# What is your relationship to your cell phone? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 21, 2010, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-your-cell-phone/557880 "2010-10-21T13:27:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-your-cell-phone/557880/21 "2010-10-21T15:06:26Z")
I’m with **Vihaga**. I get mobile internet, GPS, games, subway schedules, calendar, white noise (for sleeping in hotels), etc. And occasionally I make calls. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-your-cell-phone/557880/22 "2010-10-21T15:09:06Z")
I said “can’t go anywhere” but that’s because it’s a bit of a security blanket. I rarely actually _use_ it - i.e. I’m not one of those people who’s talking/texting constantly. I might make/receive 4-5 calls a day, plus a dozen or so text a week. ---
**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:** [October 21, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-your-cell-phone/557880/23 "2010-10-21T15:10:28Z")
I was almost serious about my “really, it’s a phone?!” comment. I checked my phone log and have made or taken, total, maybe 40 calls since getting the phone about 3 months ago, and two weeks of that time was on vacation where this was our only convenient means of being contacted/reaching friends who we were visiting. I think the poll group for whom it makes a difference whether it’s a smartphone is probably fairly significant. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-your-cell-phone/557880/24 "2010-10-21T15:12:45Z")
Since I have one I do use it occasionally for non-emergencies, but my intention in getting one was in case of emergency. I wouldn’t miss it if I decided to do without. ---
**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:** [October 21, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-your-cell-phone/557880/25 "2010-10-21T15:13:55Z")
I don’t have a landline. My phone is with me at all times. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-your-cell-phone/557880/26 "2010-10-21T15:19:56Z")
My cellphone sits on the counter about 90% of the time. I only carry it on my person when I’m on call, which is one week per month. I take it with me when I’m on vacation, but I don’t use it if there’s a landline available. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-your-cell-phone/557880/27 "2010-10-21T15:24:57Z")
I don’t leave home without my phone. If I forget it, I’ll go back for it if at all possible. It’s not that I use it all that much, but I like having it available–to the point that I’m uncomfortable without it. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-your-cell-phone/557880/28 "2010-10-21T15:31:19Z")
I don’t have long distance at home anymore, so I use my phone exclusively for that. Besides that it is mostly with me and switched off. People express shock at this. It isn’t for you calling me. It is for me calling…whomever I need to call. I pay for it, it is MY convenience. But it’s a Trac Fone, which means I pay for minutes. And I resent every minute I have to use for company time, which is thankfully very rare. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_a\_Platypus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d26b3c/32.png) [@Not\_a\_Platypus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_a_Platypus)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-your-cell-phone/557880/29 "2010-10-21T15:43:21Z")
If I’m off by myself I take it with me in case of emergencies, but otherwise I don’t really care. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-your-cell-phone/557880/30 "2010-10-21T16:19:51Z")
I’ve used a cell phone exclusively for about 10 years. We don’t have a landline (and if we did, we wouldn;t use it, since the people me and my husband mostly call, are each other). I have a simple phone, no bells/whistles, no internet, email or any of that stuff. But I carry it with me at virtually all times. It is useful to for me and my husband to check in with each other when running errands (did we need sour cream or not? type questions) or let each other know of a subway delay, or that we’re meeting a friend after work. We work in different areas of Manhattan and its not like we can just “stop home” to explain schedule changes, because it’s an hour each way between home & work. I am not permitted to use my desk phone for personal calls so if I need to make an errand phone call during the day, like make a doctor’s appointment or something, I need to have my cell with me. It also saves missed connections. The other night I was supposed to meet a friend for dinner, and that afternoon my cell phone died. She had to work late and was unable to reach me, so I wasted 3 hours of my life I’ll never get back, getting to the meeting place, waiting around, and borrowing a strangers cell phone to find out what the hell happened. End result, I always have it with me, and those times when I don’t have it with me I inevitably regret it. I don’t make a lot of chatty phone calls. I actually hate to talk on the phone. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-your-cell-phone/557880/31 "2010-10-21T17:11:42Z")
I voted “I literally cannot go ANYWHERE without it.” If it’d asked me 11 months ago (before I got my iPhone), I’d’ve voted for the second option. The iPhone was a replacement for an iPod Touch, which was in turn a replacement for my Sony Clié, so what is really, truly indispensable is the PDA, and not the telephony circuity so much. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-your-cell-phone/557880/32 "2010-10-21T17:27:25Z")
I voted for “I literally cannot go anywhere” but it’s more that I don’t than I can’t. Once the last kid moved out we cancelled our land line and we just have our cell phones. I don’t always answer it (in fact the ringer spends a lot of time turned off) but if I have it with me I’m as connected as I want to be. I text a lot more than I would have expected before I got the iPhone - it’s my primary means of communication with both kids and the only way I communicate when I’m on public transit. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-your-cell-phone/557880/33 "2010-10-21T17:36:24Z")
I hardly ever use mine. It’s to make phone calls and that’s it. I actually have to try to remember to check it to make sure it’s still charged. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-your-cell-phone/557880/34 "2010-10-21T17:38:59Z")
My mom is more addicted to her phone (almost 55) than I am (23). It’s my only phone, so it’s not with me 24/7, but close to it. ---
**Author:** ![MegaBee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f0a364/32.png) [@MegaBee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MegaBee)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-your-cell-phone/557880/35 "2010-10-21T18:07:23Z")
Just like my land line used to be, my cell phone is a convenience that I could do without if need be. I try to have it with me all the time in case I do make a call, but I don’t always answer it when it rings. I use it as an alarm and a timepiece more often than I use it as a phone. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-your-cell-phone/557880/36 "2010-10-21T18:08:32Z")
It’s essentially an extension of my soul but I never use it as a phone. I talk to people with it maybe once or twice a month. The rest of the time it’s for texting, chatting, twitter, email, Internet, reading, games, maps, weather, etc etc. ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-your-cell-phone/557880/37 "2010-10-21T18:23:45Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Up until early July I thought of it as a minor convenience for sending the occasional text. > > Then I got an iPhone (4), and now it is with me at all times. It replaced my iPod, Palm TX PDA, cell phone, and Nintendo DSi. I use it for work to track projects and appointments. I have medical info apps for work like drug look-up and medical abbreviations. I can get my work E-mail on it when away at conferences and on vacation. I play tons of games on it. I get recipes from online or my cookbook apps to plan dinner on the way home (I take the train, no texting-and-driving for me). I’m scanning our DVD and book collections via their barcodes for insurance purposes, and have a manual-entry app for other stuff - all of those apps can e-mail out lists of the stuff when you’re done. I take pictures of stuff I want to research or buy later. I track my calorie intake and exercise via the SparkPeople app. I look at Woot’s deals of the day - there’s a Woot-Off right now! Wikipedia, IMDb, all kinds of information at my fingertips! We used it as a GPS while on vacation, plus found restaurants - and the nearest dealer for our car when the engine light went on - via the Yelp app. > > Oh yeah, and get this - apparently I can make phone calls on this thing! I should try that out at some point… Same here. I never used my cell phone much until I switched to an iPhone. It’s so nice to have access to all that stuff everywhere you go. At the Dr. with a sick kid? It’s easy to access the calendar to schedule a follow-up. Need to fill out paperwork? I have all our medical and insurance info. I can contact people, check e-mail, read a book on my Kindle app, have my shopping list with me all the time, take notes, etc. all from one little device. It is great. But as for the actual phone, I only use 50-100 minutes a month. ---
**Author:** ![Karen\_Lingel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karen_lingel/32/18649_2.png) [@Karen\_Lingel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_Lingel)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-your-cell-phone/557880/38 "2010-10-21T18:25:41Z")
You left me out: I never use my cellphone for work, don’t give that number to work people, don’t carry it around with me at work – but it is indispensable to me for organizing my personal and social life: calendar, address book, to do list, music player, GPS, games to play while waiting for the train… ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-your-cell-phone/557880/39 "2010-10-21T18:30:04Z")
I couldn’t do without my cellphone, but only because it’s the only phone I have. I don’t have it glued to my ear 24/7, but if I need make or receive a phonecall, I have to admit, it comes in pretty handy. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-your-cell-phone/557880/40 "2010-10-21T19:19:33Z")
I crank off about 10 minutes a month. No phone call should last more than a minute. I use emails more than a phone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-your-cell-phone/557880.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-your-cell-phone/557880.md?page=3)