# My mother (a) is old and (b) wants a new cell phone. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 23, 2011, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-a-is-old-and-b-wants-a-new-cell-phone/575680 "2011-03-23T02:52:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-a-is-old-and-b-wants-a-new-cell-phone/575680/21 "2011-03-24T04:04:00Z")
I can’t get my head around the fact that some people think 65 is old. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-a-is-old-and-b-wants-a-new-cell-phone/575680/22 "2011-03-24T06:44:40Z")
> [@jabiru](#): > > I can’t get my head around the fact that some people think 65 is old. [Wikipedia on Senior Citizens:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senior_citizen) > [@Wiki](#): > > It is used in general usage instead of traditional terms such as “old person”, “old-age pensioner”, or “elderly” as a courtesy and to signify continuing relevance of and respect for this population group as “citizens” of society, of “senior” rank. > > … > > In the United States, the standard retirement age is currently 65 (gradually increasing to 67). If you’re anywhere near being referred to as a “senior citizen” you’re old. ---
**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:** [March 24, 2011, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-a-is-old-and-b-wants-a-new-cell-phone/575680/23 "2011-03-24T06:58:19Z")
How does “senior citizen” equate to being “old”? Some people can be old in their 30’s. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-a-is-old-and-b-wants-a-new-cell-phone/575680/24 "2011-03-24T11:35:40Z")
Apropos of nothing, I was at the grocery store the other day and there was this little old lady. As I walked by her, her old lady purse went off with “Oops, I did it again”. She pulled out her iPhone 4 and proceeded to whip out a reply text message without breaking stride. Made me chuckle. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-a-is-old-and-b-wants-a-new-cell-phone/575680/25 "2011-03-24T11:43:58Z")
I can’t even get my mom (66) to download Skype so we can sort of see each other once a week. Much less embrace texting. If I could get her to text it would really cut down on those “quick calls” that turn into 1-2 hours. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-a-is-old-and-b-wants-a-new-cell-phone/575680/26 "2011-03-24T12:12:36Z")
[The Register reviewed a number of senior-friendly phones](http://www.reghardware.com/2010/05/04/grouptest_oap_phones/) last summer. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-a-is-old-and-b-wants-a-new-cell-phone/575680/27 "2011-03-24T12:18:16Z")
> [@katie1341](#): > > My mom is 85 and she just got a Pantech II from AT&T. I got the following text from her over the weekend: “Look at me, I’m texting!”. She loves it- she had been looking at an iphone, but all she really wants to do is make phone calls, text, and send and receive pictures. She doesn’t care about surfing the internet or playing Angry Birds, so this is perfect for her. I added my mom (73) to my family plan with that phone also. She has memory issues, so the three quick call buttons have been wonderful. You can adjust the text size easily and she loves the magnifier. We did, however, block texting. My mom and texting would be a recipe for disaster. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-a-is-old-and-b-wants-a-new-cell-phone/575680/28 "2011-03-24T18:46:22Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > How does “senior citizen” equate to being “old”? > > Some people can be old in their 30’s. Is one of the first symptoms of being old forgetting what words mean? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-a-is-old-and-b-wants-a-new-cell-phone/575680.md?page=1)