Mobile phones in social life
Ten years ago, everybody was getting home after work to a fixed answerphone and nobody ever left a message. Now, everywhere you look - on trains, on buses, in shopping centres, in restaurants, at wedding receptions - what a miracle! What a transformation! So many happy people talking away into their mobile phones.
Connected at last!
However, on some social occasions, from just a meeting of two friends to a funeral, mobile phones can be the enemy. They mean that people are not joining in, they're imposing, they're disrupting. It would have been better if they'd brought a book with them, which they could get on with quietly in a corner. SWITCH THEM OFF. Liberate yourself. The missed call won't be someone saying your house has burnt down. If you can't control yourself, "check" your phone out of sight of the others, in the toilets perhaps.
It's perfectly obvious - but how often does it happen? - if you really have to either make or receive an urgent call during a social occasion, you should explain the situation to the others at the outset. When the time comes, remove yourself from the scene to deal with the call. Whatever you do, apologise.
And now, here is an appeal to the good, too-silent majority. Don't put up with it. Don't suffer in silence. If you come across some rude mobile phone addicts, don't hesitate to interrupt and ask them to move away, to switch off. If they are passengers in your car, stop, ask them to get out, especially if it's raining.
QUESTIONS
1. ARE THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? COPY THE EVIDENCE FROM THE TEXT. NO MARKS ARE GIVEN FOR ONLY TRUE OR FALSE.
a. Nowadays a lot of people seem to enjoy using the mobile phone.
b. The text suggests that it is advisable to inform the other members of the group when you are expecting an important call.
2. IN YOUR OWN WORDS AND BASED ON THE IDEAS IN THE TEXT, ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS.
a. Why is the use of mobile phones sometimes seen as antisocial behaviour?
b. What does the text recommend doing about inconsiderate mobile phone users?
3. FIND THE WORDS IN THE TEXT THAT MEAN:
a. maybe (paragraph 2)
b. beginning (paragraph 3)
c. say sorry (paragraph 3)
d. encounter (paragraph 4)
4. COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES. USE THE APPROPRIATE FORM OF THE WORD IN BRACKETS WHEN GIVEN.
a. The link between _____ (use) a mobile phone when driving and road accidents is well established and this _____ (apply) to all kinds of phones, including hands-free.
b. More technological advances _____ (be) made in the last fifty years _____in all previous centuries.
c. Charles, _____is a mobile phone addict, can't stand being away _____his phone.
COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE TO REPORT WHAT WAS SAID.
d. "Is there a mobile phone in your bag?"
I asked the girl...
5. WRITE ABOUT 100 TO 150 WORDS ON ONE OF THE FOLLOWING TOPICS.
a. Some people believe that children under the age of 13 should not have mobile phones. What do you think? Discuss.
b. Describe an unusual personal experience you have had that involved a mobile phone.
According to recent research by Ofcom, 37% of adults and 60% of teens admit to being ‘highly addicted’ to their smartphones, with users checking their smartphones on average, 34 times a day. Additionally, 51% of adults and 65% of teens use their smartphones while socializing with others, and 22% and 47% respectively, confess to answering their smartphones even while on the toilet.
ReplyDelete‘Moodoff Day’ on February 26th asks smartphone and mobile device addicts (and those that don’t yet consider themselves such) to spend a morning without their beloved devices.
If you feel you could benefit from a morning without smartphones and mobile devices and want to encourage others to follow suit, go to www.MoodOffDay.org and pledge your support. You can even post your personal experiences of smartphone addiction or upload funny images showing smartphone addicts in action at www.facebook.com/MoodOffDay