# So who's a luddite? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 23, 2004, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whos-a-luddite/276247 "2004-11-23T07:09:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whos-a-luddite/276247/1 "2004-11-23T07:09:30Z")
As in not owning a cell phone? There’s me and…who? ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whos-a-luddite/276247/2 "2004-11-23T07:14:37Z")
I don’t have one. I hate talking on the phone. Whenever my home phone rings, I cringe and my husband and I bicker about who has to answer it. Why in God’s name would I take a device I despise everywhere I go? ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whos-a-luddite/276247/3 "2004-11-23T07:46:50Z")
Never had one although I’ve been considering it lately. Would come in handy sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whos-a-luddite/276247/4 "2004-11-23T07:49:13Z")
What Lissa said. Except for the husband part since I don’t have one and bickering is no fun when it’s just you. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whos-a-luddite/276247/5 "2004-11-23T08:06:21Z")
Oh, I hate cell phones and cell phones hate me. I don’t even like using other people’s. They’re so freaking tiny. Too many features, too many functions. Back in 1994, I taught myself how to use a home computer and surf the web. Cell phones and digital cameras continue to elude my luddite brain. The few times I have considered getting a cell I’ve come to my senses. Plus, I really don’t like the way charges are set up: air time. A set number of minutes. Extra charges for exceeding minutes. Roaming charges. Sheesh! Give me a landline til I die, man. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whos-a-luddite/276247/6 "2004-11-23T08:19:16Z")
> [@roger thornhill](#): > > As in not owning a cell phone? > > There’s me and…who? I bet you write checks at the supermarket too. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whos-a-luddite/276247/7 "2004-11-23T08:25:05Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > I bet you write checks at the supermarket too. Bastards won’t take cheques in Hong Kong. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whos-a-luddite/276247/8 "2004-11-23T08:26:18Z")
I love having a cell phone. Because I never keep it on. I have voice mail, which I check daily (okay, maybe. If I remember). But if I know someone is going to leave me a message, I can check my voice mail more often. I hardly ever use it, but I _have_ it in case I need it. I used to aggravate one of my friends greatly because he assumed that if I had a cell phone, it was strapped to my hip and on at all times. He’d leave me these really annoyed voice mails about how “you should have your cell phone on!” I think he’s finally understood how I use the phone, so the annoyed messages have tapered off. I loved having a cell phone at my last job, because my bosses had a habit of pestering _everyone_ at home, trying to guilt us into working an impossible amount of overtime. I simply was not available to do a lot of overtime, but they’d still try to guilt me anyway. I didn’t have an answering machine on my home phone so they couldn’t reach me there all that often, and I was warned by coworkers to not give the bosses my cell phone number, because they would be _relentless_ in calling me there too. Relatives and friends could leave messages at any time through the cell phone’s voice mail, but mercifully, my bosses could not. Ah, sweet relief! So I guess what I’m trying to say is that I love having a cell phone—that I rarely ever use. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whos-a-luddite/276247/9 "2004-11-23T09:02:53Z")
I have a cell phone, but only because it’s cheaper than having a land line for me, due to a weird variety of circumstances. I compensate for this by having the last monochromatically screened phone ever to roll off the lines, a phone that is not compatible with fancy ringtones, doesn’t allow me to surf the internet, and has no chat features. I’m also always leaving at home in the wall charger. And I turn it off whenever I go out (there’s nothing more embarrassing than having your cell phone ring when you’re at the store). And the only people who have my number are my parents and my boyfriend. Cell phones don’t annoy people, jerky cell phone users annoy people. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whos-a-luddite/276247/10 "2004-11-23T10:25:25Z")
I am proudly Luddite. I used to have a cell-phone, until I cancelled the rental because I realised that I was always leaving it at home because I couldn’t stand people being able to call me continually. I don’t even like my land-line much - half the time I won’t even answer it if I don’t feel like being interrupted. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whos-a-luddite/276247/11 "2004-11-23T11:22:53Z")
I don’t have a mobile. Not out of any particular Luddishnes, just because I feel no need for one. I had one for business reasons twenty odd years ago, it was more _transportable_ than mobile, weighed about three kilos. I am baffled by how people seem to need to be _constantly_ in touch with everyone they know. In the supermarket calling the missus to find out if you need more cat food? Plan ahead people. Maybe I’m just an antisocial sod, but I do not share this need for non-stop confirmation of my existance by being plugged into the hive-mind. How the blinking heck did people manage before the great assimilation? ---
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whos-a-luddite/276247/12 "2004-11-23T11:46:56Z")
Me. [warning - gramatically terrible sentence ahead.] I really should have one, but I’m like, I pay for a phone at home, why should I pay for one I also have to keep track of? * * * I also haven’t worn a watch in about eight years. Now, _that_’s fun… encourages some social interaction and hlas developed an instinct of immediately zoning into whatever public clocks there are. Plus, no cable TV for about six out of the last ten years. I finally gave in when my 12 year old daughter wouldn’t quit hanging on my leg until I switched it back on. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whos-a-luddite/276247/13 "2004-11-23T12:10:58Z")
I am a semi-luddite. I carry a mobile (it is also my home phone under an Orange plan) but it has no extra features and I don’t even SMS. I spend on average $5 a month on calls, though this is because I have stayed on a plan that is many years old that lets me make unlimited length calls to land phones for 22c. I refer to myself as a luddite. When people start talking about the features their phone has I usually chime in with “My phone has this great feature. You punch in numbers on the keypad and if the number matches someone’s phone number it rings them.” ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whos-a-luddite/276247/14 "2004-11-23T12:58:58Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > I am a semi-luddite. … > When people start talking about the features their phone has I usually chime in with “My phone has this great feature. You punch in numbers on the keypad and if the number matches someone’s phone number it rings them.” Yeah, my phone has that feature, too! And that’s it. I don’t want text messaging or games or stock quotes or a camera function. I just want to be able to call people in an emergency or to check on my kids or talk to my husband once in a while. As **Small Clanger** said, I just don’t get the obssession people have with needing to be on the phone all the freaking time. Everywhere I go, everyone is on the damn phone, all the time. What the heck is that important? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whos-a-luddite/276247/15 "2004-11-23T13:03:52Z")
Me too. An intrusion, & a needless one. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whos-a-luddite/276247/16 "2004-11-23T14:40:41Z")
I don’t have a cell phone, either. There’s just no reason why I should have one. Not enough people call me to warrant it. My wife has one, because people need to be able to reach her. But I don’t even know how to operate it - and don’t much care to know. [mini-rant] Why do so many people embrace communications technology that is worse than the old kind they used for so many years? I like being able to understand what’s being said to me on a land line. Cell phone calls sound like the absolute lowest bitrate mp3s, and the signal always dies. What’s great about that? [/mini-rant] ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whos-a-luddite/276247/17 "2004-11-23T15:05:20Z")
> [@fishbicycle](#): > > [mini-rant]Cell phone calls sound like the absolute lowest bitrate mp3s[/mini-rant] Can I add to the rant? Why in the freaking twenty first century are phone signals still limited to a 4K bandwidth. It’s pitiful. Fibre optics carrying signals worthy of beakers and string, pathetic. Google turns up that [voice over IP](http://www.enterprisenetworksandservers.com/monthly/art.php/792) might be coming to the rescue. ---
**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 23, 2004, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whos-a-luddite/276247/18 "2004-11-23T15:22:26Z")
> [@Lissa](#): > > Why in God’s name would I take a device I despise everywhere I go? Because you don’t have to answer it, or even have it ring at all, and yet it’s still there if you need to make a call. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whos-a-luddite/276247/19 "2004-11-23T15:32:55Z")
I _finally_ got one when I had to make a cross country driving trip and my mom worried. Now I’ve cancelled my landline and use it exclusively. But it’s a standing joke amongst my friends that I never answer it and I don’t. It’s always on vibrate or off and I check it when I want to (maybe two or three times a week). If anything, I’m _harder_ to reach than when I had a landline. It does make me feel a little safer when I driving tho’; since I drive an old clunker and I’m female… ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whos-a-luddite/276247/20 "2004-11-23T15:37:32Z")
> [@yosemite](#): > > I hardly ever use it, but I _have_ it in case I need it. I used to aggravate one of my friends greatly because he assumed that if I had a cell phone, it was strapped to my hip and on at all times. That’s how my friends were, until they got the message that I never turn my cell phone on. Some were actually mad at me for not turning the thing on. I rarely use mine, but it has come in handy. I like having one because of my car, which likes to break down in some way every year or so. It’s weird, but I’m always paranoid of becoming over-dependent on my cell phone. I would be scared to become those drones that have their cell phone grafted onto their ear. Like something out of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”. It could happen to you! Or you! They’re coming! Nobody is safe! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whos-a-luddite/276247.md?page=2)