40.Mobile phones
Q.1 Do young and old people use phones in the same way?
Ans-Oh, definitely no. Seniors generally lag behind their younger counterparts especially when it comes to using mobile phones. The only pattern they share is voice calling. In other patterns old people are usually second to the young. Teens and young adults are more enthusiastic users of cellphones, they are also bigger users of text messaging. I guess the young send and receive at least five times more messages a day than older people. Younger adults tend to use their phones for multimedia content, for taking pictures or video, for accessing Internet. They are also more likely to turn to their phones to avoid others around them or to fight boredom. All this is still strange for the old.
Q.2 What positive and negative effects do mobile phones have on friendship?
Ans-On the one hand, and it's obvious, smartphones make it easier to keep in touch with friends, and therefore they help you keep connected with your friends no matter how far apart you are. You can text your friends, make video calls any time you want. You can disclose any personal information and respond to others in their social networks. However, smartphones, originally designed as a communication tool, actually hinder rather than foster interpersonal connectedness. Unfortunately, there are many situations in which you ignore friends in favor of a mobile phone. For example, you feel the quick buzz of our phone and feel compelled to see what's happening, even if that means turning your attention away from other people. When you are on your phone, you are not looking at other people and not reading their facial expressions, tears in their eyes, frowns, smiles. You don't hear the nuances in their tone of voice, or notice their body posture. For example, I used to have a friend who checked her phone so much when we were together that I finally told her she had to choose me or her phone. Also, there are many situations in which you are mindlessly scrolling through the latest news or playing a game, instead of chatting with your friends. But giving your time, energy, thought, and attention to your smartphone instead of the person you're with is gradually ruining your friendships 'cause your friends may feel ignored and pushed away. I'll tell you more, just having a phone out and present during a conversation (say, on the table between you) interferes with the sense of connection to the other person and the quality of the conversation. This phenomenon is especially the case during meaningful conversations.
Q.3 Is it a waste of time to take pictures with mobile phones?
Ans-Well, I'd say both yes and no. It can be regarded as a waste of time if people want to create professional-looking photos that they can be proud of as, unfortunately, smartphone photos usually have low picture quality compared to those made by professional cameras. But it isn't a waste of time if people need photos for sharing with friends on their social networks and in all kinds of messengers. Above that, smartphones make it easy for people to take photographs and capture memories irrespective of where people are and without special training thanks to phones' auto-focusing, auto-metering and easy-to-use cameras. To sum up, I wouldn't say that taking smartphone pictures is a waste of time, except those cases when people need professional-looking photos.
Q.4 Many people think mobile phones can be annoying at times. Can you give any examples of that?
Q.5 Do you think there should be laws on the use of mobile phones?
Ans-Many people think mobile phones can be annoying at times. Can you give any examples of that? Well, one of the examples when I get annoyed with a mobile phone is when the phone ring interrupts an important conversation or distracts my attention from what I really need to do at the moment. Another annoying case is when people talk loudly on their phones on public transport. Such phone conversations grab my attention and don't let me relax or focus on my thoughts, which I dislike. I can also get irritated when people around play music loudly on a phone 'cause it shows their disrespect to others, which I don't consider appropriate. These are the main situations I don't like to get in.