I have been having a disturbing history with mobiles lately. It was not always so.
In 2003, around 5 years back, when I bought my first mobile (It was a Nokia-3315. I thought it was beau-u-ti-ful!!) my father predicted a swift demise- At worst 1 week, at best 1 month- For that was how long any valuable lasted in my hands. Actually, that was how long ANYTHING lasted in my hands. Pens, watches, table tennis racquets... Even Cricket Bats and Mopeds!! How its end would come about- Whether I would forget it somewhere, drop it from the 3rd floor, fall out of a moving bus or via theft- was to him merely a matter of detail.
It came as a suprprise to him (and i won't lie, to me as well) that it lived to a ripe age. I graduated to a MotoRazr, and then a Moto Ming. Not a scratch came upon any of my mobiles for over 4 years.
This fine and squaky clean record, the only redemption to an unparalleled (and slightly disgraceful) reputation of carelessness, came one fine day when my Ming disappeared into a toilet (I prefer not getting into details). I bought an N-70 which inexplicably got stolen (outside Siddhivinayak Temple.. I think even God willed it to be so!). Now, my latest jet black 6300 has developed a snag that puts it out of action for 2 days.
But wait! This post is not about my struggles with mobiles. Its deals with the broader topic of what HAPPENS TO PEOPLE when they lose mobiles. Its about the psychological, and physiological, phenomena allied to such profound loss. Given that for many people, their mobiles has become an extension to their physiology (Some people have that thing in their ear for so long that I fancy they will need surgery to get it off), lets look at what happens to people when they lose a part of their body...
Around 60-80% of people who have their limbs amputated, undergo a phenomena called THE PHANTOM LIMB. Their nerves continue to transmit signals to the brain which tells it that the the limb is still there. They can FEEL a limb that is not there anymore, sometimes years after the amputation.
An allied phenomenon with people who lose mobiles is (depending on which pocket you keep your mobile) the phantom thigh, or the phantom butt! The patient feels vibrations of 'incoming calls' on his thigh/her butt pocket, and he/she reaches out to take a call from a phone that does not exist. The sensations may continue to occur for days, even weeks and can be unpleasent and, if repeated frequently among friends, socially embarassing.
Thou have been forewarned!
