhat similar picture can be seen. Moreover what is incredulous is the fact that these earphones are welded in the ears even after people get out of the bus. Many have their breakfast with music thumping in their ears. The earphones are removed only after they reach their desk. Are these people really passionate about music? No, it’s just a Mobilomania.

Things don’t stop here, we find people with their earphones on even while they are themselves driving. Worst part is when a person doesn’t have a handsfree or a blutooth headset and thus struggles to attend a call with phone stuck to ear and neck tilted to support it. A picture can speak a thousand words so see this picture. Handsfree or no Handsfree, talking on phone while driving means you are giving an open invitation to accidents but still people do it. Is a phone call more important than one’s life?

Few days back, while waiting for a train at Ghatkopar railway station, a very funny hoarding caught my attention. It was an appeal by a local politician. It read, “Please do not cross the railway line, but if you still do, please ensure that while doing so you are not talking on mobile phone”. After giving a little thought, I realized that the hoarding was not really that funny, it was actually depicting the harsh reality. Crossing a railway line is an offence. This is a rule made for the well being of people but as they say rules are made to be broken, very often we see people crossing the railway line. They consider themselves so efficient in this adventure that they make it more audacious by talking on mobile phone. Multitasking isn’t always good. This act can take them to their ‘Final Destination’ but still who cares?

I am writing this prudent article doesn't mean that I never suffered from this Mobile addiction. I too have gone through this phase. Once upon a time on the streets of Mumbai, mobile phone fixed to my ear, engrossed in a discussion, I was walking. Oblivious to the outer world I missed a big stone which was lying in my way. I fell down. Fortunately there was no major injury but I was definitely taken aback. Coming to my senses I realized that the place where I had fallen was very close to a construction site and I had missed the iron construction rods by just few inches. Had things went wrong anything could have happened. Honestly speaking, I was lucky. But this realization was enough to learn a lesson (Thank God!)

Mobile phone is really a boon which technology has given us but its overuse can lead to our doom. Remember, the famous ad campaign of a cellular company ‘Walk when you talk’ doesn’t stand true when it comes to real life. By reading this article if at least one of you is able to get rid of this addiction then I would consider my writing as successful. And if you do not suffer from this mania and you still own a mobile phone, then Congrats my dear friend, you can proudly call yourself as Mobile Safe!

-Nachiket Dabhadkar 

(The writer once represented the Mobilomaniac generation

And is a proud owner of one of the costliest smart phones present in the contemporary markets)

* Photo Courtesy:  Anup Joshi  (Another diplomat of a Mobile crazy population)