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I CAME across an interesting news item that spoke of how astonished the inventor of the mobile phone, Martin Cooper, was at the amount of time people spend on their devices.
Asking users not to do that, he suggested they should instead enjoy and make better use of their lives.
Cooper invented the mobile phone in 1973 – 49 years ago – an event that was considered a revolution in the world of communication technology.
Some may say those who invented the phones are the reason for people’s attitude but to them I say the problem lies in us for misusing and overusing something that was invented for our benefit.
Without this and other similar gadgets the world would not have made as much progress as it has in science, knowledge, medicine, economy, communications, and transportation, among others.
I, too, spend a lot of time on the mobile phone, but I find features that help me in managing my daily life. This includes paying bills, banking transactions, communications, following up on newspaper reports, searching for information, exchanging messages, expressing congratulations and condolences, and even writing.
I am absolutely convinced that there is no harm in using the mobile phone for long periods but this should be optimised.
Everything in our lives has its pros and cons. We can raise the bar and not allow the mobile phone to turn into a nightmare but use it as a means of communication and knowledge that has benefits in our daily lives.
Undoubtedly, there are rules and etiquette for the use of mobile phones in restaurants, social events, work and other places that I consider important. Unfortunately, we find that many of us do not follow those rules.
This is all due to a ‘lost culture’ in our societies. We have to, therefore, decide where we are headed.
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