You've never owned a cell phone?

[NCC]

Before I ever set eyes on a cell phone, I remember a discussion at work about how there was going to be a lottery for the right to operate a local cell phone system. What the heck? So, a lot of people who didn't have the capital to start such an enterprise entered ... figuring they could sell the rights for a pretty high price if they won.

Several years later, my very first cell phone sighting (different job, different town), my boss was so proud when he came in with what looked like a manly sized briefcase. He opened it and showed us his new cell phone with chargers and other accessories.

I like gadgets, but ... not that much ... I had no use.

They're smaller now, more powerful, cheaper, and a LOT more common.
Millions of them are disposed of every year.

Anyone can have a cell phone. People who literally don't have a roof over their heads,
have cell phones.

I have talked on a cell phone three times in my life, total time probably less than three minutes.
I was required by my job to take one of theirs on the road once. I made it perfectly clear that
if they needed to reach me they'd have to call twice: 1st to let me know I needed to stop the vehicle, and then the second call a minute later when I could answer it. NO way I will use
one while driving. PERIOD. I'm busy watching out for the other cellaholics who are trying to kill me.

There are many circumstances where you're treated as some kind of wacko if you don't
have a mobile phone. And, when I'm given that treatment, I just smile.

Sometimes when I'm out, I observe people on cells doing every imaginable thing: walking, biking, shopping, buying gasoline ... everywhere, people isolated from their immediate surroundings, glued to cell phones. It seems like a type of mass madness to me.

I enjoy being incommunicado when I'm in my car. Or hiking, or on the beach.
If I'm not in a situation where you can reach me by land line, I don't want to be reached.
I enjoy the solitude, I savor it, when it is available.

I've never been one to spend any amount of time just 'chatting' on the telephone (land line), if I want to talk I'd rather do it in person if possible. And, if the distance was too great for that then the long distance rates prevented long chatting anyway. Ah, you say, that's a good reason to get a cell phone. Not so fast, I have broadband internet and MagicJack. Not too mobile, but that's fine with me.

Members of my immediate family, and long time friends, can't figure it out. I've always loved gadgets and they seem to think that as a gadget freak, I'd be a natural to be a cellaholic too. They don't get it.

I may be the only person in the civilized world who has NEVER owned, nor wanted to own, a cell phone.


Am I the only refusnik left?

 

[SilverBear]

Am I the only refusnik left?

You are not the only one. My reply to the jaw-droppers is: "I'm not that important".

I have apoplectic fits when the landline rings. Phones are monstrous invasions of privacy.

 

[vapour Dwarf]

I must agree horrible things they are, i have one and it's off most of the time i don't want to be contactable 24/7. I love my privacy, my wife bought mine so i have to have it occasionally but i'm secretly wishing it would break.

 

[aine]

Mine stays in my car in case of an emergency. Of course the one time my car broke down, I couldn't get a signal. My friends and family know never to try getting me on the cell phone, I won't answer it when driving and usually forget to check the message when I get out of the car. I don't understand the need to be plugged in 24/7, nobody's that important.

 

[AngusATAT]

I don't understand the need to be plugged in 24/7, nobody's that important.

I have to have a cell phone on me all the time. I design electrical substations, and need to be able to be contacted 24/7. My projects are literally multi-million dollar projects, and if something happens during construction that needs my attention, I have to respond immediately. The longer a construction crew waits around for a solution for me, the more money it costs.

So yes, in this particular case, I am that important.

Do I like being able to be reached 24/7? No, not really. But I do like being employed and having a steady paycheck, so I will deal with it.

 

[Sdh]

I bought mine due to a horrible experience. I wanted peace of mind if something bad would happen. Otherwise, I couldn't give a crap on talking to anyone on the phone. My employer will e-mail or text. They already know I will not respond to a call. Yes, I agree on certain people have important jobs that require 24/7. However, to see a cell phone glued to one's face is another.

 

[Sponge Bobiwan]

Cellphones? Computers? Blahhh...new-fangled technology. I'm still using an old slide rule to go online and chat.

 

[NCC]

Cellphones? Computers? Blahhh...new-fangled technology. I'm still using an old slide rule to go online and chat.

Makes me wonder if you read post #1.

 

[Kirssstens]

I have a "Prepaid Daily Plan" from Verizon Wireless on a $19 Samsung phone that my sister bought me from Walmart.

I pay $15.00 a month refill and 99 cents on days I use it with 10 cents per text message. It hangs out in my car and is perfect for emergencies.

Prepaid Plans and Prepaid Cell Phones - Verizon Wireless

 

[NCC]

Kirssstens: As much as my original post shows my disdain of cell phones, I once considered buying a Trak Phone to throw in the glove box, just for emergencies.
Then, I read that the minutes expire, which burst that bubble.

There was a single time, 4 or 5 years ago, when I could've used one for an emergency. I got my car stuck hard on an unpaved road out in the woods, 10 miles from civilization. I walked for hours, in the dark, before I ran into a Game Commission vehicle. They had a cell they let me borrow to BEG a wrecker to come pull my car out. The bad thing is, the Game guys told me that we were on the fringe of the coverage area and that where my car was stuck, the cell would've been out of range. And, that being the single instance in the whole history of cell phones where it would've been useful to me, LOL.

I'm hoping to take a long (several months' duration) road trip next year.
It is possible I'll stash a Trak Phone for that. And, then trash it upon arriving at my destination.

 

[TreverT]

I have a "Prepaid Daily Plan" from Verizon Wireless on a $19 Samsung phone that my sister bought me from Walmart.

I pay $15.00 a month refill and 99 cents on days I use it with 10 cents per text message. It hangs out in my car and is perfect for emergencies.

Prepaid Plans and Prepaid Cell Phones - Verizon Wireless

This is my problem in a nutshell, though. I do not have a cell phone, and have never used one. I don't want one. The only use I can see for one is in case of auto emergencies... BUT, I don't want to pay a monthly contract (Even at $15) just for an emergency backup that I might use once in ten years. If I could get a cell phone that worked like a real phone (which is to say, I didn't have to pay a monthly and could just toss it in the car and only pay for actual calls that I make with the thing), then I'd get one, but till then, I guess I will continue to go without. The behavior of cell phone people does nothing to make me want to identify myself among their number anyway - They're why I don't even go to the movies anymore.

 

[boondongle]

I have a friend who doesn't own a cell phone...can't say I understand it. And for all you cell-phone haters, you might want to reconsider. Apparently, new research indicates cell phone use might actually help prevent Alzheimer's.

 

[Kevin Freeheart]

I have a Google Nexus One. I don't have service on it.

I like the portability of having the internet all the time in my pocket. I can do just about everything on that that I can on my laptop (okay, maybe not true, but I can do anything in 10 or 15 minutes that I would do using the same time on my laptop.

I'd throw a pre-paid plan on it if there was a decent one around here. But I LIVE in the woods where there is no cell reception, so I just really don't worry about it. I have a Skype number for the times when I really need to get or make a call. And since my phone can make Skype calls too, I don't really need service either.

 

[Safira]

but how do you guys play angry bird? seriously though if I didn't have DSL I would cancel my landline, my cell phone bill is much cheaper than my phone is.

BTW the first picture is not a bag phone. I remember the bag phones being out before that phone. I thought those bag phones were the first cell phones.

 

[Kirssstens]

One reason I like my plan is because you do not lose your money if you pay before the due date one month later. I once had a balance on it of around $80 because I wasn't using it but still making payments. And Verizon always texts me when my payment is due. I call their toll-free number and plunk $15 on my credit card, quick as can be. Also, my service/reception is the same as my sister's Verizon $75 a month plan just without all the features.

The only caveat is if you forget to pay by the due date and your balance falls to zero and service shuts off until you put a minimum $15 on it.

I could happily do without a cell but I need one so I will always be at the beck and call of my two teenagers.

 

[AJMoore]

Keep in mind, it's not just a cell phone anymore, it's not about "talking" to someone. It's a computer, email, navigation and more. Do you have a GPS? Computer? Email? All rolled up in a cell phone.

 

[Kirssstens]

This is not contracted by the way, I could throw the phone in the river and walk away if I wanted to, no questions asked.

And any time I want a better phone, I can purchase one and transfer this account to it.


By the way, I am not affliated with Verizon in any way.

(darn security token is still not letting me edit my posts)

 

[NCC]

Keep in mind, it's not just a cell phone anymore, it's not about "talking" to someone. It's a computer, email, navigation and more. Do you have a GPS? Computer? Email? All rolled up in a cell phone.

Yes, I have GPS, computer, email ... and lots more, as I stated previously, I am a gadget freak. I have been since BEFORE the 8 track players hit it big (at which time I owned a cassette recorder). And, there are portable devices which provide those things, without being cell phones, they're intriguing . BTW, my car has WIFI connectivity (Autonet Mobile). A lot less hassle than dealing with hotel WIFI when traveling.

Still a refusnik. Although, I would put a cell in the glove box if I didn't have to pay $180 a year for something I'd likely never need.

 

[firefox335]

I have stated before that I think that cellphones are quite possibly the worst invention of the 20th century. They have made being rude socially acceptable. When someone comes through my line at work and they're on their cellphone yaking away, I WILL NOT SPEAK TO THEM. Obviously their conversation is far more important than anything I could say to them, so screw 'em.

I've had a cellphone for about a year. I use it all the time. But I use it as a clock, not a phone. My battery died and I went in to get a replacement on July 2nd. They wanted $40 for a new battery. I didn't really want the phone to begin with, so I said "Forget it, I'll just wear a watch." Then, on July 4th, I had a blowout. Stuck on the side of the highway with no way to contact anyone was enough to make me a fan of the cellphone. Cellphones are great if you're a person who can actually show some restraint.

 

[Travis798]

I've had a cell phone for the past 15 years. Although I don't really use it for calls all that much, it sure makes life a heck of a lot easier. I don't have a landline phone anyway, and there are times when being able to be contacted (or contact someone) can be handy. I've had many, many times that my cell has came in handy. Between blowouts on the interstate with a flat spare tire, one truck catching on fire on the interstate (don't keep a rag under the hood for checking oil), a fan shaft shearing in two and going through my radiator on the interstate 35 miles from the nearest town, numerous times stuck somewhere, etc, a cell phone has been indispensable for me. I can use it as a GPS, check my email, keep in touch with friends via facebook, check prices of items at other stores when I'm looking at buying something, etc.

I don't turn it off in case of emergencies, but with a flick of my thumb I can silence it and still be notified that I have a voicemail. Yeah, I love my phone.