# I pit cell phone addicts. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 19, 2012, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495 "2012-11-19T12:24:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/61 "2012-11-19T21:36:18Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > This is your opinion; it is not a fact. What constitutes a luxury is mostly subjective, although I mostly agree with you on smart phones for kids. > > Many people would consider sitting at home all afternoon waiting for a call on a land line to be the luxury. Why? Because time is not without value. BUT you don’t have to have a very expensive smart phone. I have a very cheap phone. I bought the phone for $50. It’s a TracFone, so I pay for minutes. Once a year or so I get a deal and put in about 1000 minutes. In between I never have to pay a cent for the phone. So if I don’t use it, I’m not paying for it. If I need to add more minutes, I can do it anytime. I have internet at work and at home, so I have no need for a super duper smart phone. And truth be told I think a lot of phones could cut back to that. I can text, too - I just can’t call internationally. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/62 "2012-11-19T21:46:48Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > I’m not getting it. Turning off the phone or driving to someplace without coverage is going to sound like the same thing to someone trying to call you. Maybe you are just better at lieing than me. Somebody “HAS” to get hold of you. But you don’t want to be bothered. Best option. They actually can’t because you don’t have coverage. No one to blame here. Well, I guess they could blame you for being in place without coverage. Next best. You lie and claim you were in an area without coverage. Better be a good lier. Next next best. I had the phone off. Why the hell did you have the phone off? Next next next best. I decided to not answer the phone. Why the hell would you do that? ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/63 "2012-11-19T22:05:14Z")
> [@BottledBlondJeanie](#): > > Fucking Luddites. Occasionally one forgets how the Straight Dope posters revel in this type of, um, braggadocio. Smartphones are necessary for many people. But that plan described in the OP is insane. > > Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the penalty for breaking a contract about $200? Well worth it when you’re overpaying that much per month. > > BBJ, happily landline free and smartphone enabled since 2003. I’m going to just stand up and applaud you for 10 minutes. Because seriously, you are 100% correct. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/64 "2012-11-19T22:10:44Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Maybe you are just better at lieing than me. > > Somebody “HAS” to get hold of you. But you don’t want to be bothered. > > Best option. They actually can’t because you don’t have coverage. No one to blame here. Well, I guess they could blame you for being in place without coverage. > > Next best. You lie and claim you were in an area without coverage. Better be a good lier. > > Next next best. I had the phone off. Why the hell did you have the phone off? > > Next next next best. I decided to not answer the phone. Why the hell would you do that? Oh, lying? No I don’t bother with that - my memory ain’t what it used to be. No, I tell people I had the phone off, or in the car or whatever it was that happened. Nothing is so bloody important that they cannot leave a voice mail and I’ll get back to them when I can. But then, I don’t have friends who get pissy just because they couldn’t reach me by phone at some exact time. ---
**Author:** ![Bilbo1967](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@Bilbo1967](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bilbo1967)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/65 "2012-11-19T22:12:50Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > I’m not getting it. Turning off the phone or driving to someplace without coverage is going to sound like the same thing to someone trying to call you. > So, to up the stakes: I’m in a Starbucks because I needed to download something and only have dial up at home. Guy comes in with two kids, maybe 5-7 years of age _and they both have laptops_. That is nuts. > > The first thing he said to me was he would try to keep the noise down. Kid across from me is pounding the chair and Dad is doing nothing. Thank god my download is done… So, you’re in a public place, using their internet connection and you object to other people doing the same? If you want a **private** , fast internet connection, Starbucks is not the answer. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/66 "2012-11-19T22:19:28Z")
> [@Bilbo1967](#): > > So, you’re in a public place, using their internet connection and you object to other people doing the same? Uh, no, where did you get that idea? If you mean because I left, that was because the one kid was making a bunch of noise, and had unplugged my cord a couple of times. Plus I was done eating and downloading. Part if not most of this thread is about kids having the luxury of cell phones and smart phones, so when I saw that these probably preschool kids both had laptops, I mentioned it. The guy looked like he could afford it, but seriously? Laptops for each kid before they are even in school? I also noticed he didn’t bother to buy anything, which is just rude. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/67 "2012-11-19T22:24:26Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > You’ve never been married or had the boss or friend or relative from hell have you? > > If it ain’t true you can’t sell the story. I had the phone off doesnt cut it. :dubious: The message I got from that ad was that they were using cellphone coverage as a measure of (proximity to) civilization - once there was no longer any cellphone coverage, they knew they’d be sufficiently “getting away from it all,” including tech-obsessed phone users who couldn’t bear being out of touch in that fashion. No cell coverage meant they’d be away from wannabe-campers who didn’t appreciate the outdoors. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/68 "2012-11-19T22:35:54Z")
I think a lot of the problem is just lack of research. It’s easy to let yourself get (relatively) ripped off by cell phone providers. It’s harder to do your homework, but there ARE deals out there. About 6 months back, I purchased a used last-generation smartphone off eBay for $75 including shipping. I don’t have a contract, and am paying $32.75 a month for 100 minutes/unlimited texts/unlimited 4g data (although because my phone is a generation behind I only get 3g speeds–still fast enough for me). Technically they cap me at 5 gigs, but I can’t see ever using that much bandwidth unless you tether your connection to a computer or other bandwidth hog. Tethering is an option that costs $15 a month, so even with my plan plus 5 gigs of tethering every month, that’d only be ~$48 a month. And even that seems to be cheaper than what most people are paying. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/69 "2012-11-19T23:08:36Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > :dubious: The message I got from that ad was that they were using cellphone coverage as a measure of (proximity to) civilization - once there was no longer any cellphone coverage, they knew they’d be sufficiently “getting away from it all,” including tech-obsessed phone users who couldn’t bear being out of touch in that fashion. No cell coverage meant they’d be away from wannabe-campers who didn’t appreciate the outdoors. :rolleyes: Yourself. Its a two fer apparently then. You wouldn’t believe how out of touch I’ve been on occasion. Like WW3 could have started and finished I/we wouldn’t have had a clue. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/70 "2012-11-19T23:32:44Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > Part if not most of this thread is about kids having the luxury of cell phones and smart phones, so when I saw that these probably preschool kids both had laptops, I mentioned it. The guy looked like he could afford it, but seriously? Laptops for each kid before they are even in school? Used laptops (especially low end ones) are basically worthless, so there is no downside to passing them on to the kids. I had a benevolent uncle who made sure I always had cutting edge technology, even when I was too young to know what I was doing with it. Not coincidently, pretty much every job I’ve ever had has been directly related to my ease in using technology. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/71 "2012-11-19T23:51:25Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > If you’re struggling to pay all your bills, and you have to choose between: > > -cell phone > -land line (cuz if you’re on a tight budget, you don’t have cable TV/internet, so you need dial-up) > -heat (including hot water for showers) > -electricity > > then something’s gotta give. Your time may be valuable, but so are heat and electricity. Take your pick. Given **even sven** ’s statement here > [@even sven](#): > > It is true that US cell phones cost much, much more than the exact same services elsewhere. My Chinese cell phone bill was around $5.00 a month. My Cameroonian cell phone would eat through maybe three or four dollars every few weeks. The US, as far as I know, is unique in billing both the caller and the receiver, and charging to receive text messages. This would be considered absurd anywhere else. Even charging for text messages is a bit of a push. They cost literally nothing to transmit. Nothing at all I think we’re having the wrong argument. Instead of debating the wisdom of carrying expensive smart phone contracts, perhaps we should be questioning how the carriers justify that expense. Thirty-five years ago, America’s telecom infrastructure was second to none. Doing my EAP year in Germany at the time, I was amused by how the state-operated telephone system seemed to be so quaint and antiquated. If I wanted to make a collect call home I had to do it at the main post office, writing down the country and number I wanted and passing the information to a clerk behind the counter. The clerk would then connect my call and tell me which booth to use. I don’t think I ever saw a touch-tone phone while I was there, and there was a lot less that you could do on your own without an operator’s assistance. Now it seems that most other First World countries are miles ahead of us in this area, whether it’s [land lines, cable/satellite, home Internet access](http://venturebeat.com/2012/09/24/us-internet-slow-expensive/) or mobile phone service. We [pay more and get less](http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/us-phone-owners-pay-too-much-for-lte-study/). We should at least look at this before shaking fingers at the follies of foolish spendthrifts, because to do otherwise is to buy into our favorite national pastime of self-reproach over the use of “gadgets” and the money we spend to do that. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/72 "2012-11-19T23:53:38Z")
What pisses me off is the people in airport lounges who have to wander around jabbering on the phone so that people are aware how important they are. Machine Elf, I bought a smart phone after years of a dumb phone- not to be super cool or anything, but to discover if it would be worthwhile. I had used a dumb phone as I couldn’t think how I would use a smart phone- it turned out to be more that I didn’t realise how much I could use a smart phone as I had a dumb phone. And I never changed my rather meagre plan. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/73 "2012-11-20T00:04:20Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > What pisses me off is the people in airport lounges who have to wander around jabbering on the phone so that people are aware how important they are. People still do this? It’s so 1980s. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/74 "2012-11-20T00:07:46Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > People still do this? It’s so 1980s. I experienced it last week. And in Singapore, some guy was wandering around the lounge reading from notes and then talking as though he was practising a speech. It was weird. (I would add this wasn’t the really big wig lounge). ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/75 "2012-11-20T00:33:11Z")
I’m 28 and still don’t have a cell phone. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/76 "2012-11-20T00:43:31Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > I’m 28 and still don’t have a cell phone. Congratulations. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/77 "2012-11-20T01:43:05Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Used laptops (especially low end ones) are basically worthless, so there is no downside to passing them on to the kids. These were far from worthless old laptops, unless the very lightweight thin ones are now passe? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/78 "2012-11-20T02:15:52Z")
> [@Rollo\_Tomasi](#): > > Certainly you don’t have to drop everything you’re doing at that moment just to answer your phone. But if it’s a convenient moment, why wouldn’t you just answer, let the person know that you’ll call them back, and go back to what you were doing? After all, what if a family member or friend is calling you with a true emergency, and they know you’re not going to be at home for a while? Is it really worth potentially missing something very important just to stand on some kind of principle? That seems silly. > > And if you know you’re not going to answer your phone, I certainly hope you’ve turned the ringer off. People who let their phone ring and ring drive me nuts. I don’t usually answer unless I’m expecting the call. My husband has a habit of calling up just because he’s bored. Frankly, my driving is bad enough, I’m NOT going to try to fumble out my cell. I finally told him that unless he actually NEEDED to call me, that he should just wait to tell me the latest gossip in person. I’ve told everyone who has my cell number, in fact, that I generally don’t answer the phone. And yes, the ringer is off, unless I’m expecting a call. A great deal of this is because the guy who had my number before me seemed to enter every single one of those sweepstakes that wants a phone number, so I get a lot of telemarketing calls on the cell…and it’s legal, because the number WAS entered into a form. Now, having said that, I do find my cell to be very handy at times. For instance, if I need to be picked up at the airport, it’s handy to be able to call my ride and say “I’ll be outside gate A 17”, for instance, because that’s info that won’t be available until about half an hour before the plane lands. I’ve also used my cell to call up my husband and whine that I’ve broken my tire, and I need him to come fix it for me. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/79 "2012-11-20T02:18:20Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > \ > I watch mothers, headed to the nearby public school, to meet their child, a toddler in tow, chattering away, Mom’s absorbed in her phone. Ditto the whole time she’s waiting. Ditto the journey back, past my window, chattering 8yr old beside her.\ I see this all the time, too, and I wonder when we’re going to start seeing the next mental health diagnosis - kids growing up messed up because their parents spent their entire childhoods on the cellphone. Their parents are physically present, but intellectually and emotionally checked out - nothing like having someone ignore you to your face to let you know how important you are to them. ---
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/80 "2012-11-20T02:36:01Z")
I just got one today…My old phone died after 3.5 years…it was a Trooper. Anyway, I think I had this tardphone for 15 seconds after the set-up thing, before I pressed an App and was charged 2.5 mb for an upload that Verizon is going to disable in a month. :rolleyes: I better not be getting charged on connecting to wi-fi at home or other places? I read and read…no answers on how to set it for connect to local and not roaming. 😕 Apparently everyone knows this by osmosis but me. ☹ (Wanted a Galaxy2…but had to settle for LG Intuiton…didn’t have the extra $$$, and had no phone for a week) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495.md?page=5)