# Dubious Pride? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 10, 2014, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-pride/704260 "2014-11-10T18:30:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BaldDudePeekskill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@BaldDudePeekskill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaldDudePeekskill)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-pride/704260/1 "2014-11-10T18:30:51Z")
Is it me or do certain people love to revel in the fact that they have not accepted the latest technological gadget? I’m sure there were people back when lamenting that the telephone would ‘kill’ letter writing…television was supposed to have destroyed movies (which I don’t know if it has or not) ,etc. Every once in a while I will run into a Luddite who absolutely loves having no Internet connection or who refuses to carry a cell phone. I can respect the decision to go without if it’s due to financial problems, but most of these people can certainly afford to upgrade…And what’s with the people who won’t get an email address? It’s akin to refusing mail delivery at your home, in a sense. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-pride/704260/2 "2014-11-10T19:28:35Z")
Conveniences often create a burden. I was without an internet connection when that “leave Britney alone” thing happened. I didn’t know what the hell that was and it occurred to me that if I had the internet I probably would know way more then I wanted. I remembered that whenever I thought about getting hooked up and as a result decided against it until I was in desperate need of it. The cell phone can keep you at everyone’s beck and call all the time for the most trivial matters that can be concocted so I have little to do with those either. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-pride/704260/3 "2014-11-10T19:34:18Z")
I know what you mean about the pride thing, but sometimes I just think it’s defensiveness. After the umpteenth person to tell you you HAVE to get a smartphone, you start to get annoyed. I was a late adopter of phones and I have one now, but mine is a dumbhone that think’s it’s a smartphone, and I still get people harassing me about it. I hate cell phones and see their necessity at the same time. And now that I have a cellphone I still don’t like them much. I love when people question me for not answering it. UM, I pay for it, I pay even when you call me, so if I don’t want to answer, I won’t. It’s for my convenience. It is weird to me when people don’t have email, I admit. I mean…that’s totally free? And you can ignore it? ---
**Author:** ![Recusant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@Recusant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Recusant)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-pride/704260/4 "2014-11-10T22:21:22Z")
Another thing to consider: look at the people standing in line at the Apple store every time they release a new Iphone. The similar lines that form when a new video game console comes out. Other people see these and think “if that’s the price of keeping up with technology, count me out”. The ‘must have the latest gadget’ crowd can be pretty damn loud about it; refusing to have anything to do with it is an overreaction, but a completely understandable one. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-pride/704260/5 "2014-11-10T22:49:08Z")
I have a cell phone that I only use when traveling. I never even charge the batteries. I have no use for one. I am certainly not ashamed of it. ---
**Author:** ![Waymore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Waymore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waymore)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-pride/704260/6 "2014-11-11T06:12:52Z")
I had a smart phone for awhile, but gave it up. Being in a room where everybody is staring at their personal screen is very glum for me. Granted, I don’t brag on myself for using a smart phone. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-pride/704260/7 "2014-11-11T09:44:34Z")
The one thing I do feel rather smug about is avoiding facebook, twitter and the like. I think those sort of social media platforms create a definite obligation and I’m glad to be out of it (and never actually succumb in the first place). Every time a celebrity gets terribly abused on social media a small portion of me makes the right noises about “that’s terrible, there are some utter shits out there” but the larger and more vocal part of me thinks “yeah…you knew there are some utter shits out there, you can avoid that abuse very, very easily and yet still you open yourself up to it?..more fool you” Sorry to say I don’t have that much sympathy. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-pride/704260/8 "2014-11-11T10:37:52Z")
Can you believe there are some musical groups that are such Luddites that they still have a drummer instead of a pre-programmed drum machine? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-pride/704260/9 "2014-11-11T10:42:33Z")
Latest technology? No thank you. Give anything 3 to 5 years to work the bugs out. Mature tech is the only tech worth spending real money on. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-pride/704260/10 "2014-11-11T20:40:59Z")
I’m the Luddite who goes without a cell phone. I bought a Tracfone once, and made about three calls on it and never received one, and my subscription expired. Give me some compelling ideas about why I ought to have and use one, and I’lll reconsider. I don’t even have voice mail or caller ID on my landline. If someone calls me and I’m not home, they’ll call back later. When it rings,it is just as easy to pick it up, as to read the callerID information on the screen,so I pick it up,and it it’s a robocall, I hang up. I’ts not a pride thing, I just don’t have any need for the goddam thing, why should I pay a thousand dollars a year to have one? I can afford it, but why,when I can buy a round-the-world plane ticket for what most people pay in 3 or 4 years for their phone – which they seem to be so proud of that they keep getting it out and using it in public places where everyone can see them and be impressed about how great their phone is. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-pride/704260/11 "2014-11-11T20:46:01Z")
There’s a counter trend to a lot of trends. Whether you’re cool or not depends on who you’re with. ---
**Author:** ![BaldDudePeekskill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@BaldDudePeekskill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaldDudePeekskill)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-pride/704260/12 "2014-11-12T12:30:30Z")
I think the only reason to have a cellphone is the utter lack of public phones,etc. if one travels a lot, it would be a safety and convenience issue. I’m not a cell phone fan…I must be the only person who thinks that the call quality is awful. I don’t know how people speak on them all day. I do like texting though, but mostly efficiency texts, like ‘running late’, ‘pick up milk’, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-pride/704260/13 "2014-11-12T14:33:13Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > I’m the Luddite who goes without a cell phone. I bought a Tracfone once, and made about three calls on it and never received one, and my subscription expired. Give me some compelling ideas about why I ought to have and use one, and I’lll reconsider. I don’t even have voice mail or caller ID on my landline. If someone calls me and I’m not home, they’ll call back later. When it rings,it is just as easy to pick it up, as to read the callerID information on the screen,so I pick it up,and it it’s a robocall, I hang up. > > I’ts not a pride thing, I just don’t have any need for the goddam thing, why should I pay a thousand dollars a year to have one? I can afford it, but why,when I can buy a round-the-world plane ticket for what most people pay in 3 or 4 years for their phone – which they seem to be so proud of that they keep getting it out and using it in public places where everyone can see them and be impressed about how great their phone is. ? I mean, I don’t care whether you do or not, but I don’t pay 1000 a year for my TracFone. I mean, the entire reason I have a TracFone is because I don’t have to pay a monthly fee, and I am not in a contract, and if I don’t use the cellphone in a particular month I don’t have to feel like I am wasting money. I spend a couple hundred bucks every year and get hundreds and hundreds of minutes. Here are the reasons I use my cellphone: - doctor’s offices - currently looking for a job, so I use it for my resume - ordering out on the way home - caling long-distance as I no longer have a long-distance provider at home But yeah, if you don’t need one, knock yourself out! I was just surprised to hear the cost. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-pride/704260/14 "2014-11-12T14:57:30Z")
[quote=“BaldDudePeekskill, post:12, topic:704260”] …I must be the only person who thinks that the call quality is awful. I don’t know how people speak on them all day.QUOTE]This x1000. I do have a good smart phone. I will talk on it if I have to, I sure won’t ‘visit’ with someone on it. Might as well use a CB radio. ‘Over’ ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-pride/704260/15 "2014-11-12T17:01:09Z")
> **[Google](https://www.google.se/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=i+don't+own+a+tv+site:boards.straightdope.com)** > > Search the world's information, including webpages, images, videos and more. Google has many special features to help you find exactly what you're looking for. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dubious-pride/704260/16 "2014-11-12T19:19:59Z")
I have an e-mail adress, several, even, but I never check them (apart from my work e-mail) except when I’m waiting for a specific message, which is very rare. It hasn’t been an issue so far. I don’t want to burden myself with e-mails, knowing that 99.9% of what I’m going to receive is crap, promotional offers and spam.