The Tragedy of a Phone

These days (nay, these years), there is such a fascination with phones. It’s become more than a means of communication, it’s become ----
a status symbol,
"uy, nice phone pare, magkano bili mo? Tri-band ba? May camera, astig 'to dude."
a companion,
"hey, what’s up? Ano gawa mo? d2 ako office…sooo boring"
a scapegoat.
"hey, talk to me, mag-isa lang ako dito, waiting for my friend."

When I got my first cellular phone, I admit that it was because I was in college, and the other officers in the organizations I was a part of told me to get one. Those days, they weren’t so expensive so my then-‘boypren-boyprenan’ (ahem) got me one. I was happy. I lost that around a year later. Left it in a cab. I had to save up on my own for a new one because I had gotten dependent on the phone to communicate with friends/classmates/family. Now, I have a Samsung that I bought for around P26T around a year and a half ago, but only used for around 5 months. It was such a waste of perfectly hard-earned money. But a scorned woman’s mind thinks up devilish desires.

These days, I wonder.
What’s the big hooplah with phones?
A girl, barely 18, wants a new one. She roll-called the NOKIA model numbers in an email to her dad, like he was supposed to recognize them. ‘Dad, please buy me one of these. I promise to pay you for half the price when you get back here. Love you.’

Huh?

Why would someone who only recently started earning her own money (she took a part-time job in a call center. They do cold calls) decide to spend it on phones? Why not a discman? Why not her own tv set? Why not new shoes and a whole new wardrobe. For that price (around P20T, you could get at least 10 sets of clothes at P2T a set, and that’s NOT cheap)? Why not something that will help deepen her interest in what she likes doing? Why not save up for her first car?

I guess that’s youth’s folly through the eyes of a bah-humbug miser.
Miser.

You talkin' 'bout me?

Shaddap. It's the holiday season.

Bah-humbug.

Bah-humbug mo mukha mo. Ikaw nga bibili ng camera e.

Che! I haven't bought anything for myself in a long time. Susme!

Still.

I know, I know. In the end, it’s her money, and she can do with it as she pleases...

How I wish she studied Theology in college, and learned about social theology. Maybe then, she’d think twice about it.

(Ring)

Hello? Anyone out there?