Paying for Kids' Unlimited Texting

[MELSMICE]

Nope. Not even close. My employer pays for my landline because I need secure DSL, so while I do pay that bill ($24/month), I get reimbursed for it. The cell is $80/year. I do check all the time to make sure that it is still the best deal for us even if we paid it ourselves, and no contract wireless plan even comes close. (And as I said, I don't feel safe in severe weather situations without a phone that does not require electricity to operate. All wireless phones require it, because the transmission towers must have power to move the signal. While some of them have backup generators, not all of them do, and the volume of calls that hits after a disaster will decimate the backup supply very quickly -- that is, assuming that the tower isn't under water.)

It really doesn't matter what I do or don't pay. The fact is, phone service has been a dividing line between the haves and the have-nots since it was first invented. More people have phones now because of pre-paid cell phones, but even those cost something, and with "unlimited" plans appearing to be all that is offered, many people are thinking that they may have to do without again now. I'm really against any kind of community emergency program or school-reach program in a public school that works on the assumption that EVERYONE has a phone, and I'm even more offended by the idea that anyone would assume that everyone's phone service has extra-cost options like caller ID and call-forwarding. They don't, and if pricing trends in the market are anything to go by, they won't any time in my lifetime (text-messaging, yes, but not those services). We should not blithely be willing to dismiss people who for whatever reason cannot afford a phone that is up to contract service standards, and/or who for whatever reason choose not to keep a powered phone on their persons 24/7.

FWIW, I did grow up with a party line, and that is the basis for my phone habits (my family got a private line in 1979, when I was 19.) DH and DS don't use phone service much, either. (The 13 yo has had his own cell for 9 months now -- he has used a total of 28 minutes of voice time and 36 text messages, including the incoming ones.) I'm not a luddite, and I can afford fancier service, but why should I pay for something I will not use? I'd much prefer to put that money into the travel budget. The way that I have it set up now I have access to voice calling, text messaging and mobile internet, but I only have to pay for them when I use them, which is VERY seldom. All that I ask is that others respect my preference not to use my cell for non-essential calling.

As everyone is different, chooses to do things differently & spend their money differently I can appreciate everything you have said.

If you prefer that people don't call your cell phone the best thing to do is leave it turned off unless you have to use it for an emergency. That way you will not get upset if someone calls your cell #.

As far as Dr's calling or not calling your cell when you have indicated where to call an option would be to call them for any results, etc. from your phone of preference.

 

[golfgal]

ONLY 700 minutes ?!?!?!?!?!

Well DM has used her phone 3 times in the 18 years, so she uses none of the pooled minutes...DW and I use about 10 to 15 minutes a month each, so the kids actually end up with about 300 minutes each to talk to friends on other carriers, calls to the same carrier are free and unlimited, and they get 500 texts each per month. That's 16 plus a day to people on other carriers, and unlimited to folks on the same carrier, more than enough in my book.
4747 texts, that's 158 a day! 6 1/2 every hour, 24 hours a day. No offenses, but that's crazy, does she do anything else

Let's pretend she isn't texting in her sleep and she texts 13 times/hour for 12 hours/day, that is less than a MINUTE of texting time for a kid. It takes a second or two to send most text messages for KIDS, adults, more then that I suppose she could cut that down to 45 seconds/day and save some of that extra time for studying though? With unlimited texting you can text people in other carriers and not incur extra charges.

 

[snykymom]

Nope. Not even close. My employer pays for my landline because I need secure DSL, so while I do pay that bill ($24/month), I get reimbursed for it. The cell is $80/year. I do check all the time to make sure that it is still the best deal for us even if we paid it ourselves, and no contract wireless plan even comes close. (And as I said, I don't feel safe in severe weather situations without a phone that does not require electricity to operate. All wireless phones require it, because the transmission towers must have power to move the signal. While some of them have backup generators, not all of them do, and the volume of calls that hits after a disaster will decimate the backup supply very quickly -- that is, assuming that the tower isn't under water.)

It really doesn't matter what I do or don't pay. The fact is, phone service has been a dividing line between the haves and the have-nots since it was first invented. More people have phones now because of pre-paid cell phones, but even those cost something, and with "unlimited" plans appearing to be all that is offered, many people are thinking that they may have to do without again now. I'm really against any kind of community emergency program or school-reach program in a public school that works on the assumption that EVERYONE has a phone, and I'm even more offended by the idea that anyone would assume that everyone's phone service has extra-cost options like caller ID and call-forwarding. They don't, and if pricing trends in the market are anything to go by, they won't any time in my lifetime (text-messaging, yes, but not those services). We should not blithely be willing to dismiss people who for whatever reason cannot afford a phone that is up to contract service standards, and/or who for whatever reason choose not to keep a powered phone on their persons 24/7.

FWIW, I did grow up with a party line, and that is the basis for my phone habits (my family got a private line in 1979, when I was 19.) DH and DS don't use phone service much, either. (The 13 yo has had his own cell for 9 months now -- he has used a total of 28 minutes of voice time and 36 text messages, including the incoming ones.) I'm not a luddite, and I can afford fancier service, but why should I pay for something I will not use? I'd much prefer to put that money into the travel budget. The way that I have it set up now I have access to voice calling, text messaging and mobile internet, but I only have to pay for them when I use them, which is VERY seldom. All that I ask is that others respect my preference not to use my cell for non-essential calling.

As everyone is different, chooses to do things differently & spend their money differently I can appreciate everything you have said.

If you prefer that people don't call your cell phone the best thing to do is leave it turned off unless you have to use it for an emergency. That way you will not get upset if someone calls your cell #.

As far as Dr's calling or not calling your cell when you have indicated where to call an option would be to call them for any results, etc. from your phone of preference.

I also appreciate everything you've said. However, I think that what works for you might not work for everyone. What I don't appreciate is the belief that if you don't have a particular technology, or don't want to get a particular technology, that those in charge of groups to which you belong (like the band example given earlier) is required to utilize your preferred method of communication.

As far as I am concerned, if communication is to be made by text, and I don't text, it is up to me to make sure that I get whatever information I may be missing. It is not up to the group to change its communications for me. This would be the same if the communication were by e-mail (if I don't have a computer, as many people still don't, it's up to me to contact someone and ask if there's something I should know), or by phone and I don't have a phone or my phone's out of order, or whatever.

My daughter's college now will only post her tuition bills; they don't send them out in hard copy anymore. That's their right, and I cannot say, "But I don't like computers. Mail it to me." I have to find out what it is, and maybe get someone else to print it out for me; it's still my responsibility to pay it on time.

The CSS Profile, used by many colleges to award financial aid, is available on-line ONLY. So people without computers have to figure out how to submit it anyway.

And of course it is different if those communicating are personal friends/family and not groups of which you are a member. Then it is not unreasonable to expect them to know your preferences and respect them.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

Last year a friend of DD's (divorced mom to one - who went the "cell phone only" route and gave up her land line) was out on the boat with my DD's family and a few other people, having gone out for dinner at a lakeside restaurant.. At some point she briefly put her purse on the back of the boat and...........yup - it ended up flying off and into the water..

If she had any important messages waiting for her, they're still at the bottom of the lake..

Even if I chose to have a cell phone, I would still have a land line - and only my immediate family would have my cell number for dire emergencies only..

Voice messages don't live in the cell phone -- you can call from any location and check them, regardless of where the phone is currently located.

 

[MELSMICE]

I also appreciate everything you've said. However, I think that what works for you might not work for everyone. What I don't appreciate is the belief that if you don't have a particular technology, or don't want to get a particular technology, that those in charge of groups to which you belong (like the band example given earlier) is required to utilize your preferred method of communication.

As far as I am concerned, if communication is to be made by text, and I don't text, it is up to me to make sure that I get whatever information I may be missing. It is not up to the group to change its communications for me. This would be the same if the communication were by e-mail (if I don't have a computer, as many people still don't, it's up to me to contact someone and ask if there's something I should know), or by phone and I don't have a phone or my phone's out of order, or whatever.

My daughter's college now will only post her tuition bills; they don't send them out in hard copy anymore. That's their right, and I cannot say, "But I don't like computers. Mail it to me." I have to find out what it is, and maybe get someone else to print it out for me; it's still my responsibility to pay it on time.

The CSS Profile, used by many colleges to award financial aid, is available on-line ONLY. So people without computers have to figure out how to submit it anyway.

And of course it is different if those communicating are personal friends/family and not groups of which you are a member. Then it is not unreasonable to expect them to know your preferences and respect them.

I agree with you.

 

[Inigo]

DH, DD19, and I use texting for a lot of the communication between the three of us. DD23 isn't a big texter, and would rather talk, but he does text some. Texting lets us respond WHEN we want, rather than us having to be on the phone at the same time as the other person on a voice call.

I have clients scheduled at different times, and some appointments take longer than others, so who knows if the caller and I could find a time when we'd both be available. Same with my husband, a teacher. With texting, we can send the message, and the response will be sent when it can be sent. Texting ends the phone tag game of trying to catch the other person.

We have home phone service, but most of the calls anymore seem to be telemarketers or debt collectors calling people with our same last name. (Because I put us in the phone book as "LastName, A", and it turns out Adam LastName, Adrian LastName, Ashley LastName, etc. haven't paid their bills!!!) We've gotten to the point where we don't answer "Out of Area" or "Unknown Caller" calls.

I'm about to port the home number over to a cell phone. We can still ignore the calls, but at $30 cheaper per month.

 

[NotUrsula]

I also appreciate everything you've said. However, I think that what works for you might not work for everyone. What I don't appreciate is the belief that if you don't have a particular technology, or don't want to get a particular technology, that those in charge of groups to which you belong (like the band example given earlier) is required to utilize your preferred method of communication.

As far as I am concerned, if communication is to be made by text, and I don't text, it is up to me to make sure that I get whatever information I may be missing. It is not up to the group to change its communications for me. This would be the same if the communication were by e-mail (if I don't have a computer, as many people still don't, it's up to me to contact someone and ask if there's something I should know), or by phone and I don't have a phone or my phone's out of order, or whatever.

My daughter's college now will only post her tuition bills; they don't send them out in hard copy anymore. That's their right, and I cannot say, "But I don't like computers. Mail it to me." I have to find out what it is, and maybe get someone else to print it out for me; it's still my responsibility to pay it on time.

The CSS Profile, used by many colleges to award financial aid, is available on-line ONLY. So people without computers have to figure out how to submit it anyway.

And of course it is different if those communicating are personal friends/family and not groups of which you are a member. Then it is not unreasonable to expect them to know your preferences and respect them.

All these things are fine when the situation is one that you have entered into voluntarily, though I suspect that if you really pushed the issue with the college you would find that there is an alternative method meant to be used by those with disabilities that make the conventional method unworkable; they just don't tend to publicize such alternatives. (And most of the time they are perfectly within their rights to charge a fee for an alternative method.) For instance, The College Board does supply paper forms for the CSS Profile; you have to call to get them, but they still exist.

As I said, limits and requirements are fine when you voluntarily sign up for something, but what troubles me is situations where the relationship is not voluntary. I've heard of situations where towns have abandoned tornado sirens in favor of text-messaging and telephoning tornado warnings. While I think that it is a good idea to add new technologies, I don't think that it is good to abandon the old free ones when the new ones have an added ongoing cost for the beneficiary. Same with snow-day closures at public schools. I would be livid if they stopped broadcasting those on free TV and radio. My kid goes to private school and I get my snow-day announcements via my telephone and email accounts, but what about indigent public-school kids who have to get themselves out and off to the bus stop at 5 am with no phone in the house? I don't depend on the free service, but a lot of people do, and it would be wrong for me to blithely say that it isn't needed anymore.

Yes, owning a radio or a television costs something, but it is a one-time cost, not an ongoing fixed expense. For the poor, fixed expenses are a millstone, and no public entity should require them to undertake one for telecommunications in order to get benefit from public services.

As to things like marching band, while I accept that it is a voluntary organization and that you have to pay to belong, I think that it is tragic that something like the lack of a cell phone account or FB access could lock a kid out of participating. A good director will find some workable alternative. (Said as the kid whose band director drove her home from parades and games -- my disabled mother couldn't drive. I walked home in the daytime, but he felt it was too dangerous for me to do that at night, because it was several miles in a rural area. We managed to scrape together the $75 it took to get my uniform and equipment, but paying someone to bring me home after every night event would have been out of the question. I stayed in band because the director cared enough to do what was needed to make it possible for me.)

 

[SandrA9810]

You have to remember, sectionals are generally practice times done at another student's home. It's put on by the student and completely optional. Usually it's for anyone with the same instrument.

I was in the Colorguard ages ago it seems now, and held a few sectionals during the marching season. Cell phones weren't popular back then and most didn't have it. It was usually put on by some one for the upcoming weekend. They gave you their address and you wrote your name on the list. But only a handful would actually show up. If some one missed class or the last practice prior to it, well then they probably didn't know about it until it was too late.

Having a sectional is no different than getting a hold of a bunch of friends to come over for some fun, except you actually do something productive. It's usually up to the kids themselves and the way they want to communicate with each other. While band/colorguard members might be a close knit group. It's not necessary you're going to be friends with some one who plays the same instrument to know the happenings of last minute stuff.

 

[golfgal]

As to things like marching band, while I accept that it is a voluntary organization and that you have to pay to belong, I think that it is tragic that something like the lack of a cell phone account or FB access could lock a kid out of participating. A good director will find some workable alternative. (Said as the kid whose band director drove her home from parades and games -- my disabled mother couldn't drive. I walked home in the daytime, but he felt it was too dangerous for me to do that at night, because it was several miles in a rural area. We managed to scrape together the $75 it took to get my uniform and equipment, but paying someone to bring me home after every night event would have been out of the question. I stayed in band because the director cared enough to do what was needed to make it possible for me.)

No one is stopping her from participating in anything. Sectionals are usually last minute things and the easiest way for the KIDS to communicate is through text messaging. Since she doesn't have a phone, she often gets forgotten. Again, SHE could make arrangements with someone that does have a phone to keep her in the loop too. Again, the SIMPLE answer, let the kid get a Facebook account-doesn't cost you anything--or get the kid a cell phone if you don't like that your DD is missing things because she doesn't have a cell phone.