Cellphone mania — a boon or a bane?

Our world has been engulfed by the cellphone revolution. This is so pervasive and so complete that life is no longer what it used to be. If one is asked to single out one element that has had the biggest influence on life lately, it would not be wrong to point the finger at the cellphone. The ‘smartphone’ has come to add another dimension to the revolution.

Remember the time, when having a telephone was a luxury in the reach of only the rich and the privileged few? All communication had to be through the post or the telegraph. Look at the situation now. Any individual of modest means has the privilege to carry around a contraption that puts him or her in instant contact with another person virtually at the touch of a button.

This said, it needs to be noted that the cellphone revolution has brought with it both good and bad news. Like everything else, even good things come with a price tag. What is needed is to study the pros and cons and arrive at a via media.

First the pros! The revolution has had the effect of bringing all and sundry to approximately the same level, at least communication wise. The age-old tilt in favour of the privileged classes has at long last been removed. What was once the prerogative of the privileged few — to chatter their lives away at will — has been brought within the reach of all classes! In effect, it has brought a brand new connotation to the phrase ‘chattering classes’.

On the individual level, there is no denying the obvious utility of this handy instrument. This new invention has brought about a veritable revolution in the field of personal communications. There is no better way of reaching out in an emergency or when time is of the essence.

The snag is that people just do not know when or where to draw the line. Some articles in the world press put the figure of mobile phones around the world at well over 200 million; and this is a conservative estimate. Over 200 million persons chatter away into these little contraptions in diverse places, some oblivious of their surroundings or the people around them!

Having acquiesced in the inherent right of people to possess and bear these contraptions, would it then be fair to ignore the rights of those who choose not to bear cellphones? For the moment, one would wish to confine oneself to problems created for the common man rather than go into such issues as the security implications of the use that criminal elements can put the cellphone to.

For one thing, shouldn’t personal privacy be an important consideration? More and more people in this day and age do not appear to be concerned about personal privacy any more. One wonders if the proud owners of cellphones are at all concerned about the fact that people all around them may be eavesdropping or that their calls may be monitored by interested parties. And need one allude to the antics of those who prefer to race around in posh cars while chattering away on their cellphones at the same time?

Financial implications, especially for those less endowed can at times be back-breaking. There are several persons who may be spending more than they can reasonably afford on servicing non-essential calls. The outrageous advertising by cellphone companies is partially responsible for this.

All in all, right thinking people must push for measures that ensure moderation in this field. No one can deny an individual’s right to bear a cellphone, but this right needs to be tempered in a way that the user does not go overboard and cause annoyance to other people around. Some regulations should be put in place. Un-harnessed use of technological advancements can at times do more harm than good.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2018.

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