Your Phone = Your alter ego!
Forget ‘alter ego’, I often joke with my friends that their smartphone is their second wife. And rightly so as the phone itself is probably responsible for decreased sexual activity! Just kidding but honestly, there are some divergent medical/research opinions regarding the effects of cellphones and non-ionizing radiation on the sexual health of men. And most probably, of women too!
But no, that is not the point of this article!
Please don’t laugh but today’s clothes just like today’s generation are a little difficult to understand. Let me elaborate. When I was young, I could not think of a T-shirt without a pocket. But now, pocket-less T-shirts are ubiquitous. A few other things I fail to understand are people keeping their wallets in the back pockets of their pants. And people placing their cellphones in their shirt pockets!
And therein lies the crux of the problem and this article! I am no Mark Zuckerberg but for obviously simple reasons, I usually put on a T-shirt and track pants. I fail to remember when I last bought my clothes myself! Honestly, after my marriage, my wife is taking care of this. And of late, my daughter assists her. Now, most of the T-shirts are pocket-less. Therefore, I am unable to carry my wallet.
And I am forced to carry my phone!
For any payments, I need to make when I buy something. Of course, the buy now pay later (BNPL) technique works for the shops near my home. But if I need to venture a bit farther, I am forced to carry at least my cell phone. All this means that my cellphone needs to be continually recharged. As long as I am at home, the internet is available courtesy of my internet provider. And I can make calls via Wi-Fi. But outside my house, I need to keep my cellphone recharged. Always. Otherwise, I am doomed unless I have my wallet.
Which brings me back to my 16-year-old question?
Can someone provide free mobile data? Just like free email? Data for making phone calls. I am not much of a talker. But my wife comes from a big family. And I always needed unlimited voice plans on the phones (mine and hers). I won’t be greedy to ask for free data for browsing. That is what most of us are doing these days anyway! And it is a fortune. However, if someone can figure out a way to provide free mobile data, that would be great! Right?
The final thing – no one carries money anymore!
Unless one has access to liquid money like they own a running business, no one is carrying money anymore. People use automated teller machines (ATMs) only in emergencies, i.e., a mobile phone service provider who has not been recharged! They are just using PhonePe and Google Pay. At least in India! To end their dominance, the Indian government has set December 31st, 2024 as a deadline. By restricting each of their market share to 30%. And allow other players to enter the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) market.
Someone, please think of a way to provide free mobile data. And end our dependence on mobile data providers who are increasing their tariffs. Forever and forever.