How often do you use your cell phone?

[TheGoofster]

My wife bought me a cell phone last year, but I hardly ever use it. I would say that I probably make and receive about 3 calls a week on it.
How much do you use yours?

 

[Pop Daddy]

all the stinkin time

 

[Fitswimmer]

You're using yours more than I use mine. Good grief, I just seem to carry the thing around for nothing. Worse yet, I pay for it every month and still don't use it.

 

[Christine]

Same as you. I have in on in the afternoons in case DD has a problem with the bus or getting home. Other than that I make no calls of my "own" if you know what I mean. I can't even imagine calling someone and having a real conversation on it.

 

[mickeyboat]

I use it once or twice a day. I don't like to tie up the phone lines at work with personal calls, so I tend to use my cell phone.

Denae

 

[JMD]

The only people that ever call my cell phone are my wife and my boss. So I'm pretty much on the phone all the time....

 

[Galahad]

It's my only phone - still only a few calls a day.

 

[Nickunited]

its my portal to the world!! LOVE IT!

 

[cyndibelle]

Phone calls lots...text even more...lots more!!!

 

[DVCLiz]

I use it all day, to call my older daughter away at college, to check in with my younger daughter after school or at her dad's, to chat socially with my friends. I'm a big user of my cell phone, and also of my new Q, because it's easier to text with a full keyboard and I can check out the DIS while I'm in carpool line...

LOVE my cell phone!!!

 

[TheGoofster]

Phone calls lots...text even more...lots more!!!

You know, I really don't get that whole text messaging thing. Maybe it's just me, but it takes me almost twenty minutes just to write one simple message. For example, I once text messaged a friend to call me. It took about 17 minutes to write that. Personally I would rather call, talk for a minute or so, and hang up.
I suppose with practice you get better, but I just don't get it.

 

[JMD]

You know, I really don't get that whole text messaging thing. Maybe it's just me, but it takes me almost twenty minutes just to write one simple message. For example, I once text messaged a friend to call me. It took about 17 minutes to write that. Personally I would rather call, talk for a minute or so, and hang up.
I suppose with practice you get better, but I just don't get it.

I used to think the same thing, but now I'm a big believer in text messaging. Once you get the hang of it, its really easy to write out a message. And all phones have predictive-text now, so you can do it pretty quickly.

Sometimes is much easier to send a text message then it is to make a phone call. Sometimes you just want to say something quickly or tell a joke and avoid all the "Hi, how are you?", "What have you been up to", "How is work going?" .... blah, blah, blah.....

 

[DVCLiz]

You know, I really don't get that whole text messaging thing. Maybe it's just me, but it takes me almost twenty minutes just to write one simple message. For example, I once text messaged a friend to call me. It took about 17 minutes to write that. Personally I would rather call, talk for a minute or so, and hang up.
I suppose with practice you get better, but I just don't get it.

You do get a lot better with practice, but for me, I had to move to something with a full keyboard in order to text effectively - I'm just too old to be able to manipulate through the number keys to get to the letter I want without losing my mind!!!

Texting is just another technology that's going to divide the wills from the wonts, just like using an ATM did for my parent's generation. My mom simply could not understand why, if you needed money on a weeked, you wouldn't go the bank and stand in line on Friday. She never used an ATM machine in her whole life. As far as texting goes, for some, it'll be just like you said - why bother when you can just call? For others, it's a quick way to reach a friend without engaging in a social conversation. For example, I texted my daugher from a Christmas luncheon with a speaker yesterday - I realized I wasn't going to be able to leave in time to get to carpool. I couldn't excuse myself and leave the room in the middle of the event, but I could text silently in my lap "Can you go get your sister from school" and she could text back "Yes" without anyone disturbing anyone else.

I love the texting feasture - it took me a while to get used to it but I can see lots of times it's convenient. As I said, I use it mostly for keeping in touch with my daughter away at school, because honestly she doesn't want to talk to me all that much everytime I need to ask her a question!!

 

[monorailsilver]

I use mine to call my dh primarily to ask him something while I am out. This past week it has been a bit more because I have been Christmas shopping & needed to ask my sister things.

My phone is a pay as you go phone from Verizon. I think my contract started 2 years ago in Feb (or 3, not sure) & I pay $15.90/month & get about 2 1/2 hours of talk time each month (the first minute costs more & the additional minutes cost less).

It works for us.

 

[Cantw8]

its my portal to the world!! LOVE IT!

 

[TheGoofster]

You do get a lot better with practice, but for me, I had to move to something with a full keyboard in order to text effectively - I'm just too old to be able to manipulate through the number keys to get to the letter I want without losing my mind!!!

Texting is just another technology that's going to divide the wills from the wonts, just like using an ATM did for my parent's generation. My mom simply could not understand why, if you needed money on a weeked, you wouldn't go the bank and stand in line on Friday. She never used an ATM machine in her whole life. As far as texting goes, for some, it'll be just like you said - why bother when you can just call? For others, it's a quick way to reach a friend without engaging in a social conversation. For example, I texted my daugher from a Christmas luncheon with a speaker yesterday - I realized I wasn't going to be able to leave in time to get to carpool. I couldn't excuse myself and leave the room in the middle of the event, but I could text silently in my lap "Can you go get your sister from school" and she could text back "Yes" without anyone disturbing anyone else.

I love the texting feasture - it took me a while to get used to it but I can see lots of times it's convenient. As I said, I use it mostly for keeping in touch with my daughter away at school, because honestly she doesn't want to talk to me all that much everytime I need to ask her a question!!

now what about all the text shorcuts? Have you learned all the symbols and abbreviations that most of the kids are using today? I try to keep up (as much as possible) with the changes that seem to occurr every week with the younger generation , but some things are just mind-boggling. I once got a text message from a younger friend that included many shortcuts, and to be honest, I hardly understood the message.
I like what you say about a full keyboard, though. I suppose that alone would make the whole search and substitue thing a lot more bearable. Maybe someday I will break down and look into something like that.
But for now, I will stick to getting my 3 or 4 calls a week.

 

[Pixiedust34]

I get almost no incoming calls on the cell because I ask everyone to use our landline when calling, and few people have our cell number. My family/friends know they can reach me on the cell for an emergency, but if they are calling for chit-chat they will use the landline.

I do use it nearly every day to call our out-of-state family. And dh and I use it to call and catch up with each other when we're running in different directions with errands or the kids.

 

[DVCLiz]

now what about all the text shorcuts? Have you learned all the symbols and abbreviations that most of the kids are using today? I try to keep up (as much as possible) with the changes that seem to occurr every week with the younger generation , but some things are just mind-boggling. I once got a text message from a younger friend that included many shortcuts, and to be honest, I hardly understood the message.
I like what you say about a full keyboard, though. I suppose that alone would make the whole search and substitue thing a lot more bearable. Maybe someday I will break down and look into something like that.
But for now, I will stick to getting my 3 or 4 calls a week.

I don't know ANY of them - I type it all out, and even my daughter laughs at me!!! But at least I know how to send now - when I first got it I would send empty messages to her cell phone because I thought when I typed in her number I had to hit "send" before I could type my message - why I thought this, I have no idea. Now I know I have to type first, then send - so that's progress!!!

 

[GeorgeG]

Well, you see, I have this desk with a hutch with all these little cubbie-holes... and my cell phone likes to hang out in one of them... off.

I take it with me about once a month when I think I might need it... sometimes I even turn it on. I get at least 3-4 months on a single charge. I would have to look the number up to give it to anyone so I keep that on a little piece of paper in my wallet.

 

[Philadisney]

I make a few calls a day, but send countless texts. If I'm on a shoot for work I'm on the stupid thing half the day. I hate talking on the phone, it was a blessing when work gave me a BlackBerry, now I can just get emails instead.