Quite a few responders mentioned that their cell phone is like their purse or their keys - they have it with them all the time, and couldn’t imagine leaving the house (or even walking around their own house) without it.
Myself, that’s my idea of hell on earth. Heck, if I had my way, I’d get rid of both the land line and the cell phone (yes, I have one, primarily for work. I rarely carry it with me, though) and make people contact me strictly via e-mail. Or better yet, not at all. At least half the phone calls I get I could do without.
When the phone rings in this house, Mr. Athena and I look at each other. “You gonna get it?” one of us says. Most of the time the answer is “I can’t think of anyone I want to talk to right now.” So we either ignore it, or if one of us is feeling ambitious we might look at the caller ID and see who it is. Sometimes we answer it, but usually when we’re expecting the call.
i’ve long said one of the greatest inventions of mankind is the telephone. the second greatest was the answering machine so you didn’t have to take the call.
that said, i don’t go anywhere without my pda phone with internet access. sometimes like now where i’m in a room full of people speaking a foreign language i barely understand, i can surf the dope. on the other hand, i am too contactable.
I am cell only and if the phone rings in the other room, or if the caller ID reveals someone I am not dying to talk to, I don’t answer. Sometimes I just turn off the ringer and pretend that its in the olden times where someone had to want to talk to you bad enough to trapse to your home. Of course, I usually also don’t answer my door if I’m not expecting someone, so that might not work either. I have gone weeks without checking my e-mail too.
I always say that just because we can be reachable at all time, doesn’t mean we should be reachable at all times.
I love it. I never really get phone calls, though. These days the only people I talk to on the phone are my parents, my girlfriend and one friend. Occasionally our mutual friend (his married MILF fuck buddy) calls me, but usually only when the four of us (those two, me and my girlfriend–said MILF hooked us up a couple weeks ago) are planning to hang out. I like getting calls 'cause it makes me feel liked/wanted. I’ve noticed that I don’t care as much now that I’m dating my GF, though, because she makes me feel needed enough that I don’t really care about what the rest of the world thinks.
If anything, I think that cell phones have made it more socially acceptable to screen your calls. Furthermore, I use mine for texts way more than I use it for actual talking: I love text messaging–all the benefits of email, only portable: you can convey information without the need to bookend it in small talk, and it doesn’t demand an immediate response.
My husband and I usually have our cell phones with us all the time and we also have a landline, but neither I nor my husband actually answer either on a regular basis. If we’re at home and the phone rings, particularly if we’re eating dinner or having sex, we don’t bother to answer (I can’t imagine wanting to interrupt good sex to answer the phone - it seems sacrilegious unless you really need to talk to the caller). I also always check my caller ID on the cell phone. Unless I know who it is and am expecting a call, I frequently don’t answer but will check my voicemail just in case. The cell phone is a helpful thing to have, but prefer not to let myself be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
I also love text messaging. My GF and I use it all the time, especially since neither of us are fluent in the other’s native language. We know enough of each other’s languages to convey everything we’re thinking, but the process goes more smoothly by text.
Up until I was sick (and away for a long time) I didn’t have a cel phone. I got one because I needed a way to contact work on a regular basis. It is one of those pay-as-you go type deals. I now only carry it when I travel.
At home I usually pick up the phone, but no one calls me that often. I’m usually glad for an update.
I was one of those posters in that other thread; I always have my phone with me, 24x7. Not counting calls from my wife (who I enjoy talking to at any time about any thing) it rings about once a day. Bbut when it does ring, it’s important. What’s the hassle in that?
Now I call out on it every couple of hours, and having it immediately to hand is better than being chained to some desk or chair someplace where a landline might be wired to the wall.
Curmudgean mode ON
I’ll be damned if I get text messaging. Spend three minutes laboriously poking at the tiny 10-pad keyboard to say “hi there. got your message. lets do lunch?” (And spell it like crap to boot?)
I could have called 4 people in that time & arranged a frickin banquet. The fact they just texted you first proves they’re available to communicate with, so save 3 minutes of frustration & call em.
I carry my cell phone with me and keep it turned on because it is my business line.
Before I started the business, though, I usually kept my phone turned off and used it more for outgoing calls I needed to make. I would turn it on if I was expecting a call (usually if I was ‘on call’ for one of my kids). But if I was out shopping, or at the library and the kids were just at home, then I wouldn’t have my phone on. Used to drive them crazy when they called – usually with some very pressing issue such as wanting me to bring home fast food when I came – and I didn’t pick up. “Why do you even pay for it when you aren’t using it?” they would snip. “I use it when I want to,” I would tell them. They didn’t get it, though. They both carry their cell phones and jump on them like they are gold nuggets whenever they ring.
Personally, I liked my old method better. I have to answer my phone now, in case it’s a customer, but I hate to have it ringing when I’m out and having to keep track of whether it’s charged and so on. Cell phones are so convenient – it’s hard to believe people ever got along without them – but, like so many conveniences, they are also a hassle!
I hardly get any calls on mine, though I do use it for long distance with various family members, so keeping it on me isn’t a problem. At work it’s in my pocket on silent, so if something happens it’s quicker to get me on that phone, and I really like having it in the car in case I have to call for a tow truck or something.
I do feel weird if I don’t have it even though I don’t use it very much.
I’m not sure about your phone, but mine spells words automatically; I just punch out the keys with the right letters in the right sequence and it figures out the word I want (in English or Spanish). If it guesses wrong, I press a button to have it try another word. There aren’t that many words for each button combination. I only have a couple gripes with it:
Switching languages is too roundabout. My phone assumes I only ever want to send messages in one language, which was actually true until I started dating my current girlfriend.
My phone’s Spanish dictionary is a little incomplete. Sometimes–but rarely–I have to type in words manually. A little more often, I have to type in a particular verb tense manually, because it only has the infinitive and a couple of basic tenses.
Since “r” and “s” are on the same key, my phone often guesses wrong on whether I want the infinitive or the second person familiar in Spanish verbs. That only takes 1-2 keypresses to fix, though.
I like it that I can always be contacted in case of emergency. I like that as long as I am in a calling area I have a way to call for help in case of emergency.
I have two kids in school and am 6 weeks or so away from having another so emergencies are a big concern for me.
I like that cell phones make it much easier to pick someone up at the airport curbside.
I like that if someone forgets to put something on my grocery list I don’t have to find out when I come home and go back.
It just makes life so much more convenient. And it’s just like your home phone. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.
I don’t particularly like hearing it ring, usually because I’m afraid it’s one of those emergencies, but I sure do like being able to be contacted when necessary.
Same with the Wife and I. Our cells only get turned on for calling out. Or maybe some special occasion.
My Wife has a friend that will call to chat while she is driving. 'Cause she is bored I guess. Thing is, reception is so bad she almost always drops out. Then she will call back. It’s really quite irritating. The same person will put down her land line to answer the cell phone. I guess it’s like call waiting to here.
Once my Wife called here land line just to chat and it was busy. The friend didn’t understand why my Wife did not then try the cell.
I only have a cell phone because a company is paying for it for me because they think they can reach me with it. I leave it turned off in the car. Here is an honest question. Why do people need these 500 - 10,000 minute planes on their cell phones unless it is for work. My family all lives thousands of miles away and the most long distance minutes I have ever used in my life was about 120 with the average for me alone being less than 20. You know how much information I can convey in a single minute? Then again, the meetings I run at are known for being the shortest of anyone. Information can be conveyed very quickly and efficiently in spoken form if you crack the whip and eliminate the repition.
Land land - I get furious every time it rings. When I’m home alone, I just ignore it.
Voice Mail - I check it every two days if I am really on top of things. Come to think of it, my family is living in a hotel right now while our house is being fixed. I haven’t checked our home voice mail in about two weeks and I know my wife hasn’t either. That is the only way most people know how to get in touch with me because I don’t give other means out. I better check it sometime this weekend. I hope I didn’t miss any big funerals.
E-mail - I check those just because I send stuff to myself from work. I never initiate an e-mail and family members ask me to write on my own once in a while. I tell them to just use the phone. Heh Heh, see above.
Text messaging - I have know idea whatsowever why people use this. This type of thing makes me feel old but also makes me scared that younger people don’t have a lick of sense. Why wouldn’t you just call or send an e-mail?
Instant Messaging - they told me to put this on my work computer so I did. Works Ok for work purposes. Then they told me to put it on my home computer so work could contact me through it. I don’t think so Batman.
The strange thing is that I use phone, e-mail, and IM all day at work and return contacts on time and responsibly. That is the thing though. Somebody has to pay me to use that stuff because its not happening that much on my own.
Another curmudgeon – I screen my calls on my landline at home, and carry a cell that’s usually turned off. I turn it on if I’m meeting someone – otherwise it’s just for emergencies. I have a machine on the line at home but no voicemail on the cell.
My wife and I have a cell phone. We only use it for “just in case”; like one of us is out and is expecting a call or something. I WILL NOT carry a cell phone for work, period. They can contact me during business hours or ask me to stay late or something, but there is no way in hell I will make myself available to be bugged about work when I’m not at work; they can kiss my ass.
I cannot fathom these people I see walking around with their stupid cell phone attached to their ear the whole time, but not saying anything. WTF are they doing? It seems like they’re part of some hive, incapable of independent thought.
Text messaging is for illiterate teens who can’t form a complete thought by themselves.
I don’t screen calls at home; that’s chickenshit, IMHO. I answer my phone and face the world straight up. If I don’t walk to talk to someone, I’ll end the conversation.
My boyfriend and I never answer our home phone unless we hear someone we want to talk to leaving a message. If the person does not leave a message, they do not get to talk to us.
As for my cell phone, I do carry it at all times. Pretty much the only person who calls me is the aforementioned boyfriend, and I never have a problem with talking to him. If a strange number I don’t recognise calls my cell phone, well, I jump to answer it because I’m curious as to who the heck it could be! (And sometimes it turns out to be co-workers who want to hang out, so it’s all good!) But my phone rings probably once every three days, so it’s really not a big inconvenience.
I can’t imagine wanting to be able to be reached by any old person, though.
