Living Without a Cell Phone

[minimalistgeneration]

Cell phones came with a promise to change our lives and make communication convenient at all times while reality suggests the contrary. The purpose of this invention has been defeated since we started using it as a means of entertainment and these days our lives depend on them. Every second of our waking lives is linked to our cell phones in one way or another; it serves for every task except the one it was designed for i.e. communication.
The modern age brought us smart phones, which really is a complete waste of time and energy if you scrutinize how they are being used. Every man and his dog uses a cell phone, the communication gap has increased instead of getting bridged, two people living in the same house do not talk for days because hey!
Who needs to talk when you can text? Our emotions, opinions and greetings have been reduced to text messages. We have become socially inept while trying to be socially active. http://www.minimalistgeneration.com/...ell-phone.html

[Miss Cellane]

Classic blaming the technology.

If two people living in the same house choose to text each other--and it is a *choice*, the phones are not forcing them to text--it is because they prefer that method of communication to face to face speech.

The phones appear to be the problem. But what's really happening is that the phones are highlighting existing problems.

And thanks to technology, I can Skype with my brother and his family, who live on another continent. Back when I was a kid, in the 1960s, and the military stationed my father overseas, he had to make an appointment with the phone company to make a long-distance call back to the US on holidays, so we could talk to our grandparents and extended family. Now I can email my brother and get an answer in less than 24 hours, instead of the weeks that sending a letter and a reply would take.

Thanks to smart phones and tablets, my nephew was able to participate in some school activities when he was home-bound for three months after surgery.

The technology is not good or bad. It simply is.

It is how people use it that can be good or bad.

[ToomuchStuff]

Classic blaming the technology.

The technology is not good or bad. It simply is.

It is how people use it that can be good or bad.

+1, but this goes with money and other things as well.
Of course there still are normal landlines one can choose. Also, some of us use a non smart phone type of cell phone. (and I have texting blocked)
Be responsible for your own choices and actions, your not being forced.

Realistically though, your (the original poster) a cross between a spammer and a journalist. You want to get attention to your site, without posting anything here, that doesn't link back to it. (spammer) You want drama, in hopes that it brings back people to your site (journalism).

[SteveinMN]

The original post does have a whiff of clickbait about it.... Interesting how so many of this poster's posts end in a link to his/her blog. I wonder if the blog links to Finnish lending institutions....

I know lots of people who do not own smartphones. I do not know a single dog who owns a cell phone (though I'm sure they wish they had thumbs so they could use one). I know lots of people who own smartphones who do not have them glued to their faces at all hours.

The poster also seems not to recognize why the behavior the (s)he dislikes so much might be so wildly popular. As an example, the idea of younger people generating hundreds of texts a month is a bit mindboggling at first contemplation. But texting is much easier than calling someone, waiting for their answering machine message, leaving the message, and waiting -- for the "I'll call you right back" or checking my voicemail because the person I contacted responded but I could not get to the phone. I can respond to a text in far more places than I can respond to a voice call.

Honestly, in a world fouled by pollution and greed, I can think of better causes than fighting the telephone habits of billions. At least these folks are trying to connect with others.

[Gardenarian]

Of course some people get sucked into their cell phones, having the internet in their pockets, feeling they have to videorecord every moment of their lives, playing games while waiting in line. As for the young people who are so attached to them - well, I vaguely remember being a teenager myself, and strictly preventing anyone from making calls while I was hoping someone would call me.

Most people use cell phones to replace activities they would be doing anyway: checking the time, taking photographs, making phone calls, listening to music, checking their email. If you wouldn't be annoyed by someone looking at their wristwatch, listening to their iPod, or taking a photo, why should you be annoyed if they do so with their phone?

I'm actually quite fond of texting. It encourages people to be concise and respond in a timely manner, without the awkwardness of a phone call or the negative energy of an email (I don't know why it is; texts are generally well received, but emails just tend to go to the dark side.)

In the meantime, television viewing is going way down.

[ToomuchStuff]

The original post does have a whiff of clickbait about it.... Interesting how so many of this poster's posts end in a link to his/her blog. I wonder if the blog links to Finnish lending institutions.....

Can you list ANY that don't contain a link back?

[SteveinMN]

Can you list ANY that don't contain a link back?

A search found maybe half-a-dozen posts by the OP. I didn't look at all of them, but every one I saw had a link back. Call it giving the benefit of the doubt...

[Greg44]

I had a "pay as you go" flip phone -with pull out antenna! But I found I rarely used it. I am either at work or home, so that is about as connected as I want to be. PLUS my boss is a HUGE smart phone guy and routinely calls co-workers at home about work. I did not want to get sucked into that one. With that said, there have been times when a cell phone would have been very convenient.

1. waiting for my dd in the car, could call her and tell her I AM READY NOW! 2. Finding my dw at the factory stores. 3. Having a sense of security when I am on a long bike ride or driving in my "older car" home some dark and rainy night.

[rosarugosa]

Hey Greg: It sounds like we're trading places. DH & I made it up to about a month ago without any cellphone at all. We managed quite well for the most part. Never having that connectivity meant that we planned our logistics accordingly, so it didn't really feel like any kind of an inconvenience. In the past few months though, we've had some situations where the subway really failed to deliver, and DH was waiting patiently for me - for hours - while I was going all over the place trying to make my way home. It was frustrating to know he would have come to pick me up anywhere if he had only known, and of course it was extremely tedious for him just sitting there. So now we have a $30. pay-as-we go flip phone that DH takes when he goes to the train station to get me. (There are still pay phones in all the train stations, so I should be able to make a call if necessary). The phone came with 20 free minutes, and I think we still have about 17 of them.

[awakenedsoul]

Gregg, I know what you mean. I canceled my land line to save money. I use a Jitterbug cell phone now. When I had my bike accident, I used it to call 911. It was such a relief to have it at that time. I keep it on vibrate when I'm in public. It sure is convenient, though.