To exist in the modern world a mobile phone appears to be needed for 24 hours a day. Having survived for three quarters of a century without one, my interest in these devices is minimal. I do not want to carry one when I am out for a walk. I want to enjoy the experience without feeling the need to keep in touch with anyone. The younger members of my family clearly see me as an out-of-date old man.

It was inevitable that I would be required to buy one if I was to be able to navigate the modern technological world.  Having acquired the phone the challenge then becomes how to deal with the multitude of ‘Apps’ that every organisation pesters you to add to the device. At no time have I had any carefully constructed instructions as to how best to select those things that are necessary and those to avoid so that I get the best out of the phone.

The first issue is deciding which company and which model to buy. Quick-talking sales people will tell you about a range of things of which you have no idea what they mean. Broadband speeds, 4G and a variety of models and buying options and contracts are all thrown at you on the assumption you are able to make informed choices from your detailed knowledge of the market.

Once you have the phone, you are constantly warned about an attack by a virus. This leads to pressure to buy virus protection at yet another cost. The tricky bit come if you add an app thinking it will be useful, only for it to be a dangerous addition. My phone needs to be cleared of spam every day.

Fortunately I have whizz-kid grandsons. The second eldest is studying computer science at university. He was the obvious choice for me to seek help to examine my phone to see it was in good shape. As soon as he looked at it he found it virtually impossible not to burst out laughing. My phone was in a chaotic state. By accident I had added lots of dangerous apps harmful to the phone. With many signs of disbelief he took some time to get the thing into an acceptable shape.

All this brings me to the conclusion that there is a need for first-time mobile phone users to be able to avail themselves of a short course on how to use the phone to best advantage. Clearly the younger generation have access to computers even at primary school and are growing up in a world dramatically different than my generation. Phone companies at the point of sale could be more helpful.

The younger generation have everything on their phone. They do not carry money. They have no idea about pounds, shillings and pence. They only think in metric measurement not stones, pounds and ounces. I even use pen and paper! What a sad old man.