Handphones

I think the most popular invention of this century must be the handphone.

Handphones are pretty handy as they are portable and can fit snugly into our pants pocket or handbag slots. They also offer the option of verbal or non-verbal communication. You don't want to talk if you don't want to..... just sms. If you need to access the internet using the handphone, just click the required function.

My youngest daughter has 2 handphones which she alternates in using. Mummy picks up the bill at the end of month for one of them. At one time, her monthly phone bill even exceeded mine! She can sms during meals, while travelling, while talking to us or watching TV....if there is a contest or a marathon for the most sms in a minute, I think she can win it hands down!

The other thing about handphones is that they can be stolen easily. I got mine flicked in the monorail while I was travelling home from work. One of my life group member shared on how her daughter was robbed of her handphone by two thugs, one of whom had put a  knife to her neck. It was a traumatic experience for her. Another member won a blackberry during an office lucky draw. It was timely for her as she had prayed for a handphone after (also) having lost hers. As for my youngest daughter she had lost her handphone 5 times in a row!

All I can say is that this generation is a blessed generation. In my days, the  handphones we had seen looked like a huge walkie talkie. I recalled that they cost around RM3k or more and only the very rich could own them. We communicated with our friends via the conventional phones in our homes or the phones in the public phone booths. These conventional phones are box like gadgets. To use it we had to insert our index finger in the little numbered holes on the slopping surface of the phone and dial. At one time, my late father got very upset with us as the five of us were costing him a fortune in phone bills. He made a decision to buy a mini padlock to lock up the phone! Still we found an ingenious way to dial the nos we wanted despite the lock and all. Well, if I tell my children this they will surely not believe me....my father had to buy a pay phone to deter us from racking up exorbitant bills!

The fact is this, when our young children grow up in adulthood, they discover this phenomenon called 'friends'. Their friends become their confidant and at times even closer to them than their parents. This is because they are looking for acceptance and a sense of belonging/identification with a peer group. The phone becomes their networking tool with this new group. Later when boyfriends or girlfriends come into the picture, they will begin to 'boil porridge' over the phone i.e what the Chinese say 'poh chok'.

I guess there is no way to avoid this new invention....we are resigned to this generation being hooked on the handphones or their little 'berry(s)'.

Ok....time to check my handphones for messages...ah...to hear the lovely ringtone indicating that I have mail........