📘 Part 3: Mobile phones

This episode's vocabulary

Placement (noun) - a temporary position or job in an organization.

On the fly - if you do something on the fly, you do it quickly, often while you are doing something else, without preparing and without thinking too much about how it should be done.

Opportune (adj.) - happening at a time that is likely to produce success or is convenient.

Time sink (noun) - a time sink is a task that takes a long time or wastes someone's time.

Resentment (noun) - a feeling of anger because you have been forced to accept something that you do not like.

Commonality (noun) - the fact of sharing interests, experiences, or other characteristics with someone or something.

Priority (noun) - something that is very important and must be dealt with before other things.

Interface (noun) - a connection between two pieces of electronic equipment, or between a person and a computer.

Commonplace (adj.) - happening often or often seen or experienced and so not considered to be special.

Integration (noun) - the action or process of combining two or more things in an effective way.

Intrusive (adj.) - affecting someone in a way that annoys them and makes them feel uncomfortable.

Outright (adverb) - completely or immediately.

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Questions and Answers

M: Is it a waste of time to take pictures with mobile phones?

R: I think that will depend on what you're photographing, won't it? In addition to what you're doing the photographing with. I suppose if you take the same picture a million times, then it seems pointless. And if you're photographing with something that doesn't work really well, then it's also not really a great idea. But sometimes you need to photograph something so you won't forget it. I had to do that when I was on placement. And when I was in school and saw something interesting from my file. I imagine other people have similar needs they need to meet on the fly.

M: What's the impact of cell phones?

R: Well, in general, they've expanded communications opportunities to all corners of the globe. Allowed people to keep in touch more regularly. And more recently, we've been given access to the internet, more opportune moments than before. So you could say they've brought us and information closer together.

M: What positive and negative effects do mobile phones have on friendship?

R: Well, I suppose the benefits include being able to stay in contact more often and share information about things more readily. However, I can see how speaking to people all the time would distract you from other friends and tasks and be a time sink that might create resentment.

M: What do you think will happen in the future with mobile phones and friendship?

R: Well, I hope that we'll all get used to it. And so the chances of things going wrong will be vastly reduced.

M: What do you think about people who speak loudly on mobile phones in public places?

R: I don't usually see the need for it. Maybe they have poor volume control and a lack of self-awareness. Or maybe they just love being the centre of attention or don't care about the feelings and personal space of others. Regardless, I do find it something to deal with rather than something I enjoy.

M: Do young people use mobile phones the same way as old people do?

R: Well, I imagine they use different apps, but the purpose will ultimately be the same. I mean, they'll share information with people they consider to be a priority. Despite that commonality, they'll probably have different priorities. I can't imagine many older people use them to communicate with work or for work more broadly. Especially if they've retired. Well, then they won't be working at all, will they? By contrast, young people are far more likely to do so.

M: What kind of mobile phones will become more popular in the future in your country?

R: I'd be surprised if there wasn't more of the same really. Perhaps the interfaces will change with connections between mind, body and device. They'll become more commonplace. You can already see it in some wearable tech like smartwatches and glasses. It doesn't seem like there's much to stop such integration from progressing. So they'll still do what they've done before allowed us to share information at greater rates and then more varied formats.

M: Many people think that's mobile phones can be quite annoying. Can you give any examples?

R: Well, we already talked about people being loud on their phones. So I suppose an extension of that would be phones which are loud with intrusive ringtones and sound effects. On the subject of which they can also cause people to be rude by drawing their attention away from whatever they were supposed to be doing or whoever they were supposed to be talking to.

M: Do you think there should be laws on the use of mobile phones?

R: Well, I think there already are, aren't there? You can't use them in planes or in certain parts of hospitals for the most part. Broadly, though, it would be good if we could agree on social rules for their appropriate use. Maybe, if not outright bans in some places.

M: Can you imagine like, on Mondays we can't use smartphones. So Mondays, smartphones are banned all over the world. So you can't use your smartphone on a Monday. Like Monday, Wednesdays, no smartphone days. Can you imagine that?

R: I can't. I don't see what that would achieve. Like, it doesn't seem like it would accomplish anything.

M: Yeah, true. It just would add annoyance to people's lives. So, that's it, thank you very much, Rory, for your answers, for your well informed, detailed answers.

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