Wasting money on cell phones
In North America, getting a mobile phone number is as difficult as getting a Visa or Master card. Before allowing a mobile phone number, the serving company does a complete credit check of the applicant and after being fully satisfied, the applicant gets a connection, unlike Pakistan, where you just walk into an outlet, grocery store or a paan-cabin and buy a SIM.
Then you call the phone company and give your CNIC number. Within 24 hours your new mobile number is activated. It would be injustice if I would not recognise the advantages and benefits of a mobile phone in this fast-paced world. In fact, a mobile phone is crucial to save time. Unfortunately, like many other areas of our daily life, we also abuse the capacity of using the technology available to us.
For instance, a large number of Pakistanis have a separate mobile phone for each member of the family. Even a 12- year-old child possesses his own mobile phone! No mobile phone subscriber spends less than Rs500 each month, so if there are four or five mobile phones in a family, they are easily spending Rs2000 to Rs2500 per month which means Rs24000 to Rs30000 per year.
I have not yet counted the initial cost of buying five or six mobile phones which would not be less than Rs8000.00 to Rs10, 000. We as a nation can solve our problems on individual and collective basis with a sense of responsibility and discipline.
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