In the order of things

A survey seems to find resonances in the city as well. Quite a few women tell NEETI SARKAR that their cellphones are dearer than boyfriends

Teen style Rules as sun rises in Metro city like Hyderabad. Student having blast as far as meterial comforts and concerned fashion or else things, the cell phone , and most of all freedom, are abundant . Despite the of everything, the Gen-X is caught between pleasure and pressure. The post Nineties consumer childern are forever clamouring for more, ` Give me more is the refrain' for them as pocket money is passe, fluency in lastest technology is attained almost at birth, and Mandir-Masjid does not make much sence because he is over swept by the gust of globalistation. The Indian teenager present time has the best of everything -an across-the board disiverity in choices from 100 plus channals on air more branded dress with imported shoes, than he can possibly recall a large number of pubs and pizzerias, the best of education. This freedom of manifests everywhere be it while using a mobile. - Photo: Mohammed_Yousuf/ Hyderabad

For the longest time at least half the world was convinced that women were technologically challenged, enough to make them want to use the simplest of electronic gadgets and gizmos. It would therefore, seem impossible to believe the results of the survey by British pawnbroker Borro which has found that women would rather part with their boyfriends than with their cell phones.

According to a recent poll of 4,000 women in the UK, 40 percent said they would be “devastated” if they lost their phones, ranking phones as their third most valuable possession after their mother and photographs. Best friends came in fourth while boyfriends were ranked fifth in the list, placing them above diamond rings, pets, laptops and hair straighteners!

As amusing as the finding may sound, there are quite a few women who seem to think this is true of themselves as well. College student Atisha says: “When you lose your mobile phone, apart from losing a lot of money that your parents might have spent on your phone, you lose all your contacts too. Your contacts include old friends; friends who you might want to talk to when you break up with your boyfriend. Hypothetically, if my relationship isn't working out, I would rather lose my boyfriend than my cell phone!”

The 25-year-old call centre employee Deeksha Jacob opines: “I don't love my cell phone more than I love my boyfriend but since ours is a long distance relationship and we depend on our mobiles to communicate, I would be depressed if I lost my cell phone.”

However, Rani Mathew, a mother of two teenagers feels: “It has a lot to do with the age of a woman. When we were young and went through the dating phase, we never had cell phones. So we obviously don't value our phones over our partners.”

Sociologist Sushil Chandranath believes: “Cell phones have facilitated more networking than ever before and this is exactly what today's society is about. We meet so many people, make new friends every day, and stay in touch over the phone that the level of intimacy we share with people has definitely reduced. Our relationships with people are more over the phone and networking sites than in the real world. Thus, the trend of valuing something materialistic has quite a fan following in today's society.”

According to psychologist Shruthi Ahluwalia: “A survey likes this shows that there is definitely a nonchalant approach towards relationships today. It is a pity that we've turned so shallow and value commodities over people. Also, as people make more money and invest their income in materialistic things, they tend to value more that which money can buy. The women who seem to prize their phones over their boyfriends are probably the ones who are not serious about their relationship and in an age where flings and one-night stands are common, it isn't surprising that materialism is the latest fad.”