Cellphone or sell the phone? It's up to you

FIRSTLY, a big thank you for all the positive feedback on last week's article - I got emails galore and was even approached in person, several times, while out and about.

The issue of driver licence testing, in particular, seems to have revved a few engines, so to speak.

There were also some negative emails - two, to be precise, both of which used the same argument: "All the details are on the website." I'm so tired of hearing this line ... from any business. It's like they think it absolves them from not having the same level of detail available in store.

It also comes with that arrogant assumption that everyone has access to the internet. Well, guess what - they don't. And even those that do, don't always choose to do everything online. It's not mandatory, although I get the sense that many businesses would love it to be.

The same could be said for cellphones. Again there is that sweeping assumption that everyone has one and, as a result, more and more businesses are tailoring their services around these tech devices to the point where you are actually penalised or excluded if you don't have them.

One could be mistaken for thinking it's a new kind of cyber-bullying. "You only get to access these services and benefits with an authorisation code that can only be sent to you via a cellphone" - the very same code could just as easily be sent via email, so why do they single out the cellphone?

Is it some kind of conspiracy to further marginalise our already dwindling "private details"? A way for government departments to ensure they have up-to-date contact details for all clients Or simply a money grab? We all know how valuable customer phone numbers are to any business in the market to buy a ready-made database.

This is why people like me don't always choose to conduct business online. Information sharing is just out of control, plus it's a lifestyle choice and I choose to spend as little time possible online.

I keep hearing "the experts" telling us that we are busier than we have ever been. Doing what? Keeping up with every new trend, blindly following the actions of the masses, like mindless sheep, scared of being left behind.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, the gym, yoga, pilates ... even waiting for fresh coffee. All trends we choose to follow but then have to make time to do so. How about a life coach to help out with all that - they're on trend, too.

Let's face it, being busy is a trend all of its own. We are so busy being busy not because we have to be but because we choose to be. What bloody use is the coffee if you can't make the time to stop and smell it? Or it goes cold while you're texting a person in the same building.

Someone asked for my cellphone number this week, I told them I didn't have one. They looked at me like I was some kind of circus freak - an oddity, they were amazed I was able to function without such a device.

Yes, they have their uses and I can access one if I have to but it was a deliberate choice on my part, made after I was witness to, what was to me, a particularly distressing scene.
I was attending a school prizegiving and I knew the parent sitting next to me and their child. From the moment they sat down they went into full-on text mode. Non-stop. I had my phone out too, but in readiness to take a photo when, upon hearing his name being called, my lifeform would take centre stage to receive his award.

I heard them call the name of the child of the parent next to me. The texting continued. I watched as the child went on stage and looked toward his mum, desperate to catch her eye and see a smile of approval and pride. Nothing - he got nothing. She never even stopped to look up.

His face said it all and my heart broke for that kid. I wanted to grab the woman and slap the living bejeebers out of her.

It is by not living through such devices that I have time to engage in person with my lifeform and where I find the time to visit the AA with him and, in turn, gather the stories that my column allows me to tell.

Kate Stewart is an unemployed, reluctant mother of three, trying not to be too busy while running amok in the city. Feedback to: investik8@gmail.com