Mobile Phones ... Cure or a curse?

The good points are that thanks to mobile phones, we can now get instantly connected to anyone just about anywhere in the world, they afford us easy access in emergency situations and help transfer information quickly.

As for the negative points, sometimes, I think they outweigh the positives.

When I returned to Thailand ten years ago after being away for thirty years, I was surprised to see the changes that mobile telephones had made on Thai society and culture. Before you rarely saw a Thai person eating alone. Now, it's common and, more often than not, they are either talking to someone else on their mobile or sending/receiving text messages while eating. I was having a coffee the other day and there was a table with six young students nearby. Funnily, not a single one of them was talking to the other - they were all engaged with someone on their mobile phone!

Another disadvantage of this invention is that, unless you turn it off, you will have no private life. I like spending a lot of time riding my motorbike in the hills near Hua Hin, where I have lived for seven years. Even though my wife insists I take my mobile along in case of an emergency, I keep it switched off. After all, I go there to get away and soak up the beauty of nature.

I suppose most people would disagree with me, but sometimes I long for the time when we had no mobile phones. Ah, those were the good old days

Dr Bill Gould

Human resources director

Wall Street Institute, Thailand

www.wallstreet.in.th