I confess, I am one of of the 22% of Americans that do not have a cell phone. I am part of a shrinking minority of people who don’t want to be in constant contact with anyone and everyone else. I am a semi Tech NO (someone who deliberately chooses to not use technology like cell phones).
Our minority is rapidly becoming oppressed. People look down on us. People get mad at us for not being instantly available. People laugh at us for not being able to show off our pictures on our phone or check in (using FourSquare and other apps) to show the world where we are, or compare prices at Target while we shop at Walmart. People shake their heads and call us old, old-fashioned and out of date. Are we so poor that we can’t afford a cell phone – they say to themselves.
Why Don’t I Own a Cell Phone?
For 4 decades, work duties required that I be ‘on call’. This meant that I could be hauled out of bed, away from family re-unions, back from vacation or weekend trips to solve problems for my company. As part of being on call, I was required to carry a pager (remember them? – little black boxes that clipped onto your clothes and screamed at you in the middle of the night).
I hated being on call. I hated having someone being able to bother me at any hour, day or night, any day of the week. When that beeper went off, I was required to call the number in the pager window. The guys at the other end of the line were working nights all the time and were wide awake and very happy to be waking me up and presenting me with a problem to solve – rrrrggggghhhh.
I’m Not Against Telephones
Mind you, I do have a land line – which used to be a pleasant experience. When the phone rang years ago, it almost always was someone we knew and with whom we wanted to speak. Today it is usually a computer generated voice trying to cause anxiety in us about our insurance or our credit or something equally unpleasant.
My Grandparents may have thought a phone was intrusive and unnecessary, but we grew up with one. Ours had no rotary dial – you got assigned a special ring – 3 shorts and a long, or a long and a short – and picked up when ‘your’ ring sounded. Of course, some picked up on other’s rings so they could listen in on the party line conversations! If you wanted to place a call, you lifted the receiver and a for real live person asked who you wanted to call, then connected you! There was one phone. It stayed in the house. It didn’t follow you to the yard when you went to mow the grass. It didn’t go to the store with you. It didn’t tell you the time, store messages, screen your calls, show off your pictures or broadcast where you were every minute of every day.
It didn’t fit into your ear and make you look like a crazy person – walking down a busy street talking loudly when no one was near.
Am I Out of Step?
Do I feel out of step with the rest of the world? Yes – a bit. Does it bother me? No – not much. Maybe someday I will get and use a cell phone. I can see advantages – if my car breaks down I could use it to call for help. If I am meeting someone I could call their cell to find them in a crowd. These, I can do without – at least for now.
Some day, I may get a cell phone, but by then everyone else will probably be doing without. Even now there are “Tech-no’s” who refuse to use them. There are sites with tips on how to ‘withdraw’ from cell phone usage so that you can ‘get focused’. And there are people who are using the status of NO CELL PHONE as a power play – making everyone else adjust to their timeline and communication mode.
Long ago, I read a science fiction story about a society where everyone took some drug to stay awake all the time. Everyone except this one guy. This poor guy really suffered – he couldn’t ever get a good night’s sleep because the rest of the world was up making noise and light. Finally this poor guy relented and took the drug (whose effect lasted months). Soon after, all the other people stopped taking it and started sleeping at night again. Again this poor guy suffered – he was awake but no one else was. He couldn’t make noise and light lights because that kept all these other people awake!
This poor guy will be me – only instead of being awake all the time, I will be wanting to be in constant contact and no one else will have a cell phone on them! For now, though, doing without a cell phone helps me do without some stress (and saves my wallet a bit of use too!).
Are you tethered to your cell phone? Do you really need it? What would happen if you forgot it for a week – or if satellite service was gone for a month? Anyone remember the author or name of that science fiction story?
You will get addicted to your cellphone. Initially it will replace your watch but if it’s a smartphone, it becomes your best friend. You will know what I am talking about when you get one…
I have found that I don’t use my phone that much. It is nice to have, but this is one of the reasons why I have not upgraded to a smart phone. I think it’s great that you can get by without one.
It is great you don’t have one. I thought I was in the minority to not have a smartphone for a long time, only recently we upgraded. But without a phone we couldn’t have manage. Especially with my travel 3 days a week. I don’t use the phone part too much anymore. It is more the computer part of the phone. But on the flip side, I find I hvae been less responsive after I got the phone, because I read my emails on the phone, I don’t want to type a reply from the phone. So I think I will reply when I get to the computer, but when I do get to the computer, I would have a all-read inbox and forget to reply.
Mrs. 101 is a committed Tech-NO. She has finally consented to getting a Jitterbug, the kind with a big numbers pad, and hardly any functions. I kid her that she’s already an old lady.
I can’t imagine my life without a cell phone. Like Suba, I use the phone part less and the “data” part more. I love the GPS! Also, being in the online business, I need access to my email 24/7.
Even if I’m not on call 24/7, the gps comes in handy when we are going on vacations, parties etc. I understand where you are coming from, but being a techie I quite like taking advantage of new technology 🙂
I ama reluctant user of a cell phone. I like using it to make call, but hate receiving calls. I do find the ringing to be an intrusion though. Am I showing my age?
It wouldn’t bother me all that much not to have the phone part of my phone, but I’d have to borrow someone else’s to make calls a few times a week — because we got rid of our landline. It’s been very nice, because pretty much the only people who called our home phone were 1) salespeople 2) robocalls 3) people who’d just tried our cells and where now trying our phone because we didn’t answer. To me, having a phone with me all the time doesn’t mean I have to answer it. In fact I often don’t.
I really, really like having the internet in my pocket though. Getting rid of that would bother me.
Yes, it would be nice to have the internet in your pocket – but is it worth the cost? Instead of waiting until I am at the store to comparison shop on a smart phone, I do it ahead of time at home. Instead of getting directions after I’m on the way somewhere, I print them off at home. I really don’t feel the need to answer emails as soon as I get them, or be texted or tweeted at any time. But….maybe someday.
You will get addicted to your cellphone. Initially it will replace your watch but if it’s a smartphone, it becomes your best friend. You will know what I am talking about when you get one…
BTI – I’m not at all sure I want to be addicted to a cellphone!
I have found that I don’t use my phone that much. It is nice to have, but this is one of the reasons why I have not upgraded to a smart phone. I think it’s great that you can get by without one.
20’s – From what I have seen, you are probably in the minority as far as not using yours much.
It is awesome that you can get by without one! I don’t think I can!
It is easier to do without a convenience if you don’t need it and haven’t ever had it.
It is great you don’t have one. I thought I was in the minority to not have a smartphone for a long time, only recently we upgraded. But without a phone we couldn’t have manage. Especially with my travel 3 days a week. I don’t use the phone part too much anymore. It is more the computer part of the phone. But on the flip side, I find I hvae been less responsive after I got the phone, because I read my emails on the phone, I don’t want to type a reply from the phone. So I think I will reply when I get to the computer, but when I do get to the computer, I would have a all-read inbox and forget to reply.
It does get addicting and sometimes useful 🙂
Oh, I’m sure I would find a use for it if I ever ended up getting one.
I don’t have a smart phone and am being a Tech No on that issue. I do have a regular cell but I really don’t use it too much.
Just like 20’s finances!
Mrs. 101 is a committed Tech-NO. She has finally consented to getting a Jitterbug, the kind with a big numbers pad, and hardly any functions. I kid her that she’s already an old lady.
Just like me!
I can’t imagine my life without a cell phone. Like Suba, I use the phone part less and the “data” part more. I love the GPS! Also, being in the online business, I need access to my email 24/7.
Well, it’s good that you are getting your money’s worth out of it. But do you really work 7 days a week 24 hours a day?
Even if I’m not on call 24/7, the gps comes in handy when we are going on vacations, parties etc. I understand where you are coming from, but being a techie I quite like taking advantage of new technology 🙂
I ama reluctant user of a cell phone. I like using it to make call, but hate receiving calls. I do find the ringing to be an intrusion though. Am I showing my age?
Less so than I!
It wouldn’t bother me all that much not to have the phone part of my phone, but I’d have to borrow someone else’s to make calls a few times a week — because we got rid of our landline. It’s been very nice, because pretty much the only people who called our home phone were 1) salespeople 2) robocalls 3) people who’d just tried our cells and where now trying our phone because we didn’t answer. To me, having a phone with me all the time doesn’t mean I have to answer it. In fact I often don’t.
I really, really like having the internet in my pocket though. Getting rid of that would bother me.
Yes, it would be nice to have the internet in your pocket – but is it worth the cost? Instead of waiting until I am at the store to comparison shop on a smart phone, I do it ahead of time at home. Instead of getting directions after I’m on the way somewhere, I print them off at home. I really don’t feel the need to answer emails as soon as I get them, or be texted or tweeted at any time. But….maybe someday.