# How did we ever get along without cell phones? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 20, 2004, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-ever-get-along-without-cell-phones/251319 "2004-06-20T17:46:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-ever-get-along-without-cell-phones/251319/41 "2004-06-21T19:18:38Z")
I have a cell phone. Mostly for emergencies and it’s usually in the car. If it’s with me, it’s usually turned off unless I’m expecting a call. And if it’s on, and it rings, I still may not answer it. Becuase the fact that it rings is NOT reason enough for me to answer it. Why should I stop what I’m doing? Let 'em leave a message. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-ever-get-along-without-cell-phones/251319/42 "2004-06-21T20:32:14Z")
My wife and I live in LA. We both work and our two kids go to two different schools. Often my wife has to stay at work late, sometimes unexpectedly. Anyone who has ever driven in LA will know that its impossible to get anywhere quickly, and occasionally traffic on some streets will just STOP, for no obvious reason. So, no, WE couldn’t get along without our cell phones. Our lives are a delicate logistical dance. We’ve built in some slack to account for emergencies, but making use of that slack is highly dependent on each of us knowing what the other is doing. Here’s a typical afternoon: – Call 1 – Her: “I’m out in the hall, the meeting’s running long. Can you get The Girl?” Me: “I think so. Call me back at 4:30 and let me know if you still need me to go.” – Call 2 – Her: “Me again. Yep, I’m not going to make the cut-off for pick-up. You better go.” Me: “Okay, I’ll check in when I’ve got her. Can you get The Boy?” Her: “Probably.” – Call 3 – Me: "I’ve got The Girl. Her: “Say ‘hi’ for me. I’m done with the meeting and just packing up. I’ll be leaving in a minute.” Me: “Was there construction on Beverly Glen when you dropped The Boy off this morning?” Her: “Yeah, it might still be bad. Let’s both head for The Boy’s school. Whoever gets there first can pick him up.” – Call 4 – Her: “I’m at the school, where are you?” Me: “Still at the Santa Monica intersection. We’ll see you at home.” This is what my life is like every day … Don’t be a cell phone hata … ---
**Author:** ![galt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@galt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galt)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-ever-get-along-without-cell-phones/251319/43 "2004-06-21T21:30:34Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Sometimes I don’t WANT to be reached 24/7. Yeah, I got rid of my car, too, because sometimes I don’t WANT to drive anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-ever-get-along-without-cell-phones/251319/44 "2004-06-22T03:45:42Z")
> [@](#): > > I hadn’t thought of that. OK, I’ll be careful. It hasn’t been an issue yet because I’ve only sent texts before and after the movie. Oh, no problem there, then. The people I was complaining about were the ones that light up ye olde phone any old time during the movie itself. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-ever-get-along-without-cell-phones/251319/45 "2004-06-24T07:03:53Z")
I don’t have a mobile phone. I work on the assumption that people can contact me while I’m at work and while I’m at home. At any other time, I relish the prospect of being “out of range”. ---
**Author:** ![beechnut79](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dfb087/32.png) [@beechnut79](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beechnut79)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-ever-get-along-without-cell-phones/251319/46 "2015-01-07T21:42:48Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > I’m one of the few without cells, too. I used to have one and hardly ever used it, felt like it was money wasted. I’m fine with just having a non-working phone in the car with me, because 911 will still work and that’s all I’d need it for. > > In my last job, everyone had cell phones (except me) and if theirs rang, they expected whoever heard it to answer it. I would never answer their phones, and when they asked me why, I told them that I didn’t have a cell phone because I wasn’t going to be a slave to my phone, so why would I be a slave to theirs? > > In most instances, IMHO, cell phones become self-owns, what people are thinking of when they use them in public. Where have you been? Now I am one of the few without a Smart Phone. Conventional wisdom seems to think you now need one, but I haven’t discovered a real need for it yet. Don’t have a GPS either although I do have a basic flip phone and use it for the purpose it was originally intended for. Call me a Luddite if you must. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-ever-get-along-without-cell-phones/251319/47 "2015-01-07T21:50:01Z")
Luddite ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-ever-get-along-without-cell-phones/251319/48 "2015-01-07T21:53:12Z")
Maybe we should call him Jesus since he resurrected the dead. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-ever-get-along-without-cell-phones/251319/49 "2015-01-07T21:53:41Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Luddite Even worse, he attracts zombies. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-ever-get-along-without-cell-phones/251319/50 "2015-01-07T21:54:14Z")
I wonder how many people from this 11 year old thread still don’t have a cell phone. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-ever-get-along-without-cell-phones/251319/51 "2015-01-07T22:01:58Z")
Bwahaha! I don’t even remember ever feeling that way about cell phones! I did get one shortly after I posted that, but didn’t get a smartphone until a year ago. I am addicted to it just like everyone else- I have become one of them. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-ever-get-along-without-cell-phones/251319/52 "2015-01-07T22:12:18Z")
> [@beechnut79](#): > > Where have you been? Now I am one of the few without a Smart Phone. Conventional wisdom seems to think you now need one, but I haven’t discovered a real need for it yet. Don’t have a GPS either although I do have a basic flip phone and use it for the purpose it was originally intended for. Call me a Luddite if you must. I’ll bet no one posting above you had a smart phone either. Joke’s on me, though. I didn’t notice it was a zombie thread and I thought, after reading the first 6 posts: No way-- not even on THIS message board!! ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-ever-get-along-without-cell-phones/251319/53 "2015-01-08T00:28:11Z")
Well, it is fun looking through the old thread at all the long forgotten members. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-ever-get-along-without-cell-phones/251319/54 "2015-01-08T02:35:12Z")
I still am a Luddite, and don’t have a cell phone. Braaaiiiiiinnns! ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-ever-get-along-without-cell-phones/251319/55 "2015-01-08T05:20:40Z")
2004 called. They want their anti-cellphone rant back. ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-ever-get-along-without-cell-phones/251319/56 "2015-01-08T10:09:20Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > 2004 called. They want their anti-cellphone rant back. I can’t _believe_ you took the call in the middle of a thread! Rude… ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-ever-get-along-without-cell-phones/251319/57 "2015-01-08T15:28:35Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I wonder how many people from this 11 year old thread still don’t have a cell phone. This is exactly what I was going to post, along with the comment that I still don’t have one. Well, I do keep one in my car for emergencies but I don’t really know how to use it (other than dialing out) and couldn’t tell you the phone number off the top of my head. I don’t know if my attitude toward cel phone culture will ever change but I doubt it. It hasn’t budged one iota since they first became widely available. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-ever-get-along-without-cell-phones/251319/58 "2015-01-08T15:54:24Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > You’re suggesting we should buy a phone - and then switch it off? I did this with my landline. I was thrilled when phones with “ringer off” switches were invented. I had caller ID, so I knew who had called. > [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Not that I’m defending the cell phone maniacs, but it’s getting harder and harder to find pay phones these days, as a direct result of the popularity of cell phones. I am participating in this zombie thread just to mention that since this was originally posted the pay phone situation is even more dire. It’s actually what pushed me into getting a cell phone after resisting, and then, I got rid of the landline once the cell phone 911 had the bugs worked out, because the cell phone was actually cheaper than the landline. It was even cheaper than the broadband line we had as part of our cable bundle for a few years. I kept a desk phone longer than a lot of people I know because I use a TTY to talk to my Deaf friends, and I used an old rotary phone that fit my old TTY I bought in 1988. However, when the TTY broke, I got a newer cell with a keyboard and screen, because 80% of Deaf people (and probably 99% of those under 40) were using texting, IMing or real-time signing on the screen to communicate. And people who didn’t have cell phones usually had email. I haven’t used a TTY in ages. Now I have a Smart phone, and I don’t ever have to stop and spend six dollars on a map, I can always find out when the nearest branch of my bank is when I’m out of town, and it takes pictures that are just as good as my camera (my old cell pix left something to be desired), plus, I have some games downloaded, so if I find myself stuck someplace with bored 8-year-old, I can say “Here, Angry Birds.” It also has a Kindle app, so I don’t have to take a book with me when it’d one more thing to haul around. I prefer reading books, but there are a lot of times when I want both hands free, and most books don’t fit in my pocket. That said, the ringer is off when I’m at a movie, at the doctor, driving a car, having lunch with a friend, or any other time when it would be inappropriate to be interrupted. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-ever-get-along-without-cell-phones/251319/59 "2015-01-08T17:33:46Z")
I get along just fine without one. Still. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-ever-get-along-without-cell-phones/251319/60 "2015-01-08T18:00:02Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I wonder how many people from this 11 year old thread still don’t have a cell phone. Reeder doesn’t [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-ever-get-along-without-cell-phones/251319.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-ever-get-along-without-cell-phones/251319.md?page=4)