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Is the mobile phone a much needed and improver of our lives or the invention of the devil? Would you like to be away from the phone signal as Troy Evans said?

I think there's lots of positives about cell phones. I get irritated when people can't take their eyes off them. I saw a woman backing out of the parking lot today while looking at her phone. Why not wait a minute or two? Is it like a taser. If you don't touch it for two minutes it shocks you. Sorry....my pet peeve.

There is good and bad about the cell phone. People need to be mindful of when others are around.

The mobile phone, especially the smart phone is become a way of life, but it can become an instrument that controls us. As fasting is good for the body fasting from the mobile phone at times is healthy for the mind.

Despite its positives, especially if you break down on the road, I go with invention of the devil. Everyone expects you to answer straight away these days and gets so uppity when you don’t as if it is their right that people answer you whenever. People are glued to their phones these days. You see a family at a pub meal all sitting looking at screens and no one talking to each other. Or even worse two young people who look as though they are on a date spending all their time on their phones. Even regularly see mothers pushing a baby in a pushchair looking at their phone when crossing the road, or walking down the road interacting with their phone rather than with their child.

It’s okay I’ll get off my soapbox now! 🤣

>5 Andrew-theQM: sadly, so true.

>5 Andrew-theQM: Do you object to my placing my soapbox next to yours, Andrew? I have the same observations as you.
How can young children these days learn to communicate and socialise when their mothers pay them no attention, (except to bark at them to ‘shut up’)? Half the little ones one sees these days seem to have trouble even speaking coherently.

And personally? I just think there’s no hiding place anymore…

I say a little bit of both. But it is disingenuous to deny just how much benefits it provides. But like any other invention over dependence definitely has it's downsides. As for the social aspect where we often say people are glued to their phones but I argue that this is not just because of the cell phone but because of an innate desire to be so disconnected from one another. I could go on but this is not the place. I just hate to hear folks long for the good old days while fully indulging in the fruits of modern technology. Look where we are at this moment and what we're doing.

All welcome on my soap box! Agree with all you say. Having worked in education for the past 33 years the issues around speech and language have ballooned. >7 Sergeirocks: The lockdown showed how important socialisation was and talking regularly with others. Amazing the massive difference in the children who started at our nursery (age 3) and reception (age 4) at and just after the lockdowns. These children are now in Year 2 and 3 and still present massive issues to the schools they are in, and how far behind the norm you’d expect. Seen this in a few schools where I am a governor.

>8 ColinMichaelFelix: Good point.
To be honest always hated being able to be contacted by phone, whether it be the old landlines or mobiles. My introvert nature I believe.

>8 ColinMichaelFelix: I’m with Colin. There are so many wonderful things that cellphones have provided. It’s we who abuse and misuse it. I try to take a iphone holiday a few days a month. Lol. My quibble is more with the internet..that’s the devil.

>9 Andrew-theQM: Thank you for this information, Andrew. I've read how children in the US schools are struggling after lockdown, and I appreciate your sharing with us about students in the UK. And I'll put my soapbox up next to yours! I like having a cell phone, but it is in another room when I'm reading or (like here) catching up on LT. Or playing music or watching TV. I am appalled when I see people staring at their screens when they cross a parking lot, or mothers not paying attention to their kids on the train because they're staring at their screens. Or couples out for a date doing the same thing. The person is right there, waiting for your conversation and attention!!