I read a report today, about the impact of the mobile phone on Australian life.

Two quotes from the reports summary are interesting:

The mobile phone is an indispensable part of the everyday life. More than 90% of people asked, report that their lives could not ‘proceed as normal’ if they were suddenly without their mobile phone.

The mobile phone is an important medium for maintaining kinship ties, especially for women. The mobile is a device well suited to maintaining intimate relationships at a geographical distance.

Rubbish! I can't see how a mobile phone could possibly be indispensable or help maintain an intimate relationship!
O.k. I have carried a mobile phone around with me now for over sixteen years - the first weighed in at twelve Kilos. I have to admit that, for some years now, I no longer need a woman at my side to constantly remind me of appointments, of birthdays, aniversaries and other important dates. My mobile has certainly made me more independent.

My mobile wakes me every morning on weekdays, ensuring that I get to work on time.
Clicking a few buttons will impart almost any telephone number in the world and I have used it to book and to pay for flights, car rentals and train rides.
It gives me a weather forecast twice a day, keeps track of all my addresses and I use it to take all kinds of notes - it allows me to do my job more efficiently (another point made in the report).

It can even make telephone calls.

Oh! That makes it sound pretty much indispensable, doesn't it?
Well then, what about relationships?

I can openly admit that my mobile phone is of no help, whatsoever, at maintaining relationships - near or far!
After checking the software that came with the phone, I can't find a single application that is even remotely suited to maintaining a relationship of any sort.

To be quite honest with you, I think human elements are required for that sort of thing.