Multi-tasking with Mobiles

Mobiles are very popular in India and everyone can use them because mobile services are very cheap. Even those who do not have basic amenities, have access to mobiles in India. Experts claim there are as high as 0.9 Billion (or 90 crore) mobile users in India. Similarly, there are many mobile service providing companies and so are the handset instrument marketers. No wonder, many people are now using mobiles with twin-SIM card facility, which offer two SIM cards with different numbers from the same or different mobile service providers. Recently, I have seen a Bollywood movie clip in which a heroine was using two mobiles – keeping one on her each ear and was conveying the same ‘love message’ to two heroes who were sitting at the same place parted by a short distance of 7-8 feet. Quite amazing. Isn’t it? Indians have developed multi-tasking skills with mobiles which can be easily seen in day-to-day life. Recently, CEAT tyres have shown a slice of life situation in their TV ad film in which a father drives a pram with his baby sitting in it on a busy traffic road. He is involved in some business talks on his mobile while pushing the pram and suddenly takes right turn to cross the road. From the other side a motorcycle rider was coming. The rider had to suddenly apply brakes to prevent the accident with the pram. The mobile multitasking man was at fault but blames the bike rider, “Are you blind?” in a rude manner! A background voice says, “Streets are filled with idiots...”. These two incidents have inspired me to write down the incidents that I witnessed in various situations which are as under:

Talking on Mobile....

·       while smoking;

·   while smoking and walking with a pet dog – chain in one hand and mobile in the other;

·       while driving a motorcycle;

·       while driving a car;

·       while driving a car and smoking simultaneously;

·       while eating;

·       while eating and walking in a buffet;

·       while eating and doing some office work or writing;

·       while working on a desktop PC or a laptop;

·       en route to workplace, halting for a while on a temple and bowing but carrying on conversation;

·       while talking on a fix-line phone at home or at workplace; 

·       while watering the plants in home garden;

·       while watching television;

·       while reading a newspaper or a magazine;

·       while in bed about to sleep; 

·       while urinating (suddenly received a call);

·       while doing morning walk, jogging or exercising in a gym; 

                                   and many similar acts in daily life...

The pleasure of multi-tasking with mobile provides a sort of satisfaction to the users. They realize as if they are very busy and hence successful people. However, they fail to realize that their multi-tasking act may invite any threat to other’s lives or to their own life, as shown in a TV ad by CEAT tyres. A driver talking on his mobile is susceptible to an accident. In fact, there are incidences when people have lost their lives or got seriously injured because their driving person was multi-tasking with mobile. Just like cigarette companies, mobile manufacturers should also put a Statutory Warning on the back of every mobile set – not to do multi-tasking while talking on a cell phone. 

New Zealand is one of those countries that has imposed a traffic law from November 1, 2009 under which use of mobile has been banned during driving. Drivers violating this law will have to pay penalty. This is because if a driver is multitasking with mobile while driving, he is not only inviting danger for him but also for the others on road. New Zealand has one of the highest standards in quality of life in the world.

~Gunjan Gupta, Esq.