Why could you NOT live without your cell phone?

[luvmy3]

My dh has a theory that its because women will never be comfortable being alone. They always feel they need a male, or their friends around them, they can't just be alone. With the cell phone, while they may be physically alone, they still have someone there with them. Yes he generalizes and his theory goes much deeper, like why woman feel this way, but I'm not going to get into it. I think some of it makes sense, some of it does not.
Sorry ladies, he's not a member so you can't flame him, but I could relay some messages if you'd like

 

[sbell111]

My dh has a theory that its because women will never be comfortable being alone. They always feel they need a male, or their friends around them, they can't just be alone. With the cell phone, while they may be physically alone, they still have someone there with them. Yes he generalizes and his theory goes much deeper, like why woman feel this way, but I'm not going to get into it. I think some of it makes sense, some of it does not.
Sorry ladies, he's not a member so you can't flame him, but I could relay some messages if you'd like

I think that if your changed his theory by replacing 'women' with 'some people', you would be on to something.

 

[BellvilleDad]

For me, it's a very handy convenience. For some, it could be a need, like people who travel or are otherwise unavailable to a landline (deployed soldiers, maybe?).

As far as those who say we used to get along just fine in the past without them, the seatbelt example was correct. Just because a car used to made from steel instead of fiberglass doesn't mean it was safe to ride without seatbelts. You could still be slammed around in the interior or ejected through the windshield.

And we used to get by without air conditioning, microwaves, color tv, and many other innovations, but who'd want to? That whole "back in the old days" argument just doesn't work for me.

They will always be used for silly purposes; schoolkids texting, driving while chatting about nothing, etc. But there are many good reasons to have them; emergencies of all sorts, illness in the family, and even to save another trip to the grocery store.

 

[eliza61]

Go back and read the "we didn't have seatbelts back then either" response Can't speak for phones (I have a cell phone but I'm NOT tied to it), but way back before the 1970s, cars were bigger and sturdier - and, okay, gas guzzlers - so, safer than the cars we have today.

eta: and there were no drivers distracted by cell phones and so likely to cause more accidents

Every body says their not tied to their phones but we sure are seeing numbers that don't bare that out. In 2002, 1/20 accidents were directly caused by cell phone usage. In 2007 that number had gotten worse to almost 1/10.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/12/02/tech/main531320.shtml
and statistics are now also showing that Hands free doesn't make it any safer.

• The No.1 source of driver inattention is use of a wireless device. (Virginia Tech/NHTSA)
  
• Drivers that use cell phones are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. (NHTSA, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
  
• 10 percent of drivers aged 16 to 24 years old are on their phone at any one time.
• Driving while distracted is a factor in 25 percent of police reported crashes.
  
• Driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent (Carnegie Mellon)

It reminds me of the budget board LOL where no ones ever in debt.

I posted a while back about a fight I had with a good friend of mines. She invited me to Dinner in Baltimore and then proceeded to spend the entire time taking calls on her cell phone. The fight happen because I got up and left.

And don't get me started on Disneyworld. Once again everyone swears they only use the cell phones at the world to reconnect, when people split but I wish I had a dollar for ever person I've heard in a que talking about there boyfriend. Last november, I was in front of a women on the cell phone during Kali River Rapids. It was hysterical!! she was huddled under a poncho trying to keep her cell phone dry.

I'm betting more and more people are "tied" to it then not.

 

[It's A Happy Day]

My Facebook/Twitter is on my blackberry and I don't leave home without it!!

I have a 40 minute drive to work...I am the parent of two teenagers, no way would I feel comfortable being without a cell phone.

If you don't want a cell phone fine, but in these kinds of threads the non cell phone people always try to sound superior to the cell phone people.

Your reasons sound perfectly reasonable and make sense....like I said in my OP I see us going the cell phone route once our kids are a little older as well. I would also have one if I had a lengthy commute for safety purposes or if I had a relative who was sickly and I needed to be reachable at a moments notice. And I don't think that I'm trying to sound superior at all....it's actually the cell phone holders in my personal experience that gasp with shock when they ask for my digits and I give them my home phone number but do not have a cell. Then comes the "but how can you live without a cell phone" comments.

I think that people make a mistake when they take the position that celphones are either worthless or their users are rude and unsafe.

For truth in advertising, it is only fair to mention that I do talk on my phone while driving and I have talked on it while in line at the grocery store. (It was an important conversation and I was polite and responsive to the cashier.)

I don't think they are worthless and I do think that they have a place in society but when people feel the need to disregard what is going on around them be it traffic, a cashier, etc. then it works in a negative way on society as a whole.

I work in sales in a retail store and I find it extremely rude to do that ~ my opinion, to each their own. I will not wait on a customer who is talking on their cell while shopping. If I don't have your attention then you don't get mine. I understand that people may need to take that call now but then you excuse yourself and come back when your able to. I can't tell you how many times I have had someone try to converse with both the person on the phone and me and it is just plain frustrating. Either excuse yourself to me or tell the person you will call them back.

Well, that's the key. Ideally, the OP is referring to people who seem to have the phone surgically attached to their ear

That is exactly what I mean.

 

[BelleWDW]

I dont use it much-but have elderly parents who live alone-Mom and MIL-who even tho they BOTH have that alert thing around their neck-sometimes wont use it-go figure.

I communicate frequently with grown kids abnd text them a lot to communicate short things that dont require a phone call.

 

[MichelleVW]

Your reasons sound perfectly reasonable and make sense....like I said in my OP I see us going the cell phone route once our kids are a little older as well. I would also have one if I had a lengthy commute for safety purposes or if I had a relative who was sickly and I needed to be reachable at a moments notice. And I don't think that I'm trying to sound superior at all....it's actually the cell phone holders in my personal experience that gasp with shock when they ask for my digits and I give them my home phone number but do not have a cell. Then comes the "but how can you live without a cell phone" comments.



I don't think they are worthless and I do think that they have a place in society but when people feel the need to disregard what is going on around them be it traffic, a cashier, etc. then it works in a negative way on society as a whole.

I work in sales in a retail store and I find it extremely rude to do that ~ my opinion, to each their own. I will not wait on a customer who is talking on their cell while shopping. If I don't have your attention then you don't get mine. I understand that people may need to take that call now but then you excuse yourself and come back when your able to. I can't tell you how many times I have had someone try to converse with both the person on the phone and me and it is just plain frustrating. Either excuse yourself to me or tell the person you will call them back.



That is exactly what I mean.

I really didn't see you coming off as sounding superior, but I've seen many many threads where the non cell phone people think they are better.

I totally agree with you about rude cell phone users. I hate it when people use them in line and occasions like that. I used to be an xray tech and my friend had someone ON THEIR BLUETOOTH DURING THE XRAY!! My friend couldn't believe it and didn't know what to say.

 

[diznygirl]

Did I mention that I have an app that keeps score for mini golf? I mean, how did I live without it before? It does the math for me!!!

I never want to go back to a time before cell phones.

BTW - I'm NOT reachable 24/7. You can call/text me, but I can choose whether or not to respond.

 

[Robinrs]

I barely turn mine on much less couldn't live without it. I HATE being that accessible to so many people!!!

I guess I would've when I was younger because my social life was first and foremost then. My social group has grown considerably smaller since then and I keep up with only my immediate family. Everyone else by email. Having a phone conversation is the LAST thing I'd rather do.

 

[Robinrs]

My dh has a theory that its because women will never be comfortable being alone. They always feel they need a male, or their friends around them, they can't just be alone. With the cell phone, while they may be physically alone, they still have someone there with them. Yes he generalizes and his theory goes much deeper, like why woman feel this way, but I'm not going to get into it. I think some of it makes sense, some of it does not.
Sorry ladies, he's not a member so you can't flame him, but I could relay some messages if you'd like

Does he drag you by your hair and scream YABBA DABBA DOO???

 

[luvmy3]

Does he drag you by your hair and scream YABBA DABBA DOO???

No, he just believes woman are programmed as young girls to never be alone. It doesn't take a genius, or a cave man to look around and see thats not to far off. Check out the books and magazine covers on how to find the perfect man, or how to be popular an have alot of friends. I happen to agree, and unfortunately there are plenty of women who fall into that trap, and maybe those are the ones that have their cells surgically attached to their ears or fingers. All I know is that when I look around, 90% of people on their cell are women. Back when I was in high school there weren't cell phones and we used to tie up our house phone for hours talking to our girl friends, and how great it was to have 3 way calling. I probably spent about 10 minutes on the phone with my boyfriend A cell just allows woman to be able to do that when they are out and about now.

 

[disykat]

I love my cell phone, but still really only use it as a way to be in touch with my kids or for emergencies. I hate talking on it in public.

 

[NYPDwife]

I could probably live without it, but I don't want to. I love my awesomely fabulous Droid!!!

We had a Tom Tom that hubby keeps in his car b/c my phone has Google Nav, I can surf the web, check Facebook, locate my daughter on Google Latitude, find out when she's coming home b/c she texts me, etc...

I have to say, I really don't talk on it much, but I like to have it just in case.

 

[clovergirl5]

I have my cell for emergencies....Im a sahm, but I do shop, have appts, etc. so I am not home all day everyday. Always have my phone with me and on to be reached by the schools, dh or my family. Very rarely do I use it for socializing. dd13 has her cell with her at all times to always be able to get a hold of me or dh. She also uses hers to text friends only after school until bed if homework is done. They are prepaid phones too. 800 minutes have to last a year

We would like to get rid of our landlines but we live out in the boonies and don't get a good signal. We have cordless phones throughtout the house and I keep an old rotary phone in the cupboard for when the electricity goes out until the generator can be hooked up.

 

[powellrj]

I live a different lifestyle with a cell phone than I wouldn't live without one. I travel for my job and I still have kids in school, plus I have elderly parents.

I remember when my dad first got sick almost 30 years ago. Answering machines were new then and it was wonderful to be able to leave the house and not miss a call. My mom just went on and on about how wonderful it was to be able to reach me and leave a message. When her dad was sick many years before that, you had to stay home or miss the call. Now almost everyone has some type of message device weather its voice mail or an answering machine.

Fast forward 20 years ago, I worked out of town because I had a pager and people could reach me with the pager. There were always phone booths around and every gas station or rest area had one so when I was paged I just called people back.

Now I have a cell phone and I can almost always be reached. I limit who has my number, so I only get calls from people I need to get calls from, but there is no way I could work out of town and travel like I do without it. Last year when my DS and my DFIL were both in the hospital 60 miles apart, the cells phones were a life saver. I could work and still keep tabs on everyone. If it were back in the days before cell phones, I would have been pretty home bound.

 

[TanyaLovesPooh]

It snowed here over Christmas. Kids and I went out to play in the snow and I had sweats on with my cell phone in the pocket. We came in and I put my sweats in the wash forgetting my phone was inside the pocket. I remembered and ran back to get the phone but it had already been submerged in the water. Hubby took the battery out immediately and we left it off for 3 days to make sure all the insides had dried out. I learned and actually enjoyed the freedom of not hearing that phone ring those 3 days. So I can live without it if need be.

My phone works fine even after being under water, thankfully.

 

[bookgirl]

I have a cell phone because:

I share a house with family and two land lines were a pain in the rear. One person does not like to answer the phone so lets the machine get it all the time and someone else uses it a lot for buisness. I prefer to have my own number.

My family and I are all on different schedules and sometimes it's easier to call or text for a question than it is to wait untill I actually see them.

I help with my nephews and sometimes someone who is not home needs information quickly. Between ex-sil, brother, brother's girlfriend, mom, stepdad, me and the twins (who have phones) and thier maternal grandparents schedules have a habit of changing hour to hour.

At least four members of the family travel frequently all around the metro for work.

All of us travel and nationwide long distance is lovely.

My dad and best friend would be long distance calls in state without cell plans.

We do take road trips a few times a year and the side of the road is a lousy time to decide that a cell phone might be a good idea after all. AAA, GPS and a cell phone are good travel companions.

All I can think of for now.

and as an aside. I had a cell phone in the early 90's. Then got rid of it. Carried a pager for a few years. I did not have another phone until around 2000, when my mom insisted that I have one as I was going to attend graduate school and communting and I was also going to be keeping my nephews 5 days a week. Before that I didn't worry about having one or not. It made her feel better, I still have that line and we still share a family plan it's cheap for all of us (stepdad, her and me) to share and we never go over our minutes.

 

[catycatcat4]

I am not allowed to leave with out mine.
I can google when ever i need to find somthing out from any place.
You never know when you will need to call 911
If you get kiddnapped or go missing they can use the pone to find you.

 

[NotUrsula]

No, he just believes woman are programmed as young girls to never be alone. It doesn't take a genius, or a cave man to look around and see thats not to far off. Check out the books and magazine covers on how to find the perfect man, or how to be popular an have alot of friends. I happen to agree, and unfortunately there are plenty of women who fall into that trap, and maybe those are the ones that have their cells surgically attached to their ears or fingers. All I know is that when I look around, 90% of people on their cell are women. Back when I was in high school there weren't cell phones and we used to tie up our house phone for hours talking to our girl friends, and how great it was to have 3 way calling. I probably spent about 10 minutes on the phone with my boyfriend A cell just allows woman to be able to do that when they are out and about now.

Obviously he hasn't met me. When I was in HS, my family had a party line that we shared with 3 other families -- no idle chitchat allowed. I've never been a phone talker. I don't make calls unless I am forced to, and I was trained from childhood never to stay on the phone more than 3 minutes if at all possible.

Your DH is buying into the idea that a learned behaviour is an instinctive one. That "travelling in packs" thing is something that is learned, and there are a fair number of women out there who simply don't do it; it just depends on how they were raised. I'm one of them, and I have been all my life. I work alone, and I eat lunch at my desk every day. I lived alone until I was married, and if I don't get at least 3 hours to myself every day I start climbing the bloody walls. I *LOVE* driving long-distance totally alone. And FTR, I have never in my life asked another woman to accompany me to the restrooom, unless you count taking a young girl to use the potty when she can't handle her clothes by herself.

 

[MelanieC]

Obviously I lived the majority of my life without one and did ok. But, now that I know what life is like one it would be hard. It's just nice security knowing I can call for help if needed and same with my DD17 who is driving and out with her friends all the time. It's time saving in that I can call my mom while I'm driving with DH (He is driving) instead of sitting in the car not doing anything.

Could I live without it? Sure, but I don't think I would want to.