The Mobile Generation

‘JUST as our viewing habits and attitudes to Tony Blair are changing, so too are our lifestyles.

Phone boxes were very popular in the days before mobiles

The Independent says that, owing to the popularity of mobile phones, we no longer use public phone boxes that much.

So yesterday, BT announced that it is to increase the minimum charge of a call made from one of its phone boxes by 50% and remove 10,000 of them from the streets over the next 18 months.

This is bad news for those of you with no mobile (or no signal), and even worse news for tramps on cold winter nights and anyone busting for a leak but too shy to let it flow in the street.

But let’s not be too upset, because the mobile phone has if nothing else made more of us mobile.

Whereas we used to stand still to talk, we now walk around, often bumping into other people and so getting into calorie-burning arguments.

And this fashion for moving has not escaped the eyes of the McDonald’s corporation, which, the Telegraph says, plans to include a pedometer with each Happy Meal.

This device should not be eaten, even if it does taste better than the actual burger, but clipped to the waist (or failing finding that, the third roll of fat).

The pedometer will then measure how many steps the wearer takes as they talk on the mobiles and make the short walk from the McDonald’s delivery stations to the table.

Diners will need to keep moving for five and a half hours to burn off the fat and sugar content of said meal.

But you’ll feel better for it, especially if your route takes in the toilet or one of those few remaining phone boxes…’

Posted: 22nd, April 2004 | In: Broadsheets Comment | TrackBack | Permalink