Cell phone Boon or bane?

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Everyone has cell phone woes these days. From one, a cynic like me, now owns two cell phones. I am constantly checking both, lest I miss out some revolution of my times. My mom's family is still on BB and the husband has upgraded my life by providing an iphpne as a Diwali gift. Gone are the days of gold and diamonds as Diwali gifts from the spouse. This time from his trip to Miami, he said he is getting me a valentine gift. I was super excited and looking forward to some sexy beachwear which I will pass off in Mumbai, as lounge wear. He got me a small flat box. I said "Darling, please don't buy jewellery from abroad, I can always get the originals copied from Gautam bhai, our family jeweller. I could make out it was not Tiffany's packaging colour and did not look like my favourite Harry Winston.He just smiled and said"'Its your valentine gift, my love." Very carefully I opened the white packaging. And inside was this flat metallic purple box. Purple like in the velvet robes the kings' wear. It was my iphone cover. The husband sure knows how careful I am with mobile phones.

My friend is busy teaching his colleagues, telephone rules at his workplace. "Constant checking on Whatsapp, Blackberry messenger, Twitter, Facebook, wont make you intelligent or productive" is what he keeps chanting. He has been through the temptation , I dare not say addiction, to mobile devices and has become worldly wise.There is no sense of urgency or priority in the communication channels. Most irrelevant of stuff seems interesting on my cellphone. The only thing which is there constantly with me from the time I wake up to when I hit the bed, is my two cell phones. Common courtesies have taken a backseat. I have a friend who hates BB broadcasts. He is okay if I send him a joke seperately but it cannot be a broadcast. He believes he doesnt like jokes or rather the forwarded variety. I have this belief that if you have a smartphone, the forwards shall come. You have to take the bad along with the good.

Last night a happily married friend of mine was on her anniversary dinner with her husband and she was on the whatsapp chat with us replying promptly. We did not get the good food but we did manage to snatch her me time with her husband over the romantic meal. No holding hands as she was typing on the touch screen of her new smart phone, both hands occupied.Gosh I wasnt even there but have managed to make a mincemeat of her anniversary or her marriage. 

Friends n relatives with teenage kids are constantly checking where their child is. By mid night, with the constant change of the child's plans and co ordination with friends about pickup n venue, the mobile phone battery has drained. Post two am is when the parents start calling as the child. But alas to no avail as the phone is off. Phone unreachable means child is in the pub where the network is bad. So I think now parents want to give two cellphones to their kids. One is for parents' calls only.

Is the cell phone a boon or a bane of your life?




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