'I had no idea just how addictive the mobile phone situation actually was'

Everyone has some degree of obsessive behaviour. We are all familiar with people who like everything just so. Who put tins in strict order of contents on their kitchen shelves and must have the labels facing the right way? Who stack towels in size order or colour coordinated in the bathroom.

This is mild obsessive behaviour that has been around a long time, and is pretty harmless, unless it’s a serious case of OCD, but right now there are some obsessions that seem to be peculiar to the present day like no other and I’m not convinced that they are healthy ones.

Going on holiday before all the present state of chaos, when you have little to do but observe human behaviour, really brings it home to you.

I knew it was bad, but until recent times, I had no idea just how addictive the mobile phone situation actually was. The things are practically glued to people’s hands. Certainly, with young people they are an accessory and ever present.

They are taken to the toilet, carried on buses, placed at the side on office desks and restaurant tables and even carried into swimming pools.

Whole families who might at one time have talked to each other, sit, fingers moving at the speed of knots on their individual phones.

Babies are given their parents’ mobile phones to keep them quiet. I saw a baby with the phone propped up in the pram as an aid to sleep. We used to take our babies for a walk!

What is frightening in the light of ever decreasing literacy is that young people aren’t reading any more.

They are terrified of picking a book up instead of their phone in case they miss something and instead of entering into the wonderful world of books they are risking, according to medical experts, a form of mental illness associated with phones and compulsive behaviour.

It seems that one in four children may be suffering from depression, stress and poor sleep patterns connected with mobile phone usage.

These young children are often obsessed with social networks like Facebook and may suffer from complexes connected to the number of Facebook friends they have, or from anxieties due to remarks made about them, or on-line bullying.

It’s certainly a sad situation when people are terrified to leave the house without their phones or become anxious if they can’t actually see them near to their person.

Hasn’t it been a great opportunity for children to discover books throughout the lockdown? But how many parents have encouraged it?

Another recent obsession is tattoos. At first, they dated back to the days when our fathers were in the services and came back with badly-drawn scribbles on their arms which faded into dirty, dark patches. Tattoos today are now big business.

Sportsmen, particularly footballers, are responsible for the immense popularity today of covering the blank canvas of human skin into a gallery of often meaningless scribblings or often similar to those which used to be executed by my grandsons when small.

‘I don’t want to be called a pensioner’

There seems to be no part of the body immune from random artwork. The worst seem to be those on the neck or face which surely must be a handicap when trying to enter certain professions?

Many of the tattoos seem to be so final. They aren’t like piercings which can be temporary but are there forever. Having them removed is an expensive, painful and not always successful procedure.

I know someone who had his wife’s name tattooed down his leg. Not a good idea when they split up and he entered another relationship. Having it turned into a large bunch of flowers has not been the most successful thing he has embarked on! Warning – think twice before having the name of your loved one captured forever on your body. It may seem a good idea at the time!

On holiday when people wear few clothes, tattoos come into their own. There’s no end to them. And, it is no longer men who are displaying them. There are just as many women with impressive artwork.

Jesus, Che Guevara, Marilyn Monroe, family pets, poetry, clocks, tributes to departed loved ones, children and grandchildren and many Grim Reapers.

One day old people in homes will all be able to compare the tattoos they have! It’s getting to the stage where looking distinctive means not having tattoos.

And another definite obsession of today is to see who can sport the biggest stomach! Obesity is alive and well and living, well, everywhere it seems! With very many of them in South Yorkshire.

I read somewhere that doctors are advised to be cautious about using the F word. Fat in this case. It was said that it could be akin to racism and sexism! What a load of tosh!

Being fat is often a life choice and I don’t believe those people who will tell you that they eat like a bird. Possibly an albatross? Being fat can lead to cancer, heart disease, premature death, and diabetes.

I tried to keep my weight under control because of a recent knee operation but an acquaintance had months of trauma after the same operation due to his obesity and the strain on his limbs.

However, the obsession to overeat and drink is not an easy one to overcome.

It hasn’t been helped by mixed messages from the Government about obesity when on one hand they advocated healthy eating to shed the pounds, and on the other hand presented us with schemes to eat more cheaply.

Undeniably a wonderful idea for the economy, but not for waistlines!

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