That instant call

Years ago, after society had become acquainted with telephones, a new "mindset" of "instant gratification" established itself. Society, which had the technology that allowed instant communication with the outside world, raised people's expectations of speedy service and satisfaction. Similarly, with the current widespread use of the mobile phone, society is once again expecting events to happen at a moment's notice.

Anyone can tell that the introduction of mobile phones into society has certainly had some kind of effect. For a society in which mobile phone ringers now dominate many areas and calling plans are now cheap enough to be affordable to almost everyone, times are certainly changing. Ten years ago the now-familiar Nokia ring tone was a rarity, a curiosity; today, however, it is ubiquitous.

With the technology now available to send and receive calls, and increasingly pictures, from nearly anywhere, cell phones are changing how people react to other people. Because it is now possible for people to call each other on a whim, a thought, many mobile phone users do so without regard, even more so than traditional telephone users.

It seems to me that the ubiquity of this device is bound to affect our perception of the people around us.

Take this incident. Just recently I was sitting in the Basilica of the Holy Blood, in Bruges, browsing through Elaine Pagels's splendid book on the Gnostic Gospels when I heard a young lady speaking softly. Since there was no one else in that part of the church at that time, I assumed that she was speaking on a mobile phone. But something in her manner of speaking got my attention. I glanced up. Both her hands were on the book she was holding. She was talking... to herself! For reasons that I cannot readily explain, I found this oddly touching. It was so old-fashioned, so... familiar.

Again. I am sitting on a beach chair watching a father building a sand castle for his children. Next to him his daughter, a girl of 14, is playing with her puppy, a Golden Retriever aged about six weeks. She is making all the sounds that we deem appropriate when addressing a neonate of another species. Suddenly, it strikes me that she has begun to speak to the pup at a level far beyond its ability to comprehend. She is lying on her stomach, one hand cupping a mobile phone to her ear and saying (not about the dog): "Sure, he is cute. But be careful".

My search of the web threw up innumerable other reported examples of how mobile phones are changing social habits and mores.

Young Kuwaiti men reportedly carry two cell phones at a time. If they see a girl they like, they drop an extra cell phone in her car and call her.

In Israel, a man was arrested for driving with both elbows. His Mitsubishi was veering all over the road. Both hands held cell phones, each with a separate conversation.

In Italy, a waiter interrupted a discussion with his girlfriend to take a man's order. Cellular phones have become so pervasive in this country they have been dubbed the "high-tech umbilical cord" - men with cell phones call their mothers three times a day.

In the United Kingdom, a recent study reported that "a decline in cigarette smoking also coincided with a dramatic increase in mobile phone use". Very interesting, to be sure. The implications of this observation could truly affect teenage smoking in Malta, where a high percentage of the population smokes regularly. A large amount of teenagers also already own a mobile phone. An anti-smoking campaign could very well change the balance between teenage smokers and non-smokers.

How will mobile phones impact the art of conversation? How are mobile phones changing the way we interact? Are they affecting our quality of life in a positive or negative way?

I have seen couples strolling hand in hand, while their other hands hold their respective mobile phones to their ears. How romantic!

I came across a little girl in Argotti Gardens, patiently and sadly waiting for her dad to hang up his phone and teach her how to ride her bike. Is this their idea of "quality time"?

I have seen people seated at beautiful bay-view tables at La Dolce Vita restaurant who have been so consumed by their phone conversations that they seem totally unaware of their surroundings, their companions or the expensive food they are mindlessly consuming.

Twelve years ago, mobile phones were a rarity. Head executives of the largest companies possibly had one mobile phone, maybe a pager, but generally the concept of mobile telephony was way over many peoples' heads at the time.

Work was conducted via normal telephones. Even on airplanes, phones had yet to emerge. An executive on a business trip could not receive any type of information while he or she was travelling. A CEO of a small company on a lunch break could probably not be contacted. It was, to some extent, the Stone Age of business.

Fast forward to recent days. Every executive and many workers carry a mobile phone, a beeper/pager, or both. Businesspeople can be contacted any time, at any place, and can return these calls with ease. It is not uncommon to see scores of people in business suits speaking into their various types of cell phones, almost every different kind imaginable. Cell phones have seemingly made work more possible and efficient, if only by the ability to send and receive calls on the road.

Unfortunately, mobile phones are a double-edged sword, and efficiency has a price. Most businesspeople end up doing more work as a result of mobile phones; because they can receive calls at any time, on the precious few days off, executives are working just as hard as they do on workdays, whether it is to finish a last-minute project or prepare for a new one.

There is no doubt that mobile phones have had an impact on society, both good and bad. The possibilities of the usefulness in carrying a cellular phone are nearly endless - solving problems ranging anywhere from car problems to a heart attack. On the flip side, however, misuse of cell phones (for example, use in cars) has been around as long as the mobile phone itself.