Life without a cell phone

http://www.theawl.com/2011/03/my-life-without-a-cell-phone-an-amazing-tale-of-survival

by ryandvm • 15 years ago

16 24 15 years ago

ryandvm2• 15 years ago

I did this until last year when I broke down and got a phone because I wanted to get into mobile development. It was worth it (financially), but the freedom she talks about in not owning a cell phone is real - and I miss it.

singer2• 15 years ago

That sounds like a loss of freedom to me. How about the freedom to not answer your phone when you don't want to be bothered?

mturmon• 15 years ago

It's like that blinking light on the Blackberry -- ignorable in principle, but irresistible in practice.

ryandvm2• 15 years ago

Part of it is the social contract that is implicitly engaged when someone knows you have a cell phone. Basically, those people have a reasonable assumption that they can call you, and if they can't talk to you, at least they can leave a message which you'll probably respond to within a few hours.

A lot of people seem to think that turning your phone off while you take a hike is as the same degree of freedom as never having any of your extracurricular activities interrupted - ever. It's not.

Are there downsides to not owning a phone? Of course. I was just commenting that habitually being incommunicado is, for me, a peaceful state to find oneself.

km3k• 15 years ago

What requires people to respond to cell phone calls/messages/texts promptly? I only respond if I want to and when I want to.

danneu4• 15 years ago

It's a social shortcoming. Neediness.

It's why you shouldn't feel compelled to instantly respond to the texts of that girl you started talking to. Instead, waiting longer between conversational responses portrays more dominance, control, and "I have other shit going on in my day".

warfangle• 15 years ago

I've been seriously considering cutting AT&T out, and just using skype over wifi. I hardly ever make or receive phone calls - everything is SMS or email.

The thing that keeps me from it is the knowledge that, with a data plan, I don't have to worry about getting lost. With a data plan, I can be certain my contacts are backed up. With a data plan, I'll get that SMS when I get off the subway and plans have changed. And that I'll never be able to get the same data plan I'm grandfathered into.

jwhitney• 15 years ago

"back then, the guy in the bar with the celly was the biggest douche in the room"

Hey yeah, and now it's the girl who goes on and on about not having one. It's a funny world.

oakenshield• 15 years ago

Apart from one valid point (low attention span), this article reeks of confirmation bias. Certainly, if you google "cell phones and brain tumor" and go to the FUD sites, you will get enough fodder to peddle that viewpoint. Here's a reliable source:

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/cellphones

geekdesigngirl• 15 years ago

I'm about to do this and am actually looking forward to it. I cut the TV cord over 2 years ago and haven't missed it. There have been days I forget to bring my cell phone in (it's an older Blackberry model). The only thing I've used it for is to check my email and text messaging, all which is accessible on the web.

ctdonath• 15 years ago

We went thru this argument in the mid 1990s.

The year is now 2011. Life with a cell phone won the debate.

kevinburke• 15 years ago

Life without a cell phone is probably easier if you are a girl and even easier if you are an attractive girl. Some people would probably suffer a worse quality of life if they ditched their cellphones.

Anechoic• 15 years ago

I don't get folks who feel so chained to their mobile phones. I have a cell phone. When I feel like using it to make calls, I make a call. When I feel like using it to answer a call, I will answer it when a call comes in.

If I don't feel like answering a call, I simply don't. If the call is important, the caller will leave a message and I'll return it at my leisure. If the call is not important, often the caller will not leave a message and I'll just forget about it. The cell phone is there for my convenience and during the times it inconveniences me, it gets turned off. It's just a tool... control it, it doesn't have to control you.

I will say that I completely agree with her point about "glance[ing] surreptitiously down at the corner of the table to see who is calling/emailing/texting while we’re in the middle of a conversation." When I'm talking to someone you have my full attention (except for certain emergency circumstances which I will let you know about upfront) and would appreciate the same courtesy.

danneu4• 15 years ago

Article sounds similar to the anti-Facebook camp who outline a hypothetical 'if I did have a Facebook account' world where every one of their Facebook friends is spamming them with virtual Farmville goods and quips about Japan deserving the earthquake because of Pearl Harbor.

In reality, it doesn't really happen. I have zero tolerance for people who interrupt a moment that demands undivided attention (like a date) by incessantly checking their cellphone. But all of my friends seem to have a reasonable handle on that.

Uncourteous people are uncourteous people, but I certainly wouldn't evade a technology for fear of my friends being uncourteous.

DLWormwood• 15 years ago

If someone like me has somehow managed to cope with living in the US until middle age without being able to drive a car, going without a cell phone is a cake walk by comparison.

sardonicbryan• 15 years ago

This is so ridiculous I have to rebut this point by point.

Her points:

1) Convenience: The closing line of this statement says it all: "... or borrow someone else’s cell to make the call. Now that’s convenience."

There's a distinction between "life without a cell phone" and "life without owning a cell phone."

2) Paraphrasing: "I can never lose my phone numbers because I remember them and put them in a Rolodex and an addressbook."

There is nothing about owning a cell phone that prevents her from doing this.

3) Paraphrasing: "I will never be distracted by my phone while I'm with others."

There is nothing inherent about owning a cell phone that forces people to do this. If the author feels so vehemently that this is a bad thing, then surely it couldn't be too hard for her to bring a cell phone around and ignore it in social situations.

4) Paraphrasing: "I have a landline that gets perfect reception, which is much better than an unreliable cell phone." There is nothing preventing one from owning both a cell phone and a land line.

5) Paraphrasing: "Cell phones cause cancer." Maybe, but there has not been strong evidence supporting this claim, IMO. See the other links shared so far.

6) Paraphrasing: "No one device can interrupt my life." Two words: Silent Mode.

micampe• 15 years ago

People can do without a mobile phone only because everyone else around them has one.

oregu• 15 years ago

Don't bother explaining the advantages of cell phones. Just wait till she breaks her leg, and there's no one around.

araneae• 15 years ago

Landlines only make sense if you own a home do your number won't change that often. My apartment doesn't even have a phone jack.

naqabas• 15 years ago

She doesn't seem very tech savvy. Who doesn't back up their phone numbers these days? If I lost my phone tomorrow, I could just go online to my google contacts and get them all back.

I can understand the liberating feeling. 1 year ago, I went to Europe for three weeks and didn't take a cell phone or get one there. It was really nice not having to worry about returning calls and just going back to basics. However, I still think the convenience of cell phones for those few times you really need it outweighs the liberating feeling of not having one.

danneu4• 15 years ago

This article reeks of the familiar vogue of people bragging about not having Facebook accounts: It's probably not that hard for you if you have an underwhelming social life, don't date, and aren't that connected to those around you to begin with.

I lost my phone last month, but my contract restarts in 3 days so I've been holding out to capitalize on the free phone they give me. I'm 22, and it's been miserable because I have an interest in the opposite sex (among other reasons).

And when I do have a cellphone, I possess the willpower to keep it in silent mode until I wish to check it. Someone made the point that possessing a phone instills the expectation in others that you'll respond to their pings in within a reasonable amount of time. I challenge that. It doesn't take long to train people to understand your mobile availability. And moreover, who's keeping track?

Ratfish• 15 years ago

I've got a business idea. I'll make this thing, you'll pay heaps for it, then pay each month to have it. Then, whenever someone wants you to do something they can press a button and get you and get you to change your plans. I bet no one likes my idea though. Additionally, I'm damned if I know how I fell into the trap of cell phones. Sent from my iPhone.

Life without a cell phone

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