It's completely acceptable to forgo having a cellphone.
Until the 2nd Gen iPhone came out I simply refused to own a cellphone. Why? Because I don't want to talk to anyone and I refused to pay a cellphone conglomerate to rape me monthly unless I was going to get some satisfaction out of the relationship.
That's right I said it. I don't want to be obligated to attend your social gathering. I don't want to be obliged to help you move. I don't give a rats @$$ if you got yourself thrown in jail... you dumb sob.
Simply put I don't have a social compulsion that needs to "connect" on a verbal level.
Email me, sms me, leave a voicemail....but I really doubt care to talk to you on the phone. Once we've decided we'll get together we can reconfirm by phone...but truthfully... if we email each other all the time and we see each other through the course of the day... don't interrupt my life when I'm away from you by calling me on my cell and blathering on and on.
I now refuse to carry a cellphone. Many people came into cellphone use with an awe and wow factor. For me it was a forced leash. I have a $20 throw away cell for times I have to travel long distances, but 99.999% of the time I intentionally do not carry a cell phone and do not miss it one bit.
People will ask for my cell and then look at me in confusion (sometimes utter disgust) when I tell them I do not have a cell. I think some think I am lying and simply do not want to give them my number. Either way it really surprises folks. Many people mistakenly think you cannot survive without one. I do not do any unreasonable planning nor put a "burden" on friends and family. Would they like to get me at anytime of the day? Maybe. But that is my choice not theirs. #cellphoneholdouts
As an Amish person (Mennonite, actually), I am pleased to say that all my family members are cell phone junkies with unlimited plans to accommodate their endless yacking.
Actually, while my sister does have a cellphone (after what finally became my menacing insistence she get one), after the battery ran down the first time, she declared it broken and has no interest in getting it fixed through a complex procedure known as recharging. #cellphoneholdouts
People have the right to not adopt a new technology if they want. People got along just fine all those years before cell phones.
Granted, cell phones are really handy, but I'm sure some folks are just not on the phone enough to see a need to go to the extra expense.
I'll bet a hundred years ago, there we're newspaper articles just like this one talking about people who refused Alexander Graham Bell's newfangled contraption.
...
Myself, I have a cell phone but I frequently leave it at home... I just don't think about bringing my phone with me. #cellphoneholdouts
As someone who tends to move around a bit I have no land line. So my cell is my only permanent phone at which to reach me. If I didn't have a cell then no one would be able to contact me with much ease at all and if someone in my family had an emergency then I would not find out for days probably. I can understand the appeal of not having to shell out money for a bill or to be able to live without a constant text buzz going off but in our society NOT having a phone makes your life difficult. It also makes the lives of those close to you difficult as well. The article described one man's contact system as this complex list of numbers and other ways to find him. That could take forever! What if there was a serious emergency? I also got the feeling that these people who refuse to conform to cell phone technology are doing so to seem superior and that they are above all this obnoxious common cell phone crap. It's like they're trying to be uber trendy by NOT liking that nifty new phone that came out. A good idea: all these people who choose not to own a cell phone should sponsor all those people who really need and want a phone but can't afford one. Share the wealth people! #cellphoneholdouts
I have no landline, so the celly is my only phone. Honestly, my cell phone costs me 39 bucks a month, and my landline cost me 30 before I ditched it. Convenience is a big factor. I hated receiving messages at home that I could have returned during the day, had I known. I can also take the phone with me as I travel, anywhere in the world. One of the guys I work with doesn't carry one. He doesn't want the bother of it. Understandable, yes, but the days of being able to find a pay phone are fast coming to an end. I hate to say that there's a need for a cell phone as opposed to a landline, but that's the way things are going. It's fine to hold out, but at some point holding out won't be a viable option. #cellphoneholdouts
Totally man. I mean everybody knows that the government is forcing everyone to have some sort of electronic device. That's how they track you man! #cellphoneholdouts
The Holdouts lives might get better, but the quality of life for the rest of us might go down. (Like I need more ways for my Mom to call me from any location at any time and talk till I want to commit suicide.) #cellphoneholdouts
I can foresee a time when folks will be considered "refuseniks" for not using Googlemaps to get from place to place. Yet the ability to plot a route with an atlas will be a useful skill only they will have.
Technology is fantastic. But dependency on it is a flaw. I'll hardly fault someone for choosing to not use a certain piece of tech. As long as they aren't largely inconveniencing others for no reason besides pride, it's their call to make.
@OCEntertainment: "...useful skill..." How will that be useful in a world where we stop printing atlas's and virtual maps become more accessible? Maybe cool, but about as useful as being able to use a record player, or change the ink on a typewriter. #cellphoneholdouts
@Tucker Higgins: Thing of it is, not owning a cell phone doesn't give you any "useful skill" and if anything, makes your life more dangerous because, like one of the stories the summary mentions, you might find yourself in the middle of nowhere with no way to contact anyone... #cellphoneholdouts
@Cin: I don't mean to say that lacking a cell phone is a skill. But not having one forces you to communicate some other way. Being that resourceful helps when your technology breaks.
I'm a fan of cell phones and computers and pretty much anything that blinks. But, for myself I require that I know how to get by if any of it fails. And that's what's important.
And no, not having a cell phone doesn't make your life more dangerous. It just gives you a few less options if you get in danger. A resourceful, capable person would be able to find a way to get help, cell phone or no.
@Tucker Higgins: Yeah, and as soon as the internet gets real popular, they'll stop making libraries. Sorry to disappoint, but as long as batteries die they'll keep printing hard copies. #cellphoneholdouts
@OCEntertainment: Best to have a GPS cellphone AND know how navigate by sun and star, live without electricity, ice, and hot water, etc. #cellphoneholdouts
Am I the only in this conversation flashing to Serenity?
Operative: "We locked onto Serenity's pulse beacon the moment you hit atmo. I can speak a word and send a missile to that exact location inside of three minutes."
Mal: "You do that" *pulls pulse beacon out of his pocket* "You'd best make peace with your dear and fluffy lord."
Operative: "Pulse beacon..."
Mal: "Advice from an old tracker. You wanna find someone, use your eyes."
@OCEntertainment: I rely on charts often as I don't trust the plotter on our boat. The one thing about having a boat on the lakes is that you can't rely on technology, because if you do (blindly) you risk running aground and could potentially sink, spin a prop, or crack the hull. This just scratches the surface and are not only dangerous, but extremely expensive mistakes. Hell if it's during a bad storm you could wind up dead.
People are becoming far too reliant on technology. It seems like even now people are becoming clueless on how to even get around town without their GPS, it's ridiculous to be that reliant on technology. #cellphoneholdouts
@OCEntertainment: With the proliferation of cheap standalone GPS units, it won't be long before people who are still using Google Maps to plot routes are called "refuseniks".
That said, I remember plotting routes on paper myself. And even with GPS, it's sometimes necessary to call where you're going and ask how to get there.
What I get a kick out of (well, it's actually a mild headache, not a kick) is when I ask someone where something is (I'm looking for an address) and they proceed to give me directions, with only landmarks as a guide. #cellphoneholdouts
@MyTQuinn: Alright, that's just backwards. As I use a G1, my GPS unit *is* GoogleMaps. Frankly, I don't understand people's tendency to buy multiple devices when one will do. While I can understand the use of standalone GPS units if you'll regularly be in places where cell reception is unreliable, for getting around a city, a smartphone is perfectly acceptable. And honestly, most GPS units I've seen are horribly cheap with some of the worst interfaces I've seen since Atari ruled the day.
No, I don't think Google Maps is going anywhere as long as standalone GPS units are the only competition. #cellphoneholdouts
My dad was a holdout, he refused to learn any kind of technology, he is fro the old school. Well we got a pair of phones and he ends up using more minutes than me. #cellphoneholdouts
What do you call people (my wife) who have a phone, but who forget to charge it or take it with them anywhere for days at a time, making it essentially useless?
And then when they lock themselves outside of the building they have to wait around in the rain for someone else (me) to show up and let them in because they don't know any phone numbers except for a home phone number?
(I'm not complaining, by the way. I just can't fathom how it happens. It's not like we're in our 80's or something.) #cellphoneholdouts
@92BuickLeSabre: To get into my current complex, I need either a key or my cell phone to unlock the gate. It's a good thing I have a car phone charger and leave my phone in my car because nine times out of ten the key is on my dining room table.
@Shamoononon: Yesterday I came home and found her entire purse on the sofa. With her phone, blackberry, keys, cigarettes, and wallet. I couldn't even figure out how she had managed to get to work, much less made it through the day.
Apparently she had her subway card and a single credit card in her pocket.
(I don't get the hint, hint, by the way...*thinking*) #cellphoneholdouts
@92BuickLeSabre: Oh, I thought my solution to the issue was darn near brilliant... I guess it doesn't work so well though if your car isn't your method of commute. I should have realized that being that you are in the middle of the city. #cellphoneholdouts
@92BuickLeSabre: You talking about remembering one phone number reminded me of a funny story...
My buddy was locked up for a DUI last Christmas and when he was able to make his phone call he realized that he didn't know a single persons phone number because he relied on the numbers in his phone or his phone book at home. The cops wouldn't let him look at his phone so he was "lost" for 3 days before he was able to track down my number to come bail him out (his battery died before they let him see his phone).
Problem was, after those three days the courts went on xmas vacation and he wound up spending all of Christmas and New Years in jail...
The sad part is, I know he isn't alone... After that experience I committed about 5 more peoples numbers to memory.
@92BuickLeSabre: I know someone like that. I call her my wife :). Even more frustrating is that when she first got her current phone (and phone number) she would infrequently receive calls or texts intended for the previous owner of the number, causing her to leave her phone set to vibrate all the time. As a result, even when she has her phone "with" her, she never knows it's "ringing" and doesn't answer it.
When we were both on Verizon I would routinely get voicemails (that I left for her) bounced back to be a month later (at 3:00am) when they expired in her mailbox (because she never listened to them).
At least now I have her on a prepaid plan, and average only $2.50 per month for this aggravation. #cellphoneholdouts
@MyTQuinn: Once every couple of weeks I go through her messages for her and remind her to call back her best friend since 4th grade. Her family? They just call me now.
But this pre-paid plan is genius. Why did I not think of this? Most recently I gave her my old iPhone to see if she would at least use that. She was excited, but the answer was till no. Pre-paid. Of course!
@jesusc: You do realize that makes no sense, right? She would be hiding things, not leaving them here and restricting her freedom of movement. If your wife (Mary Magdalene?) is doing the opposite, you might check that out.
10/25/09
Until the 2nd Gen iPhone came out I simply refused to own a cellphone. Why? Because I don't want to talk to anyone and I refused to pay a cellphone conglomerate to rape me monthly unless I was going to get some satisfaction out of the relationship.
That's right I said it. I don't want to be obligated to attend your social gathering. I don't want to be obliged to help you move. I don't give a rats @$$ if you got yourself thrown in jail... you dumb sob.
Simply put I don't have a social compulsion that needs to "connect" on a verbal level.
Email me, sms me, leave a voicemail....but I really doubt care to talk to you on the phone. Once we've decided we'll get together we can reconfirm by phone...but truthfully... if we email each other all the time and we see each other through the course of the day... don't interrupt my life when I'm away from you by calling me on my cell and blathering on and on.
If it's an emergency ... leave a message. #cellphoneholdouts
10/25/09
People will ask for my cell and then look at me in confusion (sometimes utter disgust) when I tell them I do not have a cell. I think some think I am lying and simply do not want to give them my number. Either way it really surprises folks. Many people mistakenly think you cannot survive without one. I do not do any unreasonable planning nor put a "burden" on friends and family. Would they like to get me at anytime of the day? Maybe. But that is my choice not theirs. #cellphoneholdouts
10/25/09
Actually, while my sister does have a cellphone (after what finally became my menacing insistence she get one), after the battery ran down the first time, she declared it broken and has no interest in getting it fixed through a complex procedure known as recharging. #cellphoneholdouts
10/25/09
Granted, cell phones are really handy, but I'm sure some folks are just not on the phone enough to see a need to go to the extra expense.
I'll bet a hundred years ago, there we're newspaper articles just like this one talking about people who refused Alexander Graham Bell's newfangled contraption.
...
Myself, I have a cell phone but I frequently leave it at home... I just don't think about bringing my phone with me. #cellphoneholdouts
10/25/09
10/25/09
10/24/09
10/24/09
10/24/09
10/24/09
10/24/09
Technology is fantastic. But dependency on it is a flaw. I'll hardly fault someone for choosing to not use a certain piece of tech. As long as they aren't largely inconveniencing others for no reason besides pride, it's their call to make.
10/24/09
10/24/09
10/24/09
I'm a fan of cell phones and computers and pretty much anything that blinks. But, for myself I require that I know how to get by if any of it fails. And that's what's important.
And no, not having a cell phone doesn't make your life more dangerous. It just gives you a few less options if you get in danger. A resourceful, capable person would be able to find a way to get help, cell phone or no.
@Tucker Higgins: Yeah, and as soon as the internet gets real popular, they'll stop making libraries. Sorry to disappoint, but as long as batteries die they'll keep printing hard copies. #cellphoneholdouts
10/24/09
10/24/09
Am I the only in this conversation flashing to Serenity?
Operative: "We locked onto Serenity's pulse beacon the moment you hit atmo. I can speak a word and send a missile to that exact location inside of three minutes."
Mal: "You do that" *pulls pulse beacon out of his pocket* "You'd best make peace with your dear and fluffy lord."
Operative: "Pulse beacon..."
Mal: "Advice from an old tracker. You wanna find someone, use your eyes."
Yes. Both. Definitely both. #cellphoneholdouts
10/25/09
People are becoming far too reliant on technology. It seems like even now people are becoming clueless on how to even get around town without their GPS, it's ridiculous to be that reliant on technology. #cellphoneholdouts
10/25/09
That said, I remember plotting routes on paper myself. And even with GPS, it's sometimes necessary to call where you're going and ask how to get there.
What I get a kick out of (well, it's actually a mild headache, not a kick) is when I ask someone where something is (I'm looking for an address) and they proceed to give me directions, with only landmarks as a guide. #cellphoneholdouts
10/25/09
No, I don't think Google Maps is going anywhere as long as standalone GPS units are the only competition. #cellphoneholdouts
10/24/09
10/24/09
i would also interested in an average age of these people, although i feel already know the result #cellphoneholdouts
10/24/09
And then when they lock themselves outside of the building they have to wait around in the rain for someone else (me) to show up and let them in because they don't know any phone numbers except for a home phone number?
(I'm not complaining, by the way. I just can't fathom how it happens. It's not like we're in our 80's or something.) #cellphoneholdouts
10/24/09
Hint, Hint #cellphoneholdouts
10/24/09
Apparently she had her subway card and a single credit card in her pocket.
(I don't get the hint, hint, by the way...*thinking*) #cellphoneholdouts
10/24/09
10/24/09
10/25/09
My buddy was locked up for a DUI last Christmas and when he was able to make his phone call he realized that he didn't know a single persons phone number because he relied on the numbers in his phone or his phone book at home. The cops wouldn't let him look at his phone so he was "lost" for 3 days before he was able to track down my number to come bail him out (his battery died before they let him see his phone).
Problem was, after those three days the courts went on xmas vacation and he wound up spending all of Christmas and New Years in jail...
The sad part is, I know he isn't alone... After that experience I committed about 5 more peoples numbers to memory.
10/25/09
When we were both on Verizon I would routinely get voicemails (that I left for her) bounced back to be a month later (at 3:00am) when they expired in her mailbox (because she never listened to them).
At least now I have her on a prepaid plan, and average only $2.50 per month for this aggravation. #cellphoneholdouts
10/25/09
But this pre-paid plan is genius. Why did I not think of this? Most recently I gave her my old iPhone to see if she would at least use that. She was excited, but the answer was till no. Pre-paid. Of course!
@UnderLoK: Awesome story.
@jesusc: You do realize that makes no sense, right? She would be hiding things, not leaving them here and restricting her freedom of movement. If your wife (Mary Magdalene?) is doing the opposite, you might check that out.
@Shamoononon: Got it. Yeah. We're non-car folk. #cellphoneholdouts
08/05/09
08/05/09