# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/81 "2012-11-20T02:55:35Z")
Man, the Machine Elf union really got hit hard when the smartphone industry replaced their tiny hands and magic with robots during the recession, huh? ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/82 "2012-11-20T04:26:58Z")
My phone is just a phone. Doesn’t even have a camera in it. If it rings, I pull it out of my pocket (unless I’m driving) and look to see who it is. If it’s a number I don’t recognise, I don’t answer. Since I’m not supposed to be talking on the phone when I’m at work, if I get a call at work and it’s a number I do know, I just remember to call back when I’m on break; if it’s an emergency, my wife or the kids’ schools will be calling the office number, not my cell phone. ---
**Author:** ![scratch\_llll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@scratch\_llll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scratch_llll)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/83 "2012-11-20T05:02:15Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Whatever the magnetism is, that so consumes people to chose to interact with a machine, in the actual presence of real people, seems utterly lost on me. I find it truly baffling. Really, you’re out with your family and you’re on your phone? > > Colour me delighted to have experienced a pre cell phone world and especially childhood. But it’s clearly a new world today. You said everything I wanted to. I sometimes wonder if these people will look up from their phones one day to discover their children have grown and their spouses have left them while they were playing angry birds and then go back to playing and texting. Other than that I think cell phones are a great convenience. I just don’t understand the point of texting so much. They make these great things called mouths and ears that require much less effort to use. It’s more personal too. You can actually hear emotion in someones voice. And you don’t have to use a 🙂 to let someone know you are happy. What will they think of next. Of course you can’t secretly plan your next hookup in the mall bathroom while ignoring your granny who came to visit and will die before you see her again but hey, you can’t have it all. ---
**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, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/84 "2012-11-20T05:59:43Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I don’t know if it’s a generational thing or just personal preference but there is nothing I hate more than chit chatting on the phone (yet I could blab with the rest of them when I was a teen so maybe it \*is \*an age thing). There’s no use carping about my particular hatred of many peoples’ phone etiquette (or lack thereof), but I just don’t know what I’d do with a cell phone. I do keep a prepaid one in my car and if it somehow came down to needing to ditch the landline I could do it, but then am I expected to always answer my phone because the caller assumes I have it with me? I simply won’t accept calls when I’m away from home. Not trying to be selfrighteous or anything; I’ve just never had a job that took me off site and when I’m out socially I have no need to speak to anyone but the person I’m currently with at the given moment. It’s the same with me; actually making or receiving calls is probably what I do the least. I use the Internet access and email capabilities of my device far more. Like many people, I don’t answer unless I’m expecting the call or know who it is. That said, using any kind of mobile phone almost always makes it easier to screen calls this way. Anyone I might call or receive calls from goes into my contact list, that way their name flashes on the screen when they call. Thus, my contact list is useful for dealing not only with my good contacts for the usual reasons, but also for handling nuisance calls. Those numbers can be sent straight to voicemail. Nobody should expect anyone to answer a cell phone unconditionally because there are too many places and situations where it is inappropriate, illegal, or imossible to talk on one. Obviously, you’re also not answering your land line while you’re out, so it shouldn’t make any difference to the caller. They’ll get over it. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/85 "2012-11-20T12:27:37Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > Man, the Machine Elf union really got hit hard when the smartphone industry replaced their tiny hands and magic with robots during the recession, huh? Who do you think makes the goddam robots? ---
**Author:** ![MegaBee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f0a364/32.png) [@MegaBee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MegaBee)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/86 "2012-11-20T12:35:37Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > How much do you pay now? > > One reason people hate cell phones is because thay are annoying out in public. At least I’m not that person. I really only use mine at home. Outside, it’s usually too loud to hear the other person. I pay ten cents a minute, and I’ve never gone over $100 in a year. My cell phone use is pretty similar to yours for similar reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/87 "2012-11-20T12:55:35Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Can we broaden this rant to include cellphone addicts who can’t walk five feet without their eyes glued on a screen? I submit that we need to start a public awareness campaign that if you’re walking slowly or come to a complete stop due to your electronic device, you need to take it off to the side of the flow of foot traffic, just like we expect slow drivers to stay in the rightmost lane. That’s what I thought this pit thread was going to be. That (IMO) a much more worthy rant than the thing about people wanting something they don’t need/can’t afford. People who stumble about blindly, stand blocking doorways or traverse stairs at a snail’s pace because they can’t peel their eyes off a screen are a public menace. People who can’t organise their own finances are generally not many other people’s problem. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/88 "2012-11-20T14:36:58Z")
My wife and I both have the dumbest phones available and pay $60 a month for both of them. I get maybe one call a day - from her. Her phone is usually in the car and usually dead. We used to pay for a third one for our son, but we cut him off on his 18th birthday because he was blowing money on stupid crap. At one point, he tried to push me into upgrading him to an iPhone (HAHAHA!!). When I asked him what the iPhone would let him do that couldn’t already by done by the iPod touch and cell phone he already had, he realized he didn’t have a leg to stand on. After we cut him off, he made an attempt to buy himself a smart phone, until I pointed out that the $80 a month(!!!) it would cost him was well over what his mom and I pay for both our phones combined. He ended up getting a cheapo pre-paid phone plan. One of the few moments of fiscal responsibility and common sense he’s ever displayed. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/89 "2012-11-20T15:33:33Z")
You know you are getting old and cranky when those “Jitterbug” commercials start piqueing your interests. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/90 "2012-11-20T15:37:51Z")
This picture is appropriate [http://cheezburger.com/6771850496](http://cheezburger.com/6771850496). It’s a quote from Einstein “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” above a picture of people at dinner where everyone is looking at their phone. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/91 "2012-11-20T18:52:47Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > … the kids can use pre-paid phones if the parents feel a need for their progeny to carry one. Issue $10 of minutes a month and if they run out - well, they’ll figure it out quickly. We did the Tracfone thing for years, but our daughter was running into Walgreen’s and buying extra cards just for the texting. Of course, she never told us this, so I thought I was SO smart for just doing pay-as -you-go. Once we found out how much texting our kids were doing, an unlimited text plan turned out to be much cheaper. We checked after our first month: if we’d paid for each text, our two teens would’ve cost us $750 in texts. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/92 "2012-11-20T19:04:06Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > 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. LG400G? As my niece said, “It’s so cute! It thinks it’s a real phone!” ---
**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, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/93 "2012-11-20T19:49:28Z")
Oh for fuck’s sake. It’s “lying” and “liar” ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/94 "2012-11-20T19:51:47Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Who do you think makes the goddam robots? You’re very clever, young elf, but I’m afraid it’s robots all the way down. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/95 "2012-11-20T20:17:47Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > About as tragically awesome as somebody who thinks that actually happened. [I can believe it](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14340173&postcount=26) ---
**Author:** ![Bilbo1967](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@Bilbo1967](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bilbo1967)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/96 "2012-11-20T20:40:10Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > 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. I have absolutely no idea what else I could take from it. You went to a public place and then got all snarky and left when other members of the public turned up. Are 7 year old kids really pre-school where you are? I agree that not even buying anything is just rude though. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/97 "2012-11-20T20:45:47Z")
> [@Bilbo1967](#): > > I have absolutely no idea what else I could take from it. You went to a public place and then got all snarky and left when other members of the public turned up. > > Are 7 year old kids really pre-school where you are? > > I agree that not even buying anything is just rude though. It’s curlcoat. The problem is most likely that someone had the nerve to bring children anywhere near her(?), thus forcing her to be anywhere near non-adult human beings. ---
**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, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/98 "2012-11-20T20:54:32Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > That’s what I thought this pit thread was going to be. That (IMO) a much more worthy rant than the thing about people wanting something they don’t need/can’t afford. > > People who stumble about blindly, stand blocking doorways or traverse stairs at a snail’s pace because they can’t peel their eyes off a screen are a public menace. People who can’t organise their own finances are generally not many other people’s problem. 'Public menace" - I like that. How about we also make it socially acceptable to just walk right into people who stop dead in the middle of a mall walkway to text? ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/99 "2012-11-20T20:58:59Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > 'Public menace" - I like that. How about we also make it socially acceptable to just walk right into people who stop dead in the middle of a mall walkway to text? Sure, but only if I have permission to stab couples who stop right outside a busy doorway to slooowly make out goodbye. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495/100 "2012-11-20T21:01:15Z")
I know people who are so addicted to their phones they are literally on them every waking moment. That is so sad. I finally broke down and got a cell phone. Someone called me at 5:30 Sunday morning. When I called back at 7:30, he had the gall to ask “Why didn’t you answer? What were you doing?” ETA: I predict that in the next two decades the average age of death is going down. Young people do not get outside and exercize anymore. Too busy with their technology. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cell-phone-addicts/641495.md?page=6)