Talking Point: The Pros and Cons of Mobile Phones

It seems like only yesterday that mobile phones were breezeblock-sized devices owned solely by businessmen and the like. Nowadays however, some people look at you like you're living in the dark ages if you don't have the latest Nathan Barley-esque MP3-playing 3G überphone - and heaven forbid should you not own a mobile at all.

While few would deny that mobile phones have had a huge impact on the way we live our lives, many may question whether the technology has actually made our lives better. Not only can they be a major intrusion into our privacy but there is growing evidence that mobile phone addiction is becoming a very real social problem among young people, with teenagers spending hours each day talking and texting or customising their handsets with ringtones and pictures. And as models become increasingly sophisticated, there's a growing tendency for people to rely on their phones for a variety of tasks; no longer are they just used for talking, they are now calendar, clock, alarm, phone book, walkman, video player, internet and camera rolled into one - all well and good, until your phone is lost, stolen, broken, left at home or the battery runs out.

Then there are worries over radiation, too. Although no firm conclusions have been reached in this area of research, scientists and health workers alike continue to have concerns over the long-term health effects of mobile phone use, believing that radio waves from handsets are absorbed by the human brain...