Could you manage without a cell phone?

[ChadTower]

Just curious.  It's a topic people constantly bring up with me because I don't have one.  It seems the majority of people now are convinced they actually could not function in today's society without a cell phone.  Is this really true?  I've had people insist that it is dangerous and possibly negligent to be without a cell phone these days.  Is it?

[Bootay]

I never owned a cell phone until a few months ago. The only reason I got one was because one day my car broke down in Detroit in the hood and then I suddenly came to the realization that there are virtually no such thing as a pay phone anymore. After that experience I figured it would be a good idea to get one for these situations. I could live without one personally because I hate phones, but now that I own one I definitely enjoy having one. I used to think I would hate it.

[Howard_Casto]

Just curious.  It's a topic people constantly bring up with me because I don't have one.  It seems the majority of people now are convinced they actually could not function in today's society without a cell phone.  Is this really true?  I've had people insist that it is dangerous and possibly negligent to be without a cell phone these days.  Is it?

Well this is just a rule of thumb, but the majority of people are morons.  Seriously,  reasonably intelligent people or better yet smart people are of the minority.   That aside..... I wouldn't know, I haven't had a cell phone in over 10 years. 

I personally find them to be a worthless device.  Any place I'm at will have a landline, so I don't need it there.  Most of the places I drive to have spotty cell coverage at best so they aren't of use in an emergency.  Aside from that, I don't think you can even buy a car anymore without On-Star in it, whihc eliminates the need for a cell phone in the case of a breakdown anyway. 


And then you have these "techno-zombies" that feel it is imperative that they are connected to the internet at all times.  I sincerely believe that the need to text-message, tweet, or check the net while you are away from a computer is a serious sign of a legitimate social disorder.  If your head is going to be stuck looking at your damn phone/ipad/pda then why did you bother to leave the house?

Of course there is also the whole thing about lack of "me time".  People often ask me why I don't carry a cell.  My response has always been... "If I did then people could talk to me."  Seriously, when I'm out and about I don't want to hear from you because I am busy!  I don't care who you are when I'm gone leave me alone!

[javeryh]

I could defintiely live without one... but I need email access for work.  I have an iPhone4 that I almost never use as an actual phone.  Initially the only reason I ever got a cell phone was for emergencies - there was a really bad storm here a few years ago and my wife was freaking out because she couldn't get a hold of me.  I was coming home from school and a tractor trailer couldn't make it up the hill with the ice and started sliding backwards and ended up blocking the entire road - took 5+ hours to make a 20 minute trip.

[Bootay]

Yea the coverage everywhere I go is pretty excellent so it works out good for me in emergency situations, and I cannot afford new cars and car payments so I don't have fancy On-Star stuff. 

I do agree with you about the people who can't get their heads out of their phones. It drives me nuts too. Especially when someone almost smashes into you on the expressway and you pull up next to them and they are yacking on the phone. I strictly only use mine for emergencies. And instances where I am at the grocery store and need to find out if we need milk or something. LOL

I could definitely live without it though. It has it's conveniences, but they aren't major ones to me. I also don't like people being able to call me whenever they want. I work tech support so the idea of talking on the phone when I am not at work disgusts me.

[RandyT]

Up until about a year ago, I carried a Motorola StarTac.  It didn't do much of anything (well) other than be one of the best phones I have ever seen for solid phone capabilities.  That old phone could make a call when others around me with the touchscreen phones had no bars.  I've since succumbed to the smartphone bug, but still use mine primarily as an emergency phone and MP3 / streaming radio player.

My opinion is that anyone who doesn't at least have an "emergency" phone, capable of making a free 911 call (you typically don't need to subscribe to a service for this), is taking unnecessary risk.  In the case of an accident, the difference between life and death is often measured in minutes.  If you aren't sure whether you need a phone or not, just put yourself in the shoes of one of those folks you hear about who ended up far enough from the road that other motorists couldn't see where they had crashed, and sat there in pain for days waiting for someone to find them.  Also consider that you might need to make that call for someone else in trouble.

[BigJon]

I could manage.  I don't even have a smart phone, so I don't get on the web with it.  All I use it for is phone calls and texts.  Honestly I barely get enough phone calls and texts to even make having it worth it.  I have a phone at my desk at which I sit for 8 hours a day, then a phone at home...sure calls on the go would be nice...but I think I could survive without.

[Mikezilla]

Just curious.  It's a topic people constantly bring up with me because I don't have one.  It seems the majority of people now are convinced they actually could not function in today's society without a cell phone.  Is this really true?  I've had people insist that it is dangerous and possibly negligent to be without a cell phone these days.  Is it?

Well this is just a rule of thumb, but the majority of people are morons.  Seriously,  reasonably intelligent people or better yet smart people are of the minority.   That aside..... I wouldn't know, I haven't had a cell phone in over 10 years. 

I personally find them to be a worthless device.  Any place I'm at will have a landline, so I don't need it there.  Most of the places I drive to have spotty cell coverage at best so they aren't of use in an emergency.  Aside from that, I don't think you can even buy a car anymore without On-Star in it, whihc eliminates the need for a cell phone in the case of a breakdown anyway. 


And then you have these "techno-zombies" that feel it is imperative that they are connected to the internet at all times.  I sincerely believe that the need to text-message, tweet, or check the net while you are away from a computer is a serious sign of a legitimate social disorder.  If your head is going to be stuck looking at your damn phone/ipad/pda then why did you bother to leave the house?

Of course there is also the whole thing about lack of "me time".  People often ask me why I don't carry a cell.  My response has always been... "If I did then people could talk to me."  Seriously, when I'm out and about I don't want to hear from you because I am busy!  I don't care who you are when I'm gone leave me alone!

This is riddled with so many ironies its hilarious. Not to mention I love how humble you are about your "level of intelligence".  Anyway, I could live without one for sure, like someone else mentioned, I barely use my phone for actually talking, its mostly texting, which is sometimes annoying too. Me personally, I hate cell phones. Hate em. Sometimes yeah, they are convineint, but overall I dont like having a homing beacon in my pocket. "How come you didnt answer your phone?! I texted you 4 minutes ago, how come you didnt respond" ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- like that bugs me. I also cant stand when people are on the phone at the gym, or in line to check out in the grocery store. Shut your stupid face I dont care what youre blathering about. Its annoying. I think I was meant to grow up in the 30's and die in the 70's. I hate a lot of technology. I also think I was supposed to be raised on a farm. Man, when the hell are one of you guys going to quit goofing around with games and start making something relevent like a ---goshdarn--- time machine. Jeebus.

[Bootay]

Mikezilla: You should buy one of the cell phone zappers. They are illegal in the US but with the tap of a button you can boot everyone within 100 feet off their cell phone for 10 mins. LOL

But yea I agree with what you said about texting too. I hate when people send me a barrage of texts when I am busy at work or something and then have the audacity to ask why I didn't answer my texts. Uhh...Maybe because I am busy...I am at work you know. Or people who text you and then when you start to type your response they start calling, then you answer the phone and they ask "Why didn't you answer my text?..." LOL. Chill the hell out. Not to mention that 99% of the time the text they sent wasn't even important. I also hate people that call until my voice mail picks up...then hang up and call right back, and then repeat until I finally pick up pissed. YES I HEAR MY PHONE RINGING...I am not answering because:

a) I am too busy right now and will call you back when I'm not or
b) I don't feel like talking to you right now...or maybe even at all.

You see...me not answering is supposed to be the clue to one of these. heh

[Mikezilla]

Holy ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- I didnt even know something like that existed!!! Oh man. Oh MAN. That is probably one of the coolest things EVER.

See, Bootay, you summarized everything I didnt mention. Perfect, well said good sir.

I wish I was a native american indian back in the day, before the white man came. How awesome would that be? Lay around, smoke the peace pipe, hunt buffalo, have sex (awesome, disease free sex) not worry about money or anything. Just trade for things. Live off the land. No noise, or pollution, or taxes, or stupid ass cell phones. Man. Sounds great. 

[ChadTower]

I'm not really talking about cell phone manners.  I'm talking about the actual necessity of having a phone with you at all times.  RandyT touched on the idea.  Say you're in an accident where minutes mean the difference between life and death for yourself.  What are the odds you are able to make a phone call in that situation?  You're nearly dead, right?  Can you still coherently access your phone and use it in that situation?  How did people managed to not die in those situations prior cell phones?  To me that point of view sounds more like a scare tactic than a reasonable possibility.

Another one I hear a lot, mostly from women, is "I have kids in school so I need to be reachable at all times in case of emergency."   I have two kids in school and there has never been an emergency where a parent was urgently needed.  Yeah, they have been sick at school.  The school may or may not make a call to have them picked up.  Yeah, one has been in trouble a couple times.  Again, they call, and the kid hangs out until I show up.  It should also be noted my kids' schools don't call cells first.  They record which number is a cell and try landlined daytime phone numbers first.  When I asked about this I was told "we are often told after leaving cell messages that the parent is not allowed to use their cell at work and thus did not get the message."  So, at least the schools here, prefer landline contact numbers.

It is a valid point that there are very few payphones anymore.  Odds are good, though, that if you are in an area where a payphone would have been you're also in an area where a landline can be used.  A couple of times I've had a car break down, walked into a small business, and been allowed to use their phone for 5 minutes to call AAA.  That's how it was before cells, right?  How often is anyone in a place where they can't find someone who would take $5 to use their cell phone to call for roadside assistance?

[Malenko]

Any place I'm at will have a landline, so I don't need it there.  Most of the places I drive to have spotty cell coverage at best so they aren't of use in an emergency.  Aside from that, I don't think you can even buy a car anymore without On-Star in it, whihc eliminates the need for a cell phone in the case of a breakdown anyway.  

People often ask me why I don't carry a cell.  My response has always been... "If I did then people could talk to me."  

Any place you go to will have a land line, its the in between . You must live in the sticks because I'm in Delaware, the home of absolutely NOTHING and Ive had good cell coverage with more then 1 provider. As for On-Star , its a subsidiary of General Motors; so unless you're driving/buying a Chevy and the like, it's not coming with OnStar.

I do sort of agree with the "no time to myself" but Ive got this great habit of turning my phone off when I don't want to be bothered. I would probably have a phone even if I didn't need it for work but I wouldn't use it much; because other then work related things or texting my GF while shes at work I really don't use it much now. The only NON phone thing I really do with my phone is use it as an alarm clock and use it as an MP3 player.

EDIT : Grammar

[lilshawn]

i exclusively use my cell phone, i don't even have a land line anymore. even my apartment buzzer is tied to my cell. 

besides, i would rather be stuck broke down then stick my ear up to a payphone receiver.

pass the hand sanitizer please...

[HaRuMaN]

I don't remember the last time I saw a payphone out 'in the wild' (I have one in my gameroom)...

[RandyT]

I'm not really talking about cell phone manners.  I'm talking about the actual necessity of having a phone with you at all times.  RandyT touched on the idea.  Say you're in an accident where minutes mean the difference between life and death for yourself.  What are the odds you are able to make a phone call in that situation?  You're nearly dead, right?  Can you still coherently access your phone and use it in that situation?  How did people managed to not die in those situations prior cell phones?  To me that point of view sounds more like a scare tactic than a reasonable possibility.

People didn't manage not to die in the more dire situations.  And the ones who were saved, were saved because they were lucky enough to have been found by someone who either administered first aid (who even knows how to do that anymore?) or ran to the nearest house to use the phone or have someone inside call an ambulance.  I remember at least 3 incidents growing up where this happened, 2 who used my parents phone and 1 where we had to use the phone of another to save a friend.  The dirtbags who use this as a ruse to gain entry have ruined the ability to reliably receive this kind of help from strangers.

I'll bet dollars to donuts that the first thing that goes through your mind when someone who stops to help you when you are pinned behind the steering wheel coughing up blood, tells you that they have to go find a phone to call for help, is "I can't believe that this idiot doesn't have a cell phone". 

[HaRuMaN]

I'll bet dollars to donuts that the first thing that goes through your mind when someone who stops to help you when you are pinned behind the steering wheel coughing up blood, tells you that they have to go find a phone to call for help, is "I can't believe that this idiot doesn't have a cell phone". 

[lilshawn]

I don't remember the last time I saw a payphone out 'in the wild' (I have one in my gameroom)...

a few years ago I had driven about an hour into Vancouver to meet up with a friend of mine. he told me to meet him on this particular corner at such and such a time and he'd come get me. (his place was way up this goat hill with no parking or nothing, kinda hard to find)

long story short, i missed him and was going to call him an realized i forgot my cell so i walked and walked and walked... probably 8 blocks looking for a pay phone. went into a couple of largish office buildings and nothing. i went back and drove for 5 minutes to a gas station to find the gas station didn't even have a payphone. I had to beg the chick behind the counter to let me use the store phone.

won't be doing that again.

[Bootay]

Where I live there are no payphones...seriously. And downtown in the hood, typically most store owners will not let you use their phones. Maybe it is a trust issue I don't know. I don't really go downtown much anyway but when I do I prefer to have a cell with me. Personal preference.

[yotsuya]

I use my SmartPhone for finding info for fun, socializing, researching, talking, work, you name it. You'd have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands first. It's great you don't think you need one, but I don't see the negative in having one. Have to find an address? Use mobile Google Maps. Need to see who's going to be home for dinner- send a text. See how far I jogged? Use the built-in GPS. And so on. I don't see any drawbacks.

[Vigo]

This is riddled with so many ironies its hilarious. Not to mention I love how humble you are about your "level of intelligence".  Anyway, I could live without one for sure, like someone else mentioned, I barely use my phone for actually talking, its mostly texting, which is sometimes annoying too. Me personally, I hate cell phones. Hate em. Sometimes yeah, they are convineint, but overall I dont like having a homing beacon in my pocket. "How come you didnt answer your phone?! I texted you 4 minutes ago, how come you didnt respond" ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- like that bugs me. I also cant stand when people are on the phone at the gym, or in line to check out in the grocery store. Shut your stupid face I dont care what youre blathering about. Its annoying. I think I was meant to grow up in the 30's and die in the 70's. I hate a lot of technology. I also think I was supposed to be raised on a farm. Man, when the hell are one of you guys going to quit goofing around with games and start making something relevent like a ---goshdarn--- time machine. Jeebus.

Mike, I am completely with you on the cellphone thing. I have a basic phone, and it an everyday annoyance to be expected to be at my phone's beck and call at any given moment. I am somehow expected to respond to every text or call....I might be sleeping, in the bathroom, in my car, at work, or eating dinner....but If I don't respond, I end up getting yelled at, its just a major life instrusion. Could I live without a cellphone? yeah, easily...I sometimes wish for it. Am I ever going back? Probably not, I have just become too lazy and submissive to bother making any change back.

Note: I just noticed you can replace "cellphone" with "wife" in the above paragraph, and it still makes sense.

[Samstag]

I use my SmartPhone for finding info for fun, socializing, researching, talking, work, you name it. You'd have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands first. It's great you don't think you need one, but I don't see the negative in having one. Have to find an address? Use mobile Google Maps. Need to see who's going to be home for dinner- send a text. See how far I jogged? Use the built-in GPS. And so on. I don't see any drawbacks.

Someone else pays your bill?

[Vigo]

I use my SmartPhone for finding info for fun, socializing, researching, talking, work, you name it. You'd have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands first. It's great you don't think you need one, but I don't see the negative in having one. Have to find an address? Use mobile Google Maps. Need to see who's going to be home for dinner- send a text. See how far I jogged? Use the built-in GPS. And so on. I don't see any drawbacks.

Smartphones are fine if you have restraint...but most people don't. I have "lost" many a friend to the smart phone. I invite friends over to hang out, and they just spend the whole time with their face buried in their smartphone, their attention span outside their phone is laughable. It just becomes no longer fun to hang out with someone who doesn't even look at you. It reminds me of the people in the movie Wall-e.

[ChadTower]

I'll bet dollars to donuts that the first thing that goes through your mind when someone who stops to help you when you are pinned behind the steering wheel coughing up blood, tells you that they have to go find a phone to call for help, is "I can't believe that this idiot doesn't have a cell phone". 

A person who thinks someone who stopped to save their life is an idiot deserves to die.  I don't care if they have a cell or not.  They stopped.

I don't have a cell phone and don't want one.  I'm good with that.  I don't need a $50/month "what if I'm pinned under an 18 wheeler and don't get that superhuman adrenaline burst" insurance device.  I don't make social phone calls and I have never seen a situation where it was unexpected that a phone was not reasonably available.

I don't have a problem with people who like their cell phones.  It's available, people use them, that's fine.  What I do have a problem with is the people who go out of their way to tell me that not having one is irresponsible.  Life goes on just fine without a radio leash in your pocket.

[HaRuMaN]

I don't make social phone calls

Translation: I have no friends...
 

[RandyT]

I don't need a $50/month "what if I'm pinned under an 18 wheeler and don't get that superhuman adrenaline burst" insurance device.  I don't make social phone calls and I have never seen a situation where it was unexpected that a phone was not reasonably available.

I guess you missed/ignored the part where 911 calls are free.  And you never need anything until you need it.  Once of prevention, yada, yada...

[Mikezilla]

I use my SmartPhone for finding info for fun, socializing, researching, talking, work, you name it. You'd have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands first. It's great you don't think you need one, but I don't see the negative in having one. Have to find an address? Use mobile Google Maps. Need to see who's going to be home for dinner- send a text. See how far I jogged? Use the built-in GPS. And so on. I don't see any drawbacks.

Smartphones are fine if you have restraint...but most people don't. I have "lost" many a friend to the smart phone. I invite friends over to hang out, and they just spend the whole time with their face buried in their smartphone, their attention span outside their phone is laughable. It just becomes no longer fun to hang out with someone who doesn't even look at you. It reminds me of the people in the movie Wall-e.

Yup, same here. As usual Vigo. 

[Mikezilla]

I don't make social phone calls

Translation: I have no friends...
 

Not exactly, he is just that more of a man. I dont talk to my friends on the phone, for more than MAYBE 2 mins. "Hey, what time does the movie start". "Where are we going to eat?" "Where are you" "Wanna hang out?""No, that beer is too expensive" is the extent of a phone conversation. Now chicks on the other hand... 

My GF nagged me the other day, "how come we dont talk on the phone that much anymore?" Umm, maybe because the only times I DONT see you is when Im at work, driving to and from work, or on the can. I personally hate talking on the phone, especially cell phones, "what?" and "huh" are used WAY too often, and I hate repeating myself. And sometimes I just dont have anything to talk about.

[Malenko]

I don't make social phone calls

Translation: I have no friends...
 

+1 +fu in spirit too.

 

[Mikezilla]

And sometimes I just dont have anything to talk about.

Doesn't keep you from posting, obviously.

Nope, posting and talking are totally different. And Im at work, Im bored, but you sure as hell dont see me calling up my GF for a little "chat".

[RayB]

The whole "emergency use" scenario bothers me since I have an iPhone. With my older Nokia (circa '99) I could dial that thing blindfolded.  Fat chance I could do that with a touchscreen phone. 

[ChadTower]

Not exactly, he is just that more of a man. I dont talk to my friends on the phone, for more than MAYBE 2 mins. "Hey, what time does the movie start". "Where are we going to eat?" "Where are you" "Wanna hang out?""No, that beer is too expensive" is the extent of a phone conversation.

That's closer to what I meant.  I don't call people and have conversations on the phone.  I call to find out when they are coming over, when I'm coming over, or where we are going to meet.  I speak to people on the phone.  I don't talk with them.  There is a difference.

I guess you missed/ignored the part where 911 calls are free.  And you never need anything until you need it.  Once of prevention, yada, yada...

That's the attitude I'm talking about.  I'm in danger because I don't have a phone.  I guess I should also wear a helmet when I walk on stairs.  After all, I won't need the helmet until I need it.  Head trauma is serious business.

[RandyT]

That's the attitude I'm talking about.  I'm in danger because I don't have a phone.  I guess I should also wear a helmet when I walk on stairs.  After all, I won't need the helmet until I need it.  Head trauma is serious business.

In today's world, it even boils down to a bit of "social responsibility".  You could be that guy stopping to help another and being able to offer him little more than to hold his hand while he dies.  If you are comfortable with all of the possible negative aspects of being "cut off" in a world where you don't have to be, then that's definitely your right.  It's fairly obvious, though, that the support you were looking for by posting, isn't forthcoming, as pretty much all respondents have admitted to owning and using a cell phone.

If you were arguing against the evils of Twitter and the like, however, we'd probably be on the same page.

[Daniel270]

I currently use a Tracfone...  one of those pay by the minute deals.   I usually just keep enough minutes to do what minimally necessary ($20 for 120 minutes -- got double mins on phone).  I only buy minutes maybe once every 3 months.   5 minute calls to various family and the wife makes one call to a long distance friend.  That's it.  

Landline's not necessary (altho I do have DSL and that's all I'm charged for).

[Ond]

Better to have one than not have one I say. How you choose to communicate
With friends or whoever is up to you, cell phones have their uses like any tool people who are too impressed with them (or themselves) and are rude as a result ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- me.  I need one to do my job but on the weekends it gets switched for most of the time.  Just for the he'll of it I typed this reply on my iPhone &$@&$!!$! POS! lAst time I try hat. Ok phone off - got a cab to bild

[TOK]

I could live without it if I had to (I did until they were invented!), but I like the piece of mind of the wife and I having one. Mainly, it takes the worry out of her and the kid having the car get a flat or break down. The thought of them sitting there on the side of the road hoping for a good samaritan instead of a weirdo isn't a real comforting thought.

Same deal with her having a GPS. We got by without it, but I'm glad its here.

[danny_galaga]

I would like people to be able to manage without a mobile phone for a couple of hours at a time. The length of a movie...

[NiN^_^NiN]

Funny enough i've bricked my android phone and have been without it for over a month now.

I don't miss it but i do like having internet and games available to me when possible

My simcard is currently in my galaxy tab and i check that ever few days to see if i got a phone call or txt but i dont use it otherwise but then again im quite busy atm so i dont even have a chance to use the tab at home anyway but its easy to live without a mobile phone its just handy to have but i was never a must have it with me to communicate all the time type of person

[Gray_Area]

I would have to get a landline.

As well, I like taking pictures of things wherever I am, I like to have a good quality camera (not to mention 30fps HD video baby!) mixed with portability, and sometimes it's very helpful to have communications and even net access (for the odd thing I might want or need to look up when not at the 'terminal'; I don't do networking sites). Oh, plus I have TIGERARCADE on my phone. Now I just have to find the rom versions for the games I really want to play.....

Not to mention, it's been some fun figuring out how to manually upgrade my Android 2.1 to 2.2, root the phone, find the apps (like for texting) that do *exactly* what I want them to and not what I don't, block ads that come through when the 'market' is active on my phone, customizing the interface as much as possible, etc......

It helps that I have a built-in feature that keeps me from answering calls if I don't want to. Sometimes I just turn the volume right off.

The thought of them sitting there on the side of the road hoping for a good samaritan instead of a weirdo isn't a real comforting thought.

In the old days, the women folk and kids could hunt and keep home for themselves, if need be.

[CheffoJeffo]

I've had a cellphone for over 20 years now (my provider noted the anniversary and accelerated my upgrade).

Do I need it ? No.

Do I answer every call and spend every minute emailing or texting ? No.

Back when I got my first phone (Motorola flip), the entire purpose was for me to have a single primary number/voice mail for me to manage my calls.

I had the ability to take and make calls whenever *I* wanted.

Same principal applies now, just with the addition of email and messaging -- it is a way for me to manage my communications in a single unit.

Too many people today don't seem to want to manage themselves.

[jamesjones626]

when i was 18 i got my first cell phone, back when 250 minutes a month was about 40 bucks.  I had it for the length of the contract because the idea of having a cell phone was better than having one.  When i turned 25 i got one for emergencies because i have children now and i do a bit of traveling, nothing long distance just from town to town around my area.  I still don't like to have one but when I don't have it on me i don't feel right.