I want to be with someone when alone. When we have moments like this, the smart phone is your great companion. We often sit in silence, but the phone knocks and knocks on your thigh telling that you have got messages. Then, it becomes an imp!
Nowadays, people seldom answer mobile phone calls unless they really have to. We may be busy and do not want to be disturbed. You may think it is only polite for a person to leave a voicemail or typed message instead of requiring you to talk directly. When you do not recognise the number, you will not answer a telephone call as there is too much spam these days. You are tired and holding a phone up for more than 2 minutes can be very exasperating.
It is equally not easy to handle a mobile phone message. Many do not read or listen to such messages. Some are paranoid, thinking you should talk to them instead of being indirect. More and more people check messages only at their leisure. Work is often delayed. When things around you become irrelevant, you do not want to be bothered by mobile messages. I guess why more and more families stop using a ‘landline’ at home, the old telecommunication connection by cable laid across land. I miss the classic ringtone of a home telephone: very monophonic, playing only one note at a time. These are my good old days.
A funny incident happened to me. I had a work project in which the leader set up a telephone ‘WhatsApp’ group and made 4 interesting requirements. The messages shall not be in English as the standard of English of people in Hong Kong is getting poor and some of them may not understand English. We shall all use Cantonese, a local dialect, instead of formal Chinese as Cantonese words are more ‘friendly’. We shall not leave any voice message as people are busy and they may not listen to. Reading text messages is much faster. But, those messages shall be purely about work and other unnecessary conversations may dilute the nature of the chat group. Finally, messages must be in simple words and informal. Emojis are encouraged to be embedded in the text in order to tone down feelings in case when the words used are too strong and annoying. I am an opponent of such military style because conversations should not become an act of slavery.
I would rather comply with 3 reasonable rules. When we talk on the phone or send messages, we should not be long-winded, continuing at tedious length. People have no patience nowadays. We shall not also send more than 5 to 6 messages to the other side during a text conversation. Others will be annoyed by your massive attacks. Finally, you should not use text messages for nothing other than the unmitigated commercial or political propaganda.
In modern days, people must not have unrealistic expectations about friendship. All gratification in friendship can be instant and transient. Or, friends can disappoint or betray. Mobile phones provide perfect solutions in daily life. One can ‘delete’ a friend by a finger press on an option on the screen. Alternatively, one can ‘quit’ a chat group when a need or desire arises and jump to know many other new online friends.
The most important impact on the world is smart phone. Communication technology can be our best friend. It can also be our biggest enemy. A singer said correctly about mobile phones, “For the way we are attached to our buzz and twitch in our pockets, we have to look and see if it was a text, a voicemail or an e-mail. We are almost like lab rats.”
Sorry! We have no choice!
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