Some of you will already know that I am not the most forward of people. Technology is not necessarily evil, but it isn't necessarily good, either. And some of you will be familiar with the fact that I don't have a mobile phone. I wouldn't know how to send a text message. And I have been almost proud of it.
I do have a mobile lying around. One my parents fobbed off on me when dad got a new one. It isn't in my name, and I only take it with me when I am going to the mainland for appointments on my own, or when going off to visit a friend. And it only gets used to say "I have arrived" and "I'll be taking this ferry; can you pick me up" and "I'm delayed". It gets fed some money and then I can phone. I don't even know how to feed it.
This is going to change.
First of all, there are perhaps a few things I need to explain about why I have been so anti-mobile phone.
To me, a mobile has meant a yuppie. Yes, those smart and fancy dudes during the nineties, who flashed their mobiles given half an opportunity to show off. I have never understood them. And I have not wanted to be mistaken for one. And I guess I missed the point in time when mobiles went from being yuppie status symbols to being a useful tool.
Mind you, it's not just the yuppies which have made me regard mobiles as loathsome objects. So have the people who will sit in the bus and phone somebody and inform them that they are on the bus. And not actually have anything else to say. Or the young women who need to discuss the latest activities in the bedroom (or elsewhere) and the qualities of their partner in a train compartment full of people (this has only been the women; I haven't ever overheard any guys do it). Or those who discuss confidential business matters in the rear of the bus in a loud voice.
Like all tools, a thing which can be used can also be abused. That doesn't mean the thing itself is bad. Likewise, it isn't all people who behave like bloody idiots when wielding their phones. This has taken some years to get into my head.
Another reason I haven't wanted one, is because somehow it is assumed everyone has one. And a number of services or functions are only open to people with a mobile. One which has been of hindrance to me has been the annoying issue of buying things over the internet (or more accurately, trying to buy) and being stymied by the final step involving typing in your phone number for a code to be messaged so you can verify it. And no option. I mean, youtube has this step for allowing users to upload videos longer than 15 minutes. But they also have the option of receiving a call with a code.
But the payment system couldn't even do that. They say it's for security measures. So if someone has stolen your card, it is inconceivable they might also have made off with your phone? Or just use a pre-paid phone?
This has annoyed me no end, both on my own behalf but also because there are people, many of them older, who don't have the needs, the money and/or the ability to use a mobile or computer. And so many things are being rigged up to only being accessible via a computer, and now increasingly via a mobile. And only a mobile. And that bugs me. It is still too early to solely go that way. I am among the first to have had contact with computers as a child, and that started when I was in my teens. To demand people several decades older than me to be fully functional is not cricket.
So, why am I now about to jump on the bandwagon?
Well, I am hoping to go to America sometime during the next few years. And I am hoping to go to London this autumn. And I know I can't take the mobile I'm borrowing with me, because it won't work abroad. And being able to call people while travelling is one of the good things a mobile allows. And will make life easier. And I will need time to get used to how it works.
Also, some of the places I like to frequent on the net make use of Instagram for some of their things, and I'd like to be able to join in. So, I am looking in to getting myself a phone. This will take some time, as I am a total newbie. But I will succeed.
And I know one of the questions I need answered is "can you text people on the other side of the world, and does it cost more than normal texting?" Because I may be able to get in touch with friends on a whole different level. And getting in touch with friends is good!
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