Hi, I’m 35 and I am addicted to work (hope the boss is reading this). And work — for me, at least — revolves around being online 24/7.

Therefore (or perhaps my wife concludes), I am “terribly addicted” to my mobile phone.

I also use a lot of data, and definitely regard myself as a pretty heavy data user. The maximum I have ever used in a month, I think, comes up somewhere in the vicinity of 18GB.

So of course I was surprised when I heard about someone half my age who uses almost twice the amount I do -- and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

This is Weilun.

Weilun looks and behaves like most teenagers: short, out-of-bed hair (he just finished his afternoon nap), ratty T-shirt, berms and slippers, and isn’t too sure what to do with an outstretched hand.

But hopefully unlike most teens, he has mobile phone bills a teen in most circumstances is highly unlikely to be able to afford.

Introducing Exhibit A:

You’re seeing that right. 797 minutes of outgoing phone calls. 25GB of data (inclusive of a 5GB base data). S$400 is still his record bill. But that was history. Weilun has wised up and is now on a more sensible phone plan that better meets his usage needs.

For someone who uses that much of data, Singtel Combo XO plan would be perfect for him. For $78 per month, he will get 18GB of data, 300 minutes talktime and 300 SMSes. He can also get extra 18GB at only $18 and sizeable discounts for new phones.

Anyway.

Now that the what is out of the way, the question that remains — while I pick my jaw off the table — is how.

How is this amount of consumption even humanly possible? To understand and appreciate the answer to that fully, we must first hear this hero’s origin story.

Mobile phone user at nine years old

Weilun got his first phone when he was nine — a hand-me-down LG, which he used exclusively for calls.

He first real taste of mobile internet usage: YouTube and games, with his favourite being Clash of Clans..

But as his lifestyle changed, his mobile phone usage pattern did too.

He fell in love with all things fast

First, it was cycling when he was in Secondary 1. Two years later, he moved on to PMDs.

Immediately after school, he would go home for a quick shower before spending the rest of his day out exploring Singapore on his bicycle or PMD with his friends.

School. Explore. Sleep. Repeat.

Calling habits

So how does his phone come into play here?

“Contact friends lor. I usually call because I don’t like to wait,” he says.

But there’s no way he could possibly have used up almost 800 minutes of call time on just his friends, right?

“I call my girlfriend every night. Sometimes we just fall asleep with the line still engaged,” he adds sheepishly.

A *very* heavy user of Carousell

Yep, we asked Weilun how he ends up using so much data, and that was his answer.

Not Facebook, not Instagram.

“I use Carousell. Legit, legit. I can use a lot on Carousell.”

Yeah, WTF right.

Here’s the GPGT:

(He last reset these statistics on July 30, 2018).

More data consumption

If you think 5GB in two months is next to nothing, you are right. But not for the reasons you might have assumed.

That’s because Carousell is only at fourth place for him.

1st: Safari at 22.4GB

2nd: Instagram at 7.6GB

3rd: WhatsApp at 5.4GB

4th: Carousell at 5GB

5th: Spotify at 4.7GB

While I’m not surprised by his Instagram and WhatsApp usage, his Safari numbers are surely unusual.

As it turns out, he streams songs off YouTube to be played during his daily expeditions pretty often.

Guess he didn’t hear about the music plan that allows streaming without incurring data charges.

When I suggest he does his downloading on WiFi instead, he says: “No need what. Later I forget the song already.”

He’s got a point, I guess. Weirdly, instant gratification is something I can relate to, especially in this day and age.

After all, a viral video is meant to be viewed immediately.

He’s somewhat woke

Here’s the funny thing about all this: Weilun is highly aware of his consumption — he’s just not actively doing anything to change it.

It does make more sense when we find out why, though: he’s not paying the bill.

So, we had to ask, when the time comes for him to start adulting, will he continue his crazy usage patterns?

“Of course not lah. Do all these stupid things for what?”

Top photo by Angela Lim.

This article is sponsored by Singtel. Get a mobile plan that suits your lifestyle. Like the Combo XO, which gives you 300 mins talktime, 300 SMSes and 18GB of data at just $78 a month. You can also get additional 18GB of data at $18 plus huge discounts for new phones.