IF EVER there was a time to put your mobile phone down it is now.

Recently cyber baddies are believed to have hacked into the Apple Cloud to steal naked pictures of high-profile women.

Among those targeted were Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton and Kirsten Dunst - who gets the award for best comeback after she posted a cheeky emoji combination on Twitter.

But it's not only for the fear that our nude selfies, or in my case, food photographs, have the potential to be posted all over the web that we should switch off.

It's something worse: being this connected is making us rude.

Let's start with text messaging. Before mobile phones were invented you had to stick to your plans.

If you had organised to meet someone you couldn't change the time at the last minute or let them know you were going to be 10 minutes late.

It encouraged us to be punctual because you wouldn't dare leave someone standing around waiting. It would be the height of rudeness.

But now you're just a click away from behaving like an oaf.

A text to let someone know you'll be late for morning coffee is one thing - and on some occasions, I'd say it's mildly acceptable (yes, I've even done it myself).

However, when it's a formal occasion, like meeting friends for dinner or a party, there is no other option but to make a phone call.

Except some people have developed a fear of the telephone because they are so used to texting.

It doesn't surprise me that telephonophobia is a real thing, but I've figured out the solution.

We need to go back to a time of letter writing.

You know that feeling when a flurry of birthday cards lands on your door mat? It's pure joy.

RECEIVING a handwritten note in the post is one of the most satisfying things, and far more rewarding than an email.

We were given an insight into the love life of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton through a letter written by the glamorous actress to her then husband, which was put on sale last week.

She addressed the letter "My (still) husband" and signed off "Your (still) wife" and in between wrote: "I wish I could tell you of my love for you, of my fear, my pure animal pleasure of you, my jealousy, my anger at you."

She added: "I wish I could write about it but I can only boil and bubble inside and hope you understand how I really feel."

That wouldn't hold half the impact it does if it was a text.

Apple has released its latest model, the iPhone 6. But I'm afraid I'm iPhone sick.