I Hate Telephones!

[SanFranciscan]

I finally broke down and bought a cell phone after refusing to since they came on the market probably ten years ago. It is usually turned off, but the rarity of coin-operated telephones is such that even I found it hard not to notice. That says a lot considering how few telephone calls I make.

Am I the only one who really hates telephones? I like to be with the person that I am talking to. Letters and e-mail seem much more personal than "personal" calls as well because the writer took the time to think about what they wanted to say.

I don't make celluar telephone calls for conversations that I would not be willing to have on a landline telephone. Am I realy being unreasonable because I don't want to hear anyone scream into a cellular telephone "Now I am on First Street, now I am on Second Street, now I am on Third Street" etc. to someone they will be seeing within an hour hour anyway? Can't a simple "I was delayed, I will be there in 10 or 15 minutes" suffice?

I give out my telephone number to a very limited number of people to avoid having the kind of stupid conversations I hear on the streetcar or the sidewalk all of the time. How many other people here think like me?

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I don't really like talking on the phone. I didn't get a cell until I had my own apartment, and didn't have a landline. I do text a lot though.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

I have had a cell phone for at least 15 years, but I have probably only used it about 30 minutes/month at the most. I detest talking on the phone and I certainly don't like talking on the phone around strangers in a public place. I worked customer service for a small insurance company for 2 years, and then customer service for a mortgage department of a huge bank. At certain very busy times of the year, the rotating answering system for our department ( a very archaic system) would have your phone ring as soon as you hang up-all day long. You couldn't even research the problems, just write them down and then work overtime to fix them..I am certain this is the origin of my hatred of phone calls.


Which to me begs the question....Ladies. What is so doggone important that you can't hang up the phone when you go into the stall to pee? Any maybe even more...how do you hold the phone and do everything necessary?

 

[Angelhalo]

I'm not sure that cell phones are the problem behind stupid conversations. LOL! I think that has more to do with the particular user.

I like cellphones. I like to be able to call my DH on his way home and get him to stop and pick something up that we need rather than having to go all the way back out to get it. I liked being able to call the police when someone T-boned me in my car last year. I liked being able to call for support as I sat in my car crying after receiving bad medical news. I knew I couldn't drive yet so I called someone to console me until I could safely drive myself home.

But, I hate hate hate idle chit chat on the phone. I don't like to be on the phone catching up on lives for 30 minutes. I don't like sitting in silence because I am ready to hang up and the other person is saying nothing (my husband is bad about this). I don't even like talking on the phone just for the sake of talking if its on a landline.

I love e-mails and texts because there usually isn't a long drawn out conversation. You just say what you needed to say and you're done in just a few words.

 

[C.Ann]

I haven't liked the telephone for years now - any kind of telephone.. The only reason I have one here at the lake (land line) is in case of an emergency..

Years ago my son-in-law decided that I had to have a cell phone in case my car broke down and I needed to call him (or whatever) and he put me on their family plan.. I probably had that phone for at least 6 years and I don't think I used it 5 times.. Finally I told him it was senseless for him to be paying for a phone I wasn't using, so the year before last I had him take me off their family plan.. The only way he would do it was if I purchased a Trac phone, so I did.. Registered the phone, got my minutes never used it even ONE time!! I still have it - "somewhere".. It's useless here at the lake anyhow (dead zone) and the winter months that I'm living at their home, I very rarely go out anywhere where there wouldn't be a phone available if I needed it..

I will never understand the need to stay in constant contact with people at all times.. Most cell phone conversations aren't even remotely "important".. It's usually people chit chatting about normal every day stuff; calling home for the grocery list they forgot; or asking so-and-so if they should buy these really cute shoes they just found..

Of course I have telephone conversations with my family and friends (land line), but I'd much rather talk to them in person.. If my phone didn't ring all week long it wouldn't bother me in the least..

 

[GeorgeG]

I am no fan of cell phones, or even constant use of regular phones (I have both).

My cell phone is turned off and on my desk and I only take it with me if there is a chance I might need it. I manage to get months on a single battery charge that way, too!

I'm also not one who will run to answer any phone unless I'm expecting an important call. Both phones are conveniences, but only when they're convenient for me.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

I don't like to chat on the phone, period. I have a cell phone but I basically use it for emergencies or so that DH and I can get in touch when we're geographically separated (for instance, when he gets off Expedition Everest and I'm hangin' out somewhere in the vicinity ).

I like to see people in person and chat, but if I have to choose between a phone call and email, I'd choose email every time!

 

[emer95]

I hate the phone too! I try to tell my friends this and they get upset. I am a mom who works full time, and I get very little time with my kids before they go to bed in the evenings. I have a friend who calls me daily after work to gossip about co-workers, and I told her I will no longer answer the phone, and I don't. I rarely answer the phone any more. E-mail or quick texts work much better for me.

 

[C.Ann]

Both phones are conveniences, but only when they're convenient for me.

Oh I have to remember that line - when my phone number up here (private) is given out to everyone and their brother and I'm expected to run all over the neighborhood delivering messages to other folks at the lake who don't want the expense of having a phone at their place..

Emergencies? Fine.. "Could you tell so and so we're coming up/running late/ what do they want us to bring?" Not fine!
And then people wonder why I take my phone off the hook every night at 9 pm..

 

[LoraJ]

I am not a fan of cell phones either, although, I do love my BlackBerry, but I love it for being able to email and check the web where ever I am.

However, I hardly use it as a phone. I pretty much just use it to tell DH I made it to my location safely. My friends talk so loud into them that I can't even understand a word they are saying. I prefer a regular phone for long conversations.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I got a cell phone (clunky, installed in car) about 15 years ago because I did a lot of driving at night and my wife was nervous. I do get a new cell phone every few years.

Last year I used mine for fewer than 700 minutes for the entire year. It lives in my car and I take it with me when out of town so I don't have to worry about hotel telephone bills. I recently switched to T-Mobile and spent about $150 for a phone and 1,000 minutes good for a year, which is much better than the $50 per month I was spending with a contract.

 

[Disney Doll]

I like having them for emergencies. If someone calls me and it sounds like it is just a chitchat call, I cut them off and tell them I'll call them later. I do not choitchat on my cellphone when driving, or when checking out at the grocery store or when waiting in line for something or when I am at dinner with other friends.

 

[Darsa]

Neither I nor my DD13 like talking on the phone at all; our friends can't seem to understand it, but I just can't STAND "small talk" and the junk to fill the silences... just drives me crazy