While
mobile phones are certainly an excellent method of
communication, in
Asia they have a whole new different purpose in addition to the ones they were designed for.
Mobile phones are the latest silly little
fad that
teenagers in
Hong Kong,
Taiwan,
Korea and
Japan have decided to take up in order to compete with each other. It was
discmen before, but tastes change fast.
Mobile phones are now relatively cheap compared to before. However, as a fad, they are still dreadfully expensive. Brainless kids in Asia continually discard their old phones for the newest, most compact phone, which they regard to as cute. Ignoring the fact that the radiation levels for some of these phones can give you cancer in a few years because the manufacturers removed the shielding, people continue to ride along this stupid fad because now mobile phones are regarded as a status symbol here. Now inane.
It doesn't stop there. Nokia recently revealed a phone with a large screen where you can play games like Tetris on it. Instantly, the old phones sucked, no matter how new they were, people bought this new phone in droves. Not to be outdone, Ericsson and Motorola came out with similar models. Phones in Hong Kong were discarded on the street. I could seriously buy a new, working mobile phone for a buck there. Girls attach Hello Kitty stickers on their phones. People talk on their phones to nobody in particular, just to show off. It is always a laugh when a person is talking on the phone and it rings. What a fool.
Unlike most fads, this one has no end in sight. It is rather expensive for a fad, but nobody cares. I predict the next Asian fad to be Palm Pilots. Their prices are dropping, and sooner or later people will use them as status symbols. It's inevitable.