Cultured Views

What do you buy a 15 year old boy these days?

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My son Allan turns fifteen in a week’s time and, as per usual, he has made up a list of ‘I want’s’ which takes up both sides of an A4 sheet of paper.  It is always dangerous asking Allan to make up a wishlist, whether it be for birthday or Xmas, because he is never short of things to ask for.

 This time round on top of his list - which I have heavily edited for reasons of sheer economy - is something which all his friends have got…a mobile phone. I have managed to convince him to date that he does not need one using some pretty good psychology - ” Why be the same as everyone else, be different! ” and so far it has worked. But boys will be boys and he wants to join the texting culture and be part of the crowd. So, I am relenting.

Have you seen the cost of these things?…I have been pricing mobile phones for a few weeks now and have found it all too confusing. There’s contract phones, phone packs, locked and unlocked so I thought I would start at base one and go for which phones are on sale right now. Being guided by price is my usual strategy and I have narrowed the field down to either a Nokia or a Samsung. Actually the main accessory he wants on the phone is the little camera so I guess as long as I go with a cam-phone he will be happy either way.

You might think I am being over indulgent but I also thought I would also get him something he would not be expecting; I decided on an  Archos Portable Media Player.  I found one on sale for a fantastic price - half price to be exact - and it has WiFi and plays videos on the screen. These little gadgets are brilliant as you can go online with them, play music and videos on them as well and even record on them as it has a camcorder function - I am even considering buying one for my partner who just loves anything gadgety. 

I have a feeling Allan will love the media player more than the phone - there’s certainly enough features on it to kep him occupied and I wouldn’t be surprised if the next step is one with a built-in phone…or has that already been done?… 

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Mobile phones - love ‘em or hate ‘em…

Whether you like them or not mobile phones are here to stay and they will keep on evolving as technology dictates. Personally I do not have one - I cannot stand the things - and only one of my sons actually has one because of his job.

What amazes me is that I am in the minority; just about the entire population own a mobile phone, cell phone or whatever and would not know how to conduct their lives, social and otherwise, without one. Yet just as many people complain about those tower’s being built in order for those phones to work. If the towers don’t exist the phones won’t either; we have to accept that they are part of life’s fabric now whether it be a cell phone repeater or mobile phone towers - they are here to stay.

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Who has the better memory?

Even if you are of the opinion that writing letters by hand was the best way to send a letter to someone - more personal I mean - you have to admit that being able to type away in email form has many more advantages. It is quick, instant and you don’t get that old writer’s cramp thing.

I have recently been catching up with a girl I went to school with; we haven’t seen each other for twenty years and I have been condensing my life to date into a few paragraphs - try doing that and then you will realise just how much you have done over that time.

But I am starting to have a very frustrating time of it - the computer memory on this machine seriously needs topping up as it is starting to grind to a halt. Come to think of it - so is my own…

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