AN expression that always irked me as a reporter was that a picture is worth a thousand words. The very cheek of it. However, in this case, it really is true. The photograph of this bar sign appeared on the Facebook page of Spotted In Yorkshire and hit such a communal nerve it has been shared hundreds of times.
Let's be honest, these days people are so hooked on using mobile phones they can be a danger to pedestrians and motorists as the attention of users is diverted to the latest social media posting, Twitter message or football score.
It's not just the younger generation who are susceptible to the lure of the small screen either. In any pub or club you'll find all generations involved: couples on a date standing side by side with their Samsungs out, a crowd of lads exchanging gags by text rather than telling them, and a clique of pensioners watching YouTube or showing each other holiday snaps rather than talking to each other.
It's amazing how far the technology to kill social intercourse has come in such a short time. I have a chum who, if he gets bored with the way the conversation is going, plays Sugar Smash on his phone.
“Am I boring you?”
“Yes.”
He doesn't shy away from the truth.
All this has happened in the last 44 years. The first mobile in 1973 was built as sturdily as the walkie talkies carried in the D-Day landings. Only used car salesmen and chaps out to impress humped those around.
Thankfully they slimmed down to the Nokia everyone remembers with affection.
Internet connection was not added commercially to mobile phones until 1996 which is when the world went mad. Since then, phones have become ever slimmer, neater and easier to use with large touch screens. Mobile internet use now exceeds desktop computer use.
They have indisputably brought benefits but can be a pain in a social setting. There will be many who agree with the sentiment of that bar sign: let's talk to each other and pretend it's 1995. Now if only the beer prices matched.
Let's be honest, these days people are so hooked on using mobile phones they can be a danger to pedestrians and motorists as the attention of users is diverted to the latest social media posting, Twitter message or football score.
It's not just the younger generation who are susceptible to the lure of the small screen either. In any pub or club you'll find all generations involved: couples on a date standing side by side with their Samsungs out, a crowd of lads exchanging gags by text rather than telling them, and a clique of pensioners watching YouTube or showing each other holiday snaps rather than talking to each other.
It's amazing how far the technology to kill social intercourse has come in such a short time. I have a chum who, if he gets bored with the way the conversation is going, plays Sugar Smash on his phone.
“Am I boring you?”
“Yes.”
He doesn't shy away from the truth.
All this has happened in the last 44 years. The first mobile in 1973 was built as sturdily as the walkie talkies carried in the D-Day landings. Only used car salesmen and chaps out to impress humped those around.
Thankfully they slimmed down to the Nokia everyone remembers with affection.
Internet connection was not added commercially to mobile phones until 1996 which is when the world went mad. Since then, phones have become ever slimmer, neater and easier to use with large touch screens. Mobile internet use now exceeds desktop computer use.
They have indisputably brought benefits but can be a pain in a social setting. There will be many who agree with the sentiment of that bar sign: let's talk to each other and pretend it's 1995. Now if only the beer prices matched.
RSS Feed
