Mobile phones have become the centre of our lives so much that it's impossible to survive without them. What's interesting is the mushrooming of mobile applications such as WhatsApp, BlackBerry Messenger, Fring, FB Chat Pro, Gtalk, MSN, Yahoo and Skype. There was a time when people enjoyed these messengers on the Internet, but today, with a ‘smart phone' they can be online 24 x 7 and on multiple messengers, all at the same time. In the early years of the Millennium, cell phones were only used for incoming and outgoing calls. Then the trend shifted to SMS, camera and music, and today, it's the messengers, Internet and 3G that are dominating the mobile phone arena.
Wherever I go — to the gym, to work, to a movie, for a holiday, to the post-office, to the restaurant or to college — I hear ring tones. It's like there is no life for some without a mobile phone.
When music, pictures and data can be shared on messengers, does one need to log on to a computer? “No,” says Nilesh Reddy, an MBA. “I use applications such as BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) and WhatsApp. WhatsApp is chiefly for iPhone users and BBM is for Blackberry users. I use apps only to connect with friends and loved ones rather than for business. The important feature of these apps is they are user-friendly. And I can share music, videos, pictures and other files instantly through them.”
When service providers offer various Internet packages at throwaway prices, why aren't consumers availing them? The Internet, phone, music, camera and computer are no longer different devices; they're all present in a smartphone.
The apps in a smartphone allow one to keep in touch with folks all over the world at a minimum cost. “I chat with my sister in the U.S. and my friends in other parts of the world on WhatsApp. I have subscribed to the 198 per month Internet package, but I am invariably online on Gtalk/Yahoo/FB Chat Pro on my phone,” says Neha Ratta.
Martin Joseph, a communications graduate, cautions, “I have observed that my friends are addicted to these messengers. Why are we unnecessarily caught up in frivolous communication and wasting precious time?
What's needed is moderation and control. Tarita Shankar, Chairperson, Indira Group of Institutes (IGI), quips, “I use only BBM as I can control access. I avoid WhatsApp or any other app that I cannot control. I'm very comfortable with my BBM. I use it for business as well as for other purposes.”
Quite often, people are so engrossed in chatting that they forget the world around them. “I use the Internet on my phone just to check my email, but don't use any of the messengers. Usually only smartphones have applications, and owning a swanky one has become a style and status symbol! Further, service providers vie with one another to lure subscribers with a host of state-of-the-art services. Why do we get carried away by their tactics? Are they really worth it? These are some questions that often recur in my mind,” says Gaurab Ghosh.
Don't blame the user, but the technology! Says psychiatrist Gitanjali Sharma, “Today's world is technology-driven. There are apprehensions about the health hazard posed by the excessive use of mobile phones. Also, the widespread addiction to these gadgets is becoming an overriding concern. People connect with friends and relatives all over the world with these gadgets and applications, but when will they find the time to connect with their own selves?”
Top Apps
* WhatsApp (A user is online 24 x 7, he can't even log out if he wants to)
* FB Chat Pro
* BBM (Blackberry Messenger)
* Fring (Mainly for video calls/IM)
* Nimbuzz Messenger
* Yahoo/MSN/Gmail/Skype
