OK; my opinions on these evil devices has changed a little over the time
they've been around - I now *own* one of the damned things, but here goes anyway.
1, Mobile telephones are not substitues for house keys, cash, knowing the telephone number you might want to call
in an emergency, making plans before you go out,
common sense or a responsible adult.
2, I'll accept that they have their uses - last minute arrangments, easy way to store telephone numbers,
easy way to make calls, but that's about it.
3, It is downright *rude* to make telephone calls of the 'I'm going to be home in five minutes darling' variety
when sitting in a train carriage/bus full of people. It just is. It simply *does not* matter - who cares, if you're one
minute, twenty seconds later than you said you'd be? Noone - dinners are remarkably resiliant to being reheated you know.
4, It is even ruder to make calls like those when sitting in a carriage with clear 'quiet' signs, for reasons that should be obvious.
5, There are places where they don't work - like valleys and tube stations - get over it - no one needs to know your exact whereabouts,
unless you're in some sort of distress, in which case use a payphone, a whistle or some other method of signalling your needs.
6, For all the reasons given above mobiles are not safety nets to give to kids; if you wouldn't let you child go somewhere without
a mobile, then either they're not mature enough to be going there unaccompanied, or you're being overprotective. Let go; kids
have to learn to be resourceful and mobiles remove important learning experiences from them.
7, The same goes for anyone who wouldn't go driving without one; they sometimes fail - if you're afraid to drive alone then learn
how to change the tyres, top up the oil and carry the right equipment with you.
8, If you have to call the emergency services and have a choice use a landline - it's easier for them to trace the call. If a mobile is
your only option, know where you are - give the ordnance survey grid reference if you can.
9, It is equally rude to use your phone over dinner in a restaurant, or in similar social circumstances - if you must make a call
go somewhere out of the way (it'll be easier for you to hear anyway) and try not to force innocent bypassers to listen to your conversation.
10, They are there to make their owners' lives easier; it's *your* phone, there for *your* convenience - not anyone else's, so none of this nonsense
about 'needing to be contactable'; it's *your* life, it's up to *you* whether you want to be contactable at any given time. Mobiles aren't supposed
to make your life more stressful. Use yours in the way that makes you happiest, remembering what I've said about the rudeness of using them in public
places.
11, There's no need to mangle the English language when texting; there just isn't.