Kelly Rose Bradford: We're potty about mobiles

Aug 13 2008 Surrey Herald

A report out this week claimed 35% of Brits admit to using their mobile phones while in the toilet.

The survey conducted by igizmomag.co.uk revealed other rather bizarre phone-related behaviour patterns of the British - 2% for example confessed they had chatted on their mobiles while at a funeral and about 730,000 users proved it's good to talk even while in the throes of passion.

I have to admit there are some days when I am surgically attached to my phone.

I've even fallen asleep with it in my hand before now and I do get slightly panicky if my battery runs down or I'm in a blackspot when I'm out.

And yes, I am also guilty of texting while in company, or taking calls at the dinner table or while in meetings.

So I guess, really, I am one of those annoying phone-addict people who permanently have their mobiles glued to their ear.

Although in my defence, I do draw the line at those ridiculous little hands-free or in-the-ear type kits that make you look as though you are talking to your-self as you walk down the street.

Despite my own mobile fixation, generall y, phones do annoy me.

The constant noise of them, the pinging and beeping, the ridiculous ringtones - what is wrong with just a straight forward

ringing sound? Why does everyone under the age of 30 have to have some gangsta rapper dude spewing out profanities for 10 seconds when a good old fashioned brrrr brrrr would serve just the same purpose?

To be fair, I know my ringtone gets people's goat good and proper when it goes off in public. It is the jingle from the French railway system; a chirpy little melody used before the announcements on the train platforms.

It is chipper and breezy and puts a smile on my face when it goes off. And a grimace on everyone else's when it chirps forth for the dozenth time on a single train journey.

But if my phone were to be taken away from me, I think I would cope admirably.

I'd probably spend a lot of time in telephone boxes, but I'd survive.

As, of course, could anybody else - despite some respondents to the survey revealing they had used their mobiles 'while having a filling at the dentist', 'while having a rectal examination' and 'at Princess Diana's funeral'.

Which are all probably pushing the boundaries of mobile phone etiquette to the limits.

And I do wonder if those 35% of respondents to the phoning-while-on-the-loo scenario were women with young children - because as everyone knows, when you have youngsters the toilet is the only place where you get two minutes peace and quiet.

So really, the perfect environment in which to make and take those important calls.