I pit cell phone addicts.

[Machine_Elf]

A news article here features people complaining about the high cost of cell phone ownership/usage. Many of these folks seem to regard a cell phone - or even a smart-phone with internet acess - to be a fundamental necessity of life, and they’re having trouble paying the bills.

I made it all the way to the ripe old age of 30 before I bought a cell phone. Being able to call anyone from anywhere sure is nice, but I don’t kid myself that it’s anything but a luxury. In my first 30 years I somehow got by without one. Payphones are getting scarce (because of the ubiquity of cell phones), but even when they were plentiful, I almost never found myself using them; I just made it a point to be where I said I would be, when I said I would be there. It was occasionally slightly less convenient - I couldn’t spontaneously call someone from the store and say “hey, would you like me to pick up an X for you while I’m here?” - but I somehow got by. As much as I appreciate having a cell phone nowadays, I wouldn’t hesitate to shitcan it if my finances were on the ropes.

Twelve years after joining the ranks of cell phone users, I still don’t have a smart phone. Being able to email or Google anything from anywhere sure would be nice, and my budget could easily afford it, but I can’t justify doubling my cell phone bill for that privilege; it just seems like a waste to me.

The people in the article don’t operate from the same position. They insist on cell phones for everyone in the family - in some cases, high-dollar smartphones for everyone in the family.

Consider this excerpt:

@NBCnews

Herring’s $240 monthly bill for four phones was lower than many others with the same number of phones, but it is still a bitter pill to swallow. She moved to Wisconsin from Flagstaff, Ariz., earlier this year, so her husband, who recently completed 10 years of military service, could attend law school. The couple and their three kids live in a suburb, and he needs broadband wireless Internet access so he can study on the bus. “There’s a very specific reason we have the phones we have,” she said.

Two smartphones with data plans can’t be had for much less than $200. Throw in a couple of “dumb” phones, even at discount prices, and the cost climbs to near $250 for the Herrings.

OK, so they’re paying near $600 a year for the kids’ phones, and apparently about $1200 each per year for Mom’s and Dad’s phones. That’s damn near $3000 per year, and they’re not happy about it. I don’t blame them; that’s a shitload of money. Hey Mom, what the hell do you need a smartphone for? and Dad, do you really need internet access while you’re on the bus? If money is tight, is there absolutely no way you can schedule your studying so that you are near an internet connection when you need to be, or save internetless subject matter for while you’re on the bus?

More:

@NCBnews

Another clear theme in the data: families are hit hard because they often have three, four, even five phones. And it’s getting harder and harder to beat back teenagers’ demands for smartphones. It’s even harder to stop them from gobbling up precious data allotments with video downloads. Rodriguez, Jarmon and Pinellas all gave smartphones to their kids, but share minutes with them and try to cap their usage.

Congratulations, Victims of Modern Life, for lacking the balls to say “NO” to your kids. Try this instead “Son, here’s a basic flip-phone with ten minutes of air time. Absolutely do not use this unless you are calling me to let me know your life is in danger and you need my immediate assistance.” Or go old-school, and let them grow up without a cell phone like you and I did. Not sure when soccer practice will end so you can pick up your ungrateful little yuppie larva? You can show up fifteen minutes early and wait for him to finish - or show up late and make him wait fifteen minutes. Or make him pedal his ass home, which will even help save you some gas money. This is how life went on for decades before you became enthralled by the convenience of your cell phone.

Bottom line? All you people bitching about how hard is is to make ends meet - while posting about it via your smartphones - can go ahead and download a video of the world’s smallest violin, playing just for you.

[MsWhatsit]

This news story is certainly very upsetting. Very, very upsetting. Kids these days. I declare.

It’s a good thing you don’t have a smartphone with easy Internet access or your blood pressure might go through the roof with all of the outrageous stories in the news these days.

[even_sven]

The guy is in law school. He is likely making a substantial investment in his education. If online studying helps (and it helped me when I was a grad student), it’s almost certainly worth it in the end.

I haven’t lived in a place with a landline since maybe 2006.

[Machine_Elf]

@even_sven

The guy is in law school. He is likely making a substantial investment in his education. If online studying helps (and it helped me when I was a grad student), it’s almost certainly worth it in the end.

Maybe so - in which case they should STFU about the cost. And if finances are tight, the other three family members should think about shitcanning their phones until Daddy finishes school and starts bringing home the big money.

[Khadaji]

I have a pay-as-you-go phone in case my car breaks down.

But my new job claims that they are going to get me a smart phone of some sort. I dunno why. If I’m not at work, I’m at my desk at home. But it is their money.

[tdn]

A cell phone sure would have come in handy yesterday. It would have saved me 30 minutes of standing out in the cold waiting for a friend that never showed up. Missed her by 10 minutes!

Maybe I should just buy her a cheap phone. I can afford it and she can’t. Just until she gets on her feet.

[ed_anger]

@Machine_Elf

OK, so they’re paying near $600 a year for the kids’ phones, and apparently about $1200 each per year for Mom’s and Dad’s phones. That’s damn near $3000 per year, and they’re not happy about it. I don’t blame them; that’s a shitload of money. Hey Mom, what the hell do you need a smartphone for? and Dad, do you really need internet access while you’re on the bus? If money is tight, is there absolutely no way you can schedule your studying so that you are near an internet connection when you need to be, or save internetless subject matter for while you’re on the bus?

Aren’t there family plans that would cover all 4 of them for much less?

[Thudlow_Boink]

Not ranty enough. You’re in the Pit; let’s see some vitriol.

[ed_anger]

Friggin stupid 5 minute edit period, how do all of you work around here? Ahem:

What’s wrong with these people? Don’t these idiots know there’s family plans that would cover all 4 of them without them having to sell one of their children each year?

Better?

[CoastalMaineiac]

Newsflash! School offices have phones. They will allow kids who are staying late to use said phones to call their parents. As for dropping the kids off at the mall. What’s wrong with “I’m picking you up in exactly three hours; be at the entrance.”?

A cell-phone may be a convenience, but I would not consider it a necessity. Hell, the way I see it, it ain’t that great a convenience. I’ll tell you what’s convenient: being on the road, my location known only to myself and the Almighty, and not one person being able to track me down. Now THAT is convenience.

If I’m not home to answer a land-line, just maybe it’s because I don’t want to talk on the damn phone!

[tdn]

@CoastalMaineiac

I’ll tell you what’s convenient: being on the road, my location known only to myself and the Almighty, and not one person being able to track me down. Now THAT is convenience.

If you have a cell phone, and it’s with you (which it doesn’t have to be), and it’s turned on (which it doesn’t have to be), you are still not compelled to answer it.

[Ludy]

I wonder how much they really looked into those plans… My husband and I just switched to smart phones a few months ago. We got the free phone (not an I-Phone) that you get with a contract, and my last bill was $34. I have decent minutes and unlimited texting. If I wanted unlimited data it would be $4 more a month.

The $250 number seems mind boggling.

[fluiddruid]

@Ludy

I wonder how much they really looked into those plans… My husband and I just switched to smart phones a few months ago. We got the free phone (not an I-Phone) that you get with a contract, and my last bill was $34. I have decent minutes and unlimited texting. If I wanted unlimited data it would be $4 more a month.

Are you in the US? $4 unlimited data sounds pretty unattainable here. It’s hard enough to get unlimited data at all with the big carriers.

[Broomstick]

@Machine_Elf

Many of these folks seem to regard a cell phone - or even a smart-phone with internet acess - to be a fundamental necessity of life, and they’re having trouble paying the bills.

Although I’d argue that a smartphone is a luxury, I have held two jobs in the past 5 years where possession of a cellphone was required. A very basic cellphone, however, would fulfill the job requirement, including the pre-paid ones you can get at very low cost. So, for some people, owning a cellphone is a job requirement. There are other circumstances where a cellphone is arguably useful enough that the line between luxury and necessity isn’t quite as sharp as you might suppose.

Hey Mom, what the hell do you need a smartphone for? and Dad, do you really need internet access while you’re on the bus? If money is tight, is there absolutely no way you can schedule your studying so that you are near an internet connection when you need to be, or save internetless subject matter for while you’re on the bus?

More and more college-level study is requiring internet access. Also, we don’t know how much time dad is spending commuting (I used to spend 80 minutes a day on trains, that adds up quickly). I’d consider at least the possibility that internet-access via phone for dad might be justifiable from the standpoint of time management depending on what else he may need to get done in a day. Mom and the kids? Not so much. Basic cellphone service should work. I realize this will make the kids less cool than their peers, but hey, it sucks to be on a tight budget.

[Ludy]

@fluiddruid

Are you in the US? $4 unlimited data sounds pretty unattainable here. It’s hard enough to get unlimited data at all with the big carriers.

I’m in Canada. I guess I just assumed they would be similar. If not, you guys are getting ripped off

[Qadgop_the_Mercotan]

I’ve got two cell phones! Neither is smart, though.

One is issued by my employer. But taking a cellphone into my place of work is a firing offense. Two-way portable communication devices are strictly forbidden at work. So I leave it in my car.

My employer also forbids me from using that phone for personal calls, so I have a 2nd cellphone. I can’t bring it into work either, so I leave it in my car too. Neither phone is ever on unless I’m making a call out.

If people want me, I’m either at my desk, at home, or available by my pager. Yes, some people do carry pagers. I can take a pager into work since I can’t send on it, only receive.

I like this arrangement.

[running_coach]

@Qadgop_the_Mercotan

One is** issued by my employer**. But taking a cellphone into my place of work is a **firing offense. **Two-way portable communication devices are strictly forbidden at work. So I leave it in my car.

head spins

[Eonwe]

@runner pat

head spins

My guess is he needs a phone to be “on call” for medical emergencies, but is prohibited from bringing the phone into the prison(s) where he works, for obvious reasons.

[Machine_Elf]

@Broomstick

Mom and the kids? Not so much. Basic cellphone service should work. I realize this will make the kids less cool than their peers, but hey, it sucks to be on a tight budget.

As was discussed upthread, even basic cell phones are a luxury; if you are resourceful, you can get through life just fine without one. If the kids want a cell phone, they can work to pay for it. 40 bucks a month? That’s about 6 hours at minimum wage. They can work an hour and a half per week, and that’ll pay for their cell phone.

My parents kept me and my sibs clothed/fed/sheltered and gave us toys and a weekly allowance when we were very young, but as we became teenagers with the capacity to do useful work, they backed off on the toys and allowance, and we were expected to pay for more of our own luxuries. When I was in high school, among other things I used my earnings to buy myself a personal computer (a Commodore 64, pretty hot in the mid '80’s) and a brand new high-quality bicycle (i.e. not a $20 garage-sale Huffy). Similarly, having a kid pay for his own cell phone as soon as he’s able to hold a job might help teach him the value of things, make him think about whether he really wants to pay for a cell plan that includes 1000 minutes a month and unlimited data.

[Qadgop_the_Mercotan]

@Eonwe

My guess is he needs a phone to be “on call” for medical emergencies, but is prohibited from bringing the phone into the prison(s) where he works, for obvious reasons.

You shattered my mystique with facts!!